Arbi Jaballah, born in Vienna in 1984. Lives and works in Vienna, completed his studies with Daniel Richter in January 2023. He works mainly with oil, acrylic and oil pencil and gouache on canvas. His works show a colorful presence. Mysterious and joyful, also dark and mysterious. He paints figurative art in two-dimensional environments without depth. People, animals, ghosts – sometimes brought together in implied spaces. Fantasy and surrealism combined in works with dynamism and turmoil. Titles such as “Some kind of Nature” or “The Picknickers” underline the subject. Others such as “How many licks” or “Shit luck” are astonishing or provocative. His pictorial worlds are magical, oracular, sometimes a little eerie, but always funny. The colors and shapes are reminiscent of sculptures by Mario Dalpra, figures by Joan Miros or even Dadaism as sources of inspiration.
Social interactions, social contradictions, subcultural currents and outsiders are generally regarded as the driving force behind my work. My paintings are created through the composition of individual elements, such as the so-called “cut outs”, which are based on previously viewed visual material from the time. Starting from this material, rudimentary sketches or collages are created, which are then transformed into paintings. Formulated on the canvas, they create a coherent whole. Recurring motifs in my work include apparitions as well as flora and fauna in silhouettes. In addition, there are cultural artifacts that are not localized but evoke associations.
