Who isn't curious about what is behind a closed door? A second solo exhibition by French painter Mathieu Cherkit at Amsterdam's Albada Jelgersma Gallery affords that opportunity in an ongoing series of paintings that portray his personal living space. The exhibition consists of new atmospheric images that breath life into the corners of his family home, as well as singular details, all rendered in oil on canvas and pastel on paper.

Over the last few years, Cherkit has built a large body of work detailing the ambience of his parent's home outside Paris. To be precise, a series of 190 paintings was created over the course of a decade where he researched painting as a medium, focusing on technique rather than narrative. Returning to the Dutch capital, the artist reveals the first series which introduces the new family home he moved into a few months ago. With a new environment to reference, Cherkit's paintings seem richer and more vibrant than before, capturing the play of light, volume, perspective, and arguably, the artist's absolute urge to paint new places.

From a technical viewpoint, the new works are still created with thick layers of oils, that pulsate in an almost sculptural sphere. Regularly rejecting the border of canvas, Cherkit plays with viewpoint and immerses the viewer inside his work. This is most obvious in the largest piece of the show, Ice and Fire, for which he built custom-shaped stretchers to accent the feel of depth. With a wide range of colors and an abundance of paint, the artist builds images that are both contextually and physically rich, effortlessly capturing the surfaces, textures, and volumes of objects and spaces he portrays. With a strong interest in capturing the scope, Cherkit rarely depicts the people living inside but allows the viewer to sense their presence through personal items intentionally placed. The idea of absent household members is also evident from the title of the show, Cache-Cache, which is French for "Hide and Seek".

Text and photo credit by Sasha Bogojev