Depicting themselves through a number of facial expressions, gestures, and actions, Allan Gandhi’s characters talk a complicated language which fluctuates from handled eccentricity to the wildness of their internal play, and they seem to be very cool and thoughtful at the same time. His pieces showcase not only his personal artificial personae but also provoke the arising feelings of those who might become affected beholders of his unconventional styles of portraiture. For instance, he blows up the painter’s conventional way of portraitures while, still, the main body of his work keeps its coherence as a figurative one. Gandhi’s facial close-ups aim to evoke intimacy, creating compositions that explore both internal and external aesthetics, an ongoing tension, and a desire to connect with his uniquely strange depictions. Using a vibrant palette and applying oil paint in diverse hues and tones, he develops a strong, dramatic painterly language that is transmitted even through his characters’ facial expressions.
Words: Yannis Kostarias
A blend of abstract and figurative elements enhances the dramatic tone of his work. In paintings such as Capuz (2024), Face Lift (2023), and A barba com um rost (2023), Gandhi delves into his more abstract side, applying gestural brush strokes with seeming spontaneity. Abstract pieces like O Atirador de Facas (2023) and Cachorros no tapete (2023) are a contrast to these, getting almost photo-realistic subjects emphasized by difficult to replicate reflective paths. These thin boundaries between abstraction and figuration create a dynamic balance and intrigue in his work. Often, his imagery is tangible and recognizably human, with distinct bodily shapes, while at other times, his character arrangements are hauntingly ambiguous.
Gandhi’s color palette is versatile, adapting to his technique’s shifting demands and adding depth to his compositions. A faded effect is a significant part of his style, giving way to harsh discolorations in certain areas without clearly delineating shapes, allowing forms and colors to merge into a unique artistic language. In his more figurative works, the palette renders aesthetically pleasing results, whereas, in his abstract pieces, he uses color shifts to enhance his characteristic sense of disorder. This interplay of vibrant colors and unusual forms infuses the work with visual excitement. Long, curved noses, twisted lips, thick eyebrows, small eyes, and big-headed male figures populate his iconography, underscoring his characters’ duality and revealing a certain confidence within an uncomfortable, vulnerable framework.
Gandhi, playing with his characters by breaking them down into their essential parts, captures the subtleness and softness as well as the strength of the physical presence of his characters, thus forming a paradoxical structure of his pieces in which narratives are twisted and have different enneagrams reflecting creativity and personality. With visual language that may be bizarre and distort forms on his canvases, yet the change in the viewer’s perception triggers a reversal from superficiality to complex depths in the screams and intricate gestures, which are then intertwined with elements such as silence and vivid emotions.
Speaking about your new artworks is there any particular story behind the “‘O Atirador de Facas” (2023) that you could share with us?
Well, I was around with the idea of doing something like this for years. There’s a drawing in a 2020 notebook that is a man throwing a lot of knives. So, when I started thinking about scenes and then about scenes on a show or a stage. The will to do something like that comes. Also, it’s very nice to paint flying knives.
In your previous painting works (Gota (2023), Bobo (2023) or Face Lift, (2023) you manage to frame a kind of an uncanny pattern of portraiture on your canvases based on your personally unconventional way; what made you concentrate on lightly mangled and blurred depictions?
I don’t consider them blurry depictions. While there might be a sense of ambiguity. I want to paint faces that can evoke feelings of unease and doubt. My upcoming show will feature a recent work that embodies this approach. While painting, I felt the face was too large, so I cut and sewed the canvas. This unplanned process reminded me of plastic surgery, adding an unexpected layer.
Would you be also interested in being artistically involved in different kind of painting techniques or motifs? For example, more abstract works?
Maybe, well, who knows what I will be willing to do?
Do specific artworks have been created by random experiments in your studio or do you usually come up with a particular concept or narrative in the very beginning of your artistic process?
I’m eager to start painting and see what emerges when I dedicate myself to the process. It’s fascinating how, after stepping away from working, I begin to perceive faces in unexpected places, not just within the painting itself. It’s as if I’ve trained my mind to constantly seek out it, but my mind struggle to know when to switch it off.
Which are your plans for the near future?
I would like to do more shows outside my country.
All images courtesy of the artist