Allegorical Conditions

December 1—February 26, 2023

Viewing room

CAI and CAI Gallery are delighted to present a new group exhibition, titled Allegorical Conditions, showcasing twelve paintings by four contemporary painters; Jorden Boulet, Remus Grecu, Fabian Hübner, and Tonino Mattu. An allegory in painting is defined as a picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning—typically morally or politically. This definition is rooted in art history, referring to the allegorical representations of virtues in ancient antiquity or the political allegories during classicism. However, in a contemporary context— particularly a post-conceptual context—this conditionality seems to shift even further, discovering new allegorical narratives and perspectives in painting today. The exhibition runs from December 1, 2022, until February 26, 2023, in CAI Gallery’s viewing room.

Jorden Boulet is a contemporary painter best known for his project-oriented practice with a constant reference to the idea of paradise. White beaches, palm trees, or a beautiful sunset evoke an atmosphere of happiness, joy, perfection, or freedom. However, Boulet’s paradisiacal world comes with a twist, as it is an ambiguous illusion with Kitsch, decadence, and superficiality, but also elusiveness and melancholy lurking just around the corner. Jorden Boulet was born in 1990 in Hasselt, Belgium. He was trained as a painter (MFA) at PXL MAD in Hasselt, Belgium, where the artist currently teaches in visual and audiovisual arts. In 2015, Boulet won the Wanatoe Grand Prize in Limburg (BE), after also being selected for the Godecharle ARBA ESA in Brussels (BE). He has exhibited at national and international institutions, such as Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture in Hasselt (BE) in 2021 or the Marres House for Contemporary Culture in Maastricht (NL) in 2020 during in the Limburg Biennale.

Remus Grecu is best known for his deeply psychological paintings rendered in a distinctive representational visual language. Marked by surrealism, the absurd, and various sociological issues, Grecu depicts dream-like images of figures in an ‘in-between’ state, frozen in time and space. Remus Grecu was born in 1976 in Bucharest, Romania. He studied at the University of Arts in Bucharest before moving to London and Stockholm—exploring the vibrant nightlife of a metropole to spending nights in dark Scandinavian woods accompanied by wildlife. The Romanian artist has exhibited across the globe and participated in institutional and/or museum shows, for instance, the Romanian Culture Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, or the Staedel Art Museum in Frankfurt, Germany. Remus Grecu resides and works in Bucharest, Romania.

Fabian Hübner is a German contemporary painter occupied with surreal pictures and symbolic constructions. He creates an interplay of meaning within his characteristic microcosmos paintings of figures, motifs, symbols, and environments. In doing so, the German painter creates his own reality. Very often, this statement can be interpreted literally, as cardboard clouds on strings float in the air or wooden figures populate an imaginary landscape. Born in 1982 in Freiburg, Germany, Hübner studied painting from 2007 until 2014 under professor Rolf Bier, Volker Blumkowski, and Peter Chevalier at the Staatlichen Akademie der Bildende Künste in Stuttgart, Germany. In 2011 Fabian Hübner received recognition at the Camillo-Michele-Gloria-Preis before being selected as a finalist at the 44th Art Prize 2021 by Kulturstiftung der Sparkasse Karlsruhe. He has participated in various group exhibitions in Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium.

Tonino Mattu is known for his characteristic oil paintings of figures hovering between reality and fiction, executed by using a warm palette dominated by raw or burnt umber and sienna. The Italian artist continuously examines the human figure from a pictorial and socio-historical point of view. Tonino Mattu was born in 1979 in Nuoro, Sardinia, Italy, and lives and works in Oristano, Sardinia, Italy. In 2011, Mattu participated in the 54th Venice Biennale at the Italian Pavilion, followed by a second museum show in his birth town Nuoro, Sardinia, Italy. During the coming years, the Italian artist is selected for several important art awards, such as a selection for the Carlo Bonatto Minella Award (2013), a finalist for the Pio Alferano Award (2014), the 1st prize Marchioni Award (2015), and a finalist for the Wells Art Contemporary (2016). Notable exhibitions include the Italian Institute of Culture in Bucharest, Romania; Quartissimo Museum, Quartu Sant’Elena, Italy; Fondazione Sardegna in Cagliari, Italy; Pinacoteca Carlo Contini in Oristano, Italy; Man Museum in Nuoro, Italy; the Antonio Ortiz Echagüe Museum in Atzara, Italy, among others. As a result, Mattu’s works are collected by prestigious private and public collections, including Fondazione Sardegna, Cagliari, Italy; Banca di Sassari, Sassari, Italy; Man Museum, Nuoro, Italy; Vittorio Sgarbi Collection, Italy and Fondazione Pio Alferano, Rome, Italy.