Nouvelle Allégeance

Few painters can change our very sense of what a painting can look like. Numa , as one of these artist’s, renders a confident form of painting, surprising us that the works are embedded into the wall and mastered without the use of any digital prop. By installing directly into the wall he challenges and questions perceptions and ideals of conventional framing as well as gallery and museum wall space. As a viewer you begin by asking, “How did this painting arrive in this time and space?” In a digital world like the one we are living, one immediately assumes that the images are computer generated due to their high level of skill. Approaching the work you are shocked to realize a series of tiny hand painted lines that cover vast amounts of space. Numa renders all of his work using very intricate and interlaced lines that create optical illusions and abstractions. These seem to never end when observing. Responding to the visibility or invisibility of the individual, Numa’s iconoclastic forms are engaging not only due to the fact that they are installed, but because of their meditative qualities, beauty and strength.

Robin Schurman

*All exhibitions and events prior to 2012 are credited to The Context Gallery, our former name.