NORA FISCH

Artist: Rob Verf
Title: The Taste of Red
Opening: Saturday, June 24, 2023
Avenida San Juan 701
Buenos Aires, Argentina

The gallery is pleased to present The Taste of Red, a project by Rob Verf, a Dutch artist based in Argentina. Making use of one of the gallery’s spaces to evoke a domestic-scale environment, Verf presents three paintings based on The Potato Eaters by his compatriot Vincent van Gogh.

The themes of Verf’s recent work include environmental pollution; the effects of unreflective consumerism and its counterpart, unethical marketing; and the distortions of bodies and environments produced by human activity in what has come to be known as the Anthropocene.

Verf’s work unfolds at the intersection of reflections on the painting tradition of his country of origin—particularly the treatment of pictorial space as a means of reflecting time and states of mind—concerns about the environmental crisis, and investigations into the biological processes of the human body. In Verf’s paintings, The Potato Eaters are situated in a space that resonates with the domestic setting of Van Gogh’s original, but they have been transformed into abstract schemes, permeated by an artificial and suspicious red luminosity.

The red referred to by Verf in this project is Red 40 (E129), a chemical pigment used in the food industry. Research has shown that it is linked to certain symptoms of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and to possible genotoxic effects. Consumers can check food labels for the presence of Red 40 (E129) if they wish to limit its consumption. In fact, within the European Union this coloring is permitted as an additive in human food, but—surprisingly—it is prohibited in animal feed.

At the center of the room—replacing Van Gogh’s table of potatoes—a bowl of red candies will tempt visitors. Even in this context, which highlights their potential toxicity, will they partake?

For more information, please write to contact@norafisch.com
or WhatsApp Ariel Authier at +54 9 11 5952 7076