Vamekh's art is dominated by bold brush strokes. There is a strong sexual motif through a number of his portraits with sensuality ranging to eroticism.
There is a coy quality to this image (above). All of these images are dominated by pose and form. There is a text book fantasy quality in all of them. If the image above was clothed it would be positively demure. The naked full figure of the female captured, including the tumbling hair, with the right arm tucked away behind as a counter point to the left hand positiin to the chin - it captures a moment of chemistry.
The image shown above seems far more exhibitionist and playful - it has the same celebratory quality that revels in the naked female shape. The curves of the subject are beautifully conveyed.
This image of a woman's naked legs on tip toe is incredibly sensual. It conveys so much with so little. Strong strokes paint give you everything that is needed, combined with a contrast between the illumination of light working against dark colours.
The images above and below are the most erotic of the collection. The dark quality of both images seems to emphasise the more overt nature of the sexual content. It is the position of the left hand in the lower image that gives the intent to the piece - with a certain sense of ambiguity contrasted between the dark forefront and the over the shoulder highlights of blonde colour. This is brilliant and very enjoyable. Art has always been about sexual liberation and the deconstruction of boundaries and fantasies.
This isn't the only subject matter that preoccupies Vamekh. I've also really enjoyed his landscape images:
Two of his bridges show above show a contrast. The top image apears to be a robust, sturdy industrial bridge that leads off into a far vanishing point. It works with distance and perspective, the tops of buildings just appearing at the far end. There is a darkness in the foreground and a light in the sky towards the back of the image - it feels like an escape route, or maybe a journey home.
By contrast the bridge in the lower image is clearly running across the picture and it is a rickety looking construction with individual planks and maybe even a missing piece. We can see a luminous liquid surface beneath - which is beautiful, but again has an industrial, possibly poluted quality. I think - at least in my mind the state of disrepair and neglect in the bridge emphasises the possibility that this is a polluted, neglected scene. Tufts of green make it look over grown. What appears to be a fallen hand rail to the left plays into this quality.
I also wanted to show this piece (above). I really love it. In fact I love the brush strokes generally in this artist's work. The room at the back of the piece promises a window, and natural light - the room the viewer is in seems dark and gloomy, uncarpeted and squat like. This is either a scene of refurbishment - a work in progress - or a squat. And I love both ideas - they both speak about art in my mind. It's a journey, a transition. There is an obvious concept that the door has been dismounted from the frame in the piece. The fact that the door is slightly higher to the left, rather than the right, as it lays on the floor makes me indulge a surreal fantasy that it's not dismounted at all. That it could open and reveal another dimension beneath. I'm not sure if this is intentional.
Vamekh has just over 3,000 followers on twitter and I'd recommend that you should add yourself to the number.
Bravo Vamekh !...Gurgen Kokhreidze
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