Variations of pinks of a silhouette that moves forward in a nocturnal background: Sunsetter… An enigmatic title that is rich in meaning – impossible to translate – and quite emblematic of Marlon Wobst’s new works.

If lucid observations of easy living existences were predominant in his work until now, a certain gravity seems to have taken over Marlon Wobst’s world. It cohabitates nevertheless with the playful, whimsical scenes that the artist cherishes. An evolution can also be seen in the way he paints: the juxtaposed colour planes and expressive gestures bring life to compositions where figures are often made of a few brushstrokes. The coloured matter creates a world less defined where figures barely stand out against big spaces that are deserted, wintery, sometimes heavenly – or even immersed in the ocean where they come face to face with blood red skies. It is warm, it is cold, the light is intense, almost blinding, and the water is rising. Nature, its elements, seem to reign as supreme.

As always, colour plays a major role in Marlon Wobst’s work. Dark tones have made their way through; the world has dimmed the light, and from a daytime vaudeville we are now immersed in a dark ‘théâtre noir’ setting. The decor makes it harder to find one’s bearings, but the delicate and personal palette subtly gleams and resists obscurity.

With Sunsetter, Marlon Wobst plays it by ear. Sometimes vision only offers bodies, a way to find comfort and enjoy, a toilet paper roll left in a room as an evocation of presence. At other times, this vision broadens to offer a perspective both terrible and splendid in its extravagance. There, one can feel helpless, fragile, or on the other hand, overwhelmed but completely and totally alive.

Masses of bodies, flesh, compressions, accumulations, contemplative and contemplated bodies – L’Oasi brings the modern tribe together in the gourmand, knowing and voyeuristic eye of Marlon Wobst: Games, pantie intimacy, hedonism, movements, mundane and absurd poses – you name it – everything goes, everything is shown… The title of the exhibition – L’Oasi – the eponymous name of an Italian beach where the artist often went when he was younger becomes a metaphor for existence. Ondaaaaa (wave) cry out the bathers when a huge wave arrives and that’s it – they jump and dive! The bodies are displayed with a mix of narcissistic staging, imperfections and vulnerability – thus going against the spectacular imagery of our aestheticized culture with striking finesse. A stated carnivore, Marlon Wobst feeds on the human life that surrounds him. Very often, it is a detail that sets off an artwork – which first aim is to call out, trigger curiosity, question and subsequently, to take the spectator to another level where composition, colour and even the work’s matter offer their particular narration. For if Marlon Wobst is indeed an observer and a stage director, he’s equally an eager manipulator of matter.

Sincere and involved but also a mischievous poet, the artist takes us from heartbreaking, hilarious and goofy situations to an affected smile by bestowing his work with a good dose of humor, and at times a magical or mythological dimension, that questions the true nature of the situation presented.