Solaris are pleased to present ‘Boutique’, a print exhibition by Alessandro Raho. Well-known for his oil paintings, which often feature portraits, landscapes and more recently still life, he has now produced a number of Giclée prints specifically for the show.
These printed still lifes of flowers, ceramic figurines, books and other objects re-present us with these motifs, not so much as copies of his paintings, but as something else. Removed from their status as an object, and as a painting, other qualities gain resonance. In the figurine prints two of the pieces have been significantly enlarged from the original paintings, and the imagery has been dramatically transformed by this rescaling. Single brushstrokes become more established as individual forms, given a more definite presence, their interplay heightened, revealing seams of visual poetry that may have previously evaded us. In the still life flower prints we find ourselves looking at what could, at first sight, be considered a familiar subject or motif, the long history of which is inescapable, but exposed here to an almost clinical scrutiny they begin to exist in a new form.
‘I like painting objects that are manufactured, the prints bring this quality to the painted image. This involvement of a machine with the painted picture.’
Alessandro Raho 2022
The transference to the giclée print process seems to further enhance the ‘detached from any external reality’ feel that the works in this show have. These still life elements, and the simplicity of their presentation, provide Raho with the opportunity to focus in on small rich worlds, and for us the viewer to enjoy the results. The move to the printing process, and the rich resonating colour, presents us with new self-contained worlds in their own right. Raho sees this departure into the Giclee printing process as a venture in which he can see exciting new possibilities.
‘I think discovering the giclée process. It’s so sympathetic to the paintings, but they bring their own qualities too, the silky surface, the fact that they’re pigments not dyes, and that the pigment sits on the surface of the paper. It’s almost like the paintings are the ‘plates’ in this instance, when compared with etching. And the print is the finished product.’
Alessandro Raho 2022
