Jonathan Wateridge’s paintings evoke a duality of familiarity and strangeness. In contrast to the modelled realism of his earlier works, his more recent work is charged with feelings of isolation and uncertainty. The almost atomised, translucent individuals depicted are seamlessly interrupted by, or absorbed into, their environments, inviting contemplation of the social relationships between these figures and the insecurity of their world.
‘‘Because obviously painting is so still, a slight statuesque awkwardness can work in a way that doesn’t as a photograph. So it’s been interesting over the years working out what I can live with and what I can’t in terms of material.’’
- Jonathan Wateridge, Uncertain Swimmer, 2023
The formal and expressive aspects of Wateridge’s style have come to the fore in recent years, as he pushes the tension between realist elements and a sense of the cinematic within the visual grammar of modernism. Each painting is heavily worked, sometimes taking many months to complete, and such changes are becoming increasingly visible on the surface of the canvases. This more fluid and expressive process has now superseded his previous affinity for building sets and hiring models; the staged theatre of his earlier work is now contained in the very making of the paintings themselves.
Jonathan Wateridge (b. 1972, Lusaka, ZM) lives and works in Norfolk (UK). His work is the subject of two comprehensive monographs Uncertain Swimmer (2023) and Enclave / Expatria (2019) published by Anomie.
Selected collections include Aïshti Foundation, Jal el Dib (LB); AkzoNobel Art Foundation, Amsterdam (NL); Didier Casimiro, Kiev (UA); Loed Evans, London (UK); Mollie Dent Brocklehurst, London (UK); Pinault Collection, Paris (FR) and Venice (IT); Rennie Collection, Vancouver (CA); Saatchi Collection, London (UK); Simmons & Simmons, London (UK).