Bad Painting 316

Bad Painting 316: A woman walking home at night followed by a group of men.

22.7cm x 30.5cm
acrylic on canvas
August 2022

About Bad Painting

'Bad Painting' comprises faux-naïf style artworks addressing real human atrocities, each featuring a descriptive text sourced from various headlines. Painted on canvases approximately laptop screen-sized, they employ bold brushstrokes to convey immediacy. Despite potentially discomforting content, they serve as vital records of humanity's darker aspects in the contemporary era. In today's turbulent world, with shifting societal norms, moral values, and political ideologies, their relevance, especially its textual component, is amplified, capturing the zeitgeist and reflecting societal shifts.
 

Importantly, each "Bad Painting" is not only a visual but also a linguistic entity. The incorporated texts, constructed from various headlines related to specific events, are an integral part of each work. Through this fusion of image and text, I invite viewers to delve not only visually but also linguistically into the deep corners of our collective reality.

The inspiration for all my "Bad Paintings" comes from my personal feelings of anger, sadness, and dismay about such events. These emotions deeply stir me, and painting allows me to process and understand these feelings both emotionally and intellectually.
 

I do not intend for the paintings to take a side or make a political statement. They are based on factual events. Whatever the viewers feel or think is personal to them and of secondary importance. My goal is to present the reality and let the viewers draw their own conclusions.
 

For all "Bad Paintings" up to number 357, I used acrylic paint on canvas. From number 358 onwards, I switched to oil on canvas. I chose acrylic paint for its fast-drying properties and its plastic-like texture, which resonates with our fast-paced world. I transitioned to oil because I simply enjoy working with it. The style can be described as faux-naïf, which aligns with the concept by being crude, ugly, and fast, offering a different perspective to the work.

http://jayrechsteiner.com/bad_painting.htm