To Fake or not to Fake.
Nico Emons has a rather complicated past when it comes to the development of his work. It went from painting to graphics.
From realism to abstractions and back.
The final stage turned completely into reinterpretation.
This came about as a logical development from having studied art history.
Not as an investigation now and then into the various artists and genres but as a proper student at the university.
It started as an auditing student following certain lectures and he quickly realised that he knew next to nothing about art history.
And so he decided to do the whole program.
At the same time he kept on working in his studio mostly doing painting, but at the beginning of the nineties PC’s came on the market at an affordable price, he also started working with graphical PC programs.
His painting was rather problematic in the sense that there was not a particular style, it went from one thing to another.
Finally, in 2006, he realised this must stop. At about 2016 he decided to do only reinterpretations.
Basically, these reinterpretations of of historic paintings are conceptual. The essence is the connection of the works of painters that have made their mark on the art world and the present.
And, eventually, by the appropriation and interpretation give them a new meaning. So, one has to look beyond Nico’s graphics as they present themselves.
Of course the graphics are also contemporary art pieces that are influenced by present day culture and techniques. Especially the computer and the graphic programs that run on them.
The connection is a deeper meaning and, almost a black box.
There is however the exception when it comes to portraits, here things are contemporary. Nico is interested in faces, not in portraits as such. Going over various possibilities, it led to selfies. He realised that selfies are the zeitgeist.
There are millions of selfies floating around on the internet, by chance one of a pop star appeared. At first he didn’t think much of it, but download it anyway.
Quickly, he realised they were very interesting because of their casualness and naturalness. Also, some unknown young women show this sort of indifference.
Gerhard Hague Holland