Michael Ajerman: Possessions: Project Room

Possessions is a solo exhibition of figurative oil paintings by Michael Ajerman, marking his first presentation in Los Angeles. This exhibition provides glimpses of private moments shared by real and fictional subjects: erotic vignettes and quiet moments of domesticity unfolding mostly after hours. Ajerman’s actors are often fictitious characters seen in off-stage encounters (Pinocchio and Tinkerbell making love in an arbor) or familiar adults alone at home with their pets. His style is tangible and gestural; the energy of the surface involves the oil paint as image.  Through his process of “aggressive surface control,” he will push, pull, and adjust the painting in a delicate or aggressive manner at any given time. This intuitive process, informed by experience with life drawing, is focused on color and brushwork, and moves between smooth and scratched surfaces, thick impasto and diluted drips. Ajerman’s paintings are stimulating and humorous, luscious and unexpected.