Selected I, “Collectors Choose”

Artist: MAO – Mariano Rinaldi Goni

Mysteriously erotic tableaux of women form the thematic focus of the work of the painter MAO, born in Buenos Aires in 1972.

Whereas in Argentina he was initially inspired by socio-political concerns and primarily by external impressions, in 1996, after arriving in Germany, the artist felt a need for inner contemplation. His linguistic isolation led him into a concentrated creative phase which Goni himself describes as an important breakthrough, from a chaotic view of the world to a new impulse towards order. The figures, contained in clear forms, now implode into complex word-image structures.

In his current paintings the artist combines deliberately placed brushstrokes with the application of impasto areas of colour onto canvas left raw in places. A tension arises between shaping and dissolution. The complicated viewpoints, the alternation of transparent and strong colour values, and a strong contrast with black lend his architectonic-looking forms a powerful dynamic effect.

In doing so, MAO consciously synthesises and processes stylistic elements from the history of art and composes his visual language from them, entirely on the principle of sampling known from music.