Ronald de Bloeme

Ronald de Bloeme (1971) lives and works in Berlin. He studied painting at Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam. In an era in which imagery is increasingly superseding language, Ronald de Bloeme analyses the origin of signals and the components of their persuasiveness. How do producers of visual language manage to manipulate neutral form and color in a way that they induce a subconscious process of identification for the largest possible number of individuals of a specifically defined target group? To what extent does red next to white evoke a flag or the packaging of a chocolate bar?

What De Bloeme does in his work which can be seen as a mixture between pop art and geometric abstraction is deconstructing the impact of visual language. He calls his work piracy, because he picks up fragments of logos, marks and packages of chewing gum, cigarettes and take-away coffee. Ronald distorts, transforms and manipulates these recognizable images of our consumer society by using manipulation and distortion, censoring texts and figurative elements to create a pure geometric language, which he then combines and distorts to make dynamic compositions of colorful layers of high-gloss and matt enamel paint on canvas.

These often large and shiny paintings become de Bloeme 's personal remix of the daily information overload that dominates the 21st century . Although the original used footage has become unrecognizable there is often still a recognition the viewer can't explain. With this he shows the hidden layers and impact of advertising.