New parents who choose to share both the highs and lows of their experience are often misunderstood. In a world that sees parenthood as the ultimate life goal, there is very little place left for the difficult emotions and hardship in the popular media discourse. But there are just as many parenting experiences as there are parents, and Georg Óskar seeks to show that with his abstract artwork. The artist’s new solo exhibition at JD Malat Gallery, Good Night Moon, presents a new perspective on parenthood, with all its joys and complexities.
Good Night Moon: New Exhibition by Georg Óskar at JD Malat Gallery
Georg Óskar dissects the fabric of reality and then pieces it back together to create something entirely new. His paintings border on a thin line between genuineness and irony, recontextualizing parts of our daily lives and inviting the viewer’s imagination to wander freely, picking out the familiar and the strange. Óskar’s perceptiveness and earnest appreciation of the nuanced beauty of the mundane allow him to create a deeply intimate picture that is sure to strike a chord in anyone’s soul.
Georg Óskar says that Good Night Moon is a direct reflection of his experience with mental health, sleep deprivation, and newfound parenthood. Indeed, the paintings that became part of the artist’s new solo show feel like a release. Everything that he and his wife had to deal with throughout the day of taking care of their newborn daughter appears to be concentrated on a canvas in a chaotic yet deliberate manner. After a long and tiring day that, despite the difficulties, is filled with happiness and discovery, Óskar uses his art studio as a space where he can reflect on his emotions and express them in a constructive way.
You do not need to have first-hand knowledge of what being a parent is like to connect with Georg Óskar’s art. His highly expressive visual language appeals to emotions that all humans can relate to. While Good Night Moon was inspired by a very specific situation in the life of one family, it speaks to the very essence of what it means to exist.
The third solo exhibition by Georg Óskar at JD Malat Gallery will take place at 30 Davies Street, London. Good Night Moon will be on view from February 1 to March 2, 2024.