Brooklyn artist Paolo Arao creates beautiful striped collages that are made of fabric and coloured pencils on paper.
Arao's series "Flagettes" play with colour, pattern, and flat, geometric shapes both within the work and through the shape of the work itself. He employs repeating triangles and skewed rectangles and explores the boundaries of symmetry. Each piece within the series is displayed as a diptych, and each half either matches so perfectly they could almost be a photocopy or is slightly varied with a few moments of colour shifts in the designs. However there is evidence of his hand in each work through imperfect lines and frayed edges, revealing the labour and materiality of the final product. The textile element offers a spin on the tradition of collage, and also converses with the language of paintings, the loose fabric edges could also be the bleeding of loose pigment.
"Flagettes" by Paolo Arao are a brightly coloured, sporty collection saturated with racing stripes and finish lines, or perhaps the bunting at a spring celebration. We love the vibrancy and energy behind this series, and would love to see them displayed all together!
