Part found objects, part contemporary still life, the paintings of New York-based artist Dave Pollot jar with our easy assumptions in their juxtaposition of the past and the contemporary. Pollot brings back to life paintings he finds abandoned in thrift stores; altering, blending and updating with oil paints, and then adding in the contemporary incongruities which make his creations unique. Pollot sees pop culture as a means of communication, and a language in its own right. Images from contemporary culture immediately mean something to us, bound up with connotations and significance that would be incomprehensible a couple of generations ago. While a Big Mac might not be the first object that would occur to us as art object, Pollot shows us that the often-overlooked contemporary everyday can be made to look as beautiful as an old-timey flower arrangement. Dave Pollot’s work will be shown in New York’s 212 Arts Gallery, as part of their four year anniversary exhibit, from September 6 to October 1 2019.
