Marc Padeu’s (b. 1990 in Melong, Cameroon) works are drawn from the artist’s daily life, evoking a tension between the quotidian and monumental. His paintings render constellations of bodies in conversation, mid-touch, the dynamic expressions of figures in motion. The color and composition of Padeu’s work weave together palpable affective realms, which address themes of history, memory and spirituality. The contemporary settings of his works incorporate compositions from the art historical canon – drawing on centuries of experimentation with figuration. Drawing on the religious imagery of the Old Masters, Padeu works from these multiple temporal registers to invoke the intimacy of European and African histories and their present implications.
