Artist Spotlight: Harry Rothel

Harry Rothel explains his art practice like a vice. When he's at work or running errands, away travelling—he's thinking about painting, "It's almost like an addiction, not knowing what you're going to make the next day, or how things will turn out, how the paint [will] react"  
 
Ironically, it seems to be these moments in-between the actual art making where inspiration strikes. The content of his artworks, Harry says, is most often informed by social dynamics and political affairs. His figurative paintings conjure up recollections of 16th century baroque or Flemish era artworks—throngs of figures strewn across the canvas, each individual unknowingly contributing to the scene as a whole. The interplay of bodies becomes a language unto itself.  

Enter the clown. In most of Harry's artworks, you will notice the presence of at least one, identified through its pointed hat, red nose or bulbous pom-pommed jumpsuit. Across history, these kinds of figures—from Native American clown-shamans to European court jesters—have been known for their transgressive role in society. Their jaunty way of being allows them to move undisturbed through all levels of society, making audacious yet truthful quips as an unheeded observer.  
 
Harry's clowns play a similar role. He employs them for their maskedness, which grants them the ability to play different roles, undetected, based on their context. Because of their predetermined position in society—the one-dimensional fool—they are able to fly under radar, along with their genuine feelings, perceptions and motives. To this point, Harry speaks on his fascination with how we act outwardly in public circumstances, pressured by social conventions, versus in private.  

Humans naturally... create these masks to fit into certain scenarios. I think we build up a big collection of masks that we can use in different situations and then when you come home and are alone... you can take that mask off. That's your truest self. 

It was a delight to visit Harry in his studio, a garage illuminated by natural light coming from a large open roller door which spills onto a suburban backyard. Our conversations are routinely interrupted by the loud squawks of circling black cockatoos, or by Harry's jovial pair of dogs.  

Harry explains that a big part of his process starts with materials. He has a tendency of discovering and then consolidating faces and figures he perceives within the natural texture of the canvas he is working on—a phenomenon commonly known as Pareidolia. This process positions the canvas itself as a driving force in the production of each artwork, guiding the layout and content. He likes that Belle Arti's linen is coarser and more textural, allowing more of this surface-based discovery. 

In the studio hangs his massive diptych titled 'Courtyard Sonder', which recently showed at Mars Gallery. The artwork, based on a vintage postcard discovered by Harry, shows a courtyard bustling with men engaged in various acts. "I thought it would be interesting to take something so tiny...so insignificant...and make it quite big". While it features a wide spectrum of colours, the palette is muted, and the many subjects appear sad, confused or contemplative. Oil paints are layered to achieve a smooth and velvety finish and scale is tested through tiny men and giant hands. The result is a familiar memory, shrouded in surrealism. The purity of this feeling can be attributed to the direct line that seems to exist from Harry's brain to his fingers. Skill pours out of him so naturally, sketching an anatomically correct body or mixing a realistic skin shade without pause. What he depicts comes straight from the stores of his mind- a portal to his subconscious.  
 
Products used by Harry include

Belle Arti 36 Oil Primed Linen