Love In A Time Of Bubbles. pop art painting
Painted during the Coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown (2021), some of the shapes depicted (actually rosettes) were coincidently similar to those representing the virus portrayed in the media of the time.
However, these, and ‘Spikey balls’, also used by the media, have been utilised in Doug’s work on much earlier occasions but never as a harbinger of doom nor to create anxiety in the viewer.
Beating a rapid exit
The apparently joyous male character seems to be beating a rapid exit out of frame to the left, with only one foot firmly on the ground.
His tan coloured suit with an out-of-plane check pattern is viewed partially through a break in the almost pixelated multicoloured pattern in a bubble that is overlying him.
This effect is reminiscent of interference on a digital TV signal, with the image struggling to be seen. The female figure appears to be floating or flying, rather than falling or even walking at ninety degrees to the man (she appears to be leaning back).
*Artist Doug Kemp with Love In A Time Of Bubbles 2020 Painting
A series of black lines towards the bottom suggests the presence of a staircase but other, heavier lines assist in the overall construction and also provide a vehicle for the blue dentations.
These do not appear to be an immediate danger to the bubbles but add a little tension.
Despite the limitations of the period, the series carries a lighter tone, balancing structure, rhythm and a subtle humour that runs throughout Doug’s work.
