Home

Whether painting in quick bursts from his observed world or over a long period of time in the studio, Aaron Pickens's work reflects his practice of responding to the external world. Pickens's most recent body of work, Home, exhibits his two varied methods of painting that showcase the visual research he's been doing for the past 12 years. 

The first working method is called alla prima painting, in which Pickens makes a painting in one quick session that lasts a few hours. These paintings are made in plein air and often document Pickens's homestead, which he is building with his wife. 

"I find beauty in the mundane," says Pickens. "Each painting depicts a specific time and place, and how I perceived those passing moments both visually and emotionally. Every painting is an adventure in simplifying the complexity of the observed world and the ever-evolving light in the environment. These paintings seek to capture what is home to me."

Pickens's other method of painting involves working in the studio over several months and depicting toys that he arranges into still-life narratives. Though they may seem lighthearted and nostalgic, Pickens transforms the familiar objects using metaphor and allegory to ask the viewer to look beyond the surface and acknowledge the concept behind each painting. "Many of these meticulous works use toys and objects associated with playtime to investigate self-reflection and socio-political issues," says Pickens.

Home is a look inside Pickens's internal world as he explores the beautiful and complicated nature of his individual and collective external worlds.