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On Thursday, May 5th, Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld presented the latest solo exhibition by artist Nicolas Pol, Sick Atavus of the New Blood at 560 Washington Street in Manhattan. The 3rd solo exhibit of the artist in collaboration with Roitfeld featured more than 20 new paintings and sculptures, dominated by intensely colorful graffiti inspired abstract scribbles, stenciling and text.  Guests such as W Magazine Editor-In-Chief Stefano Tonchi, John Demsey, Stavros Niarchos Jr., PC Valmorbida, model Jessica Hart, Bianca Brandolini, Michelle Harper, Visionaire’s Stephen Gan and of course Vladamir’s mother, fashion icon Carine Roitfeld, drank champagne while checking out the impressive new series of works. Nicholas Pol’s bold works have a violence and drama that is intense to behold, with the title of the exhibit, Sick Atavus of the New Blood embodying their raw edge and spirit. An impressive 3rd show by the young Parisian artist.

“Nicolas Pol’s (b. 1977) large canvases employ a striking array of styles, references and techniques whilst offering an aesthetic that is unique, complex and assured in its depth. Combining street art, graphic design and a multitude of fine art references from Renaissance masters to Majerus and Basquiat, Pol’s craft is remarkably honed for a painter so young. The success of Pol’s work stems from the interplay between the immediacy of colour and iconography with a structure and all-over quality that demand prolonged attention.

Pol’s recent paintings take on an apocalyptic vision of the world. Whilst seemingly semi-fantastical the works are very much rooted in Pol’s preoccupation with scientific advances, the notion that there is nothing left to be discovered and that mystery and surprise are a thing of the past. Whilst the subject matter is at times dark – full of killing devices and looming figures – his aesthetic is seductive and sensual, offering a fitting portrayal of the polished yet misleading reality presented to the contemporary consumer.

Ironically (yet fittingly) this apocalyptic vision is itself imbued with a complexity and originality that smacks of instant discovery and inspiration. Furthermore, all this is achieved through the act of painting – a medium that was thought to have made its last discovery decades ago.”

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Indira Cesarine for XXXX Magazine
Photos by Jeffrey Gamble for XXXX Magazine

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