Contemporary Figurative Painting — Abraham Aronovitch
Abraham Aronovitch’s contemporary figurative painting explores the relationship between gaze, identity, and perception through bathroom scenes structured by the presence of a mirror.
Developed as a long-term pictorial investigation, this body of work examines how individuals confront themselves, others, and the contemporary world.
A Figurative Painting of Gaze and Perception
Contemporary figurative painting, as approached here, does not aim for a faithful reproduction of reality, but rather to create tension between what is seen, perceived, and understood. The bathroom mirror becomes a central device: it does not simply reflect an image, but introduces a discrepancy between physical presence and mental construct.
The figures, often blue, appear more as mental silhouettes than as portraits. They are imbued with states of being—expectation, confusion, fatigue, desire, doubt—without seeking to illustrate a specific narrative. The painting acts as a space of suspension, where the gaze rests without resolution.
The Mirror as a Pictorial Space
In this body of work, the mirror is never a simple object. It structures the composition, fragments space, and redistributes the roles between the body, the reflection, and what emerges within the reflected image. At times, the mirror opens onto an autonomous scene; at others, it confronts two presences that fail to meet; elsewhere, it becomes an opaque surface, a screen, or a threshold.
Through this displacement, the bathroom—an intimate and everyday setting—transforms into a symbolic space. Painting captures moments of silent confrontation, where the individual both looks at and withdraws from themselves.
Behind the Obvious: A Series as a Guiding Framework
Most of the works belong to the Behind the Obvious series, conceived as a coherent ensemble rather than a succession of independent images. Each painting functions as a variation on recurring concerns: contemporary identity, inner gaze, and the tension between appearance and mental reality.
The series does not impose a single interpretation. Instead, it presents open situations in which viewers are invited to project their own experiences of doubt, connection, or distance.
A Contemporary Figuration Without Imposed Narrative
Unlike narrative or illustrative painting, this contemporary figurative approach resists resolution. The scenes do not tell a complete story; they fix a state. Time appears suspended, relationships remain ambiguous, and gestures unfinished.
This absence of conclusion is central to the practice. It positions the viewer actively, confronted with images that question without providing answers.