Called Ahead

Cloud has consistently challenged artistic and societal conventions through his paintings, sculptures, and collages. Despite identifying as primarily an abstract painter, Cloud's work carries profound political undertones, particularly in its critique of how preconceived ideas about personal, racial, cultural and gendered identification are deployed within contemporary portraiture. His work often blurs the lines between a painterly and a conceptual approach, creating a complex body of work with a profound character.

In this exhibition, Cloud explores different forms of portraiture in which he depicts other aspects of the subject, not exclusively the figurative representation of its physicality. In his portraits he decides to offer a context and go beyond what the subject looks like. According to Cloud, he does not represent their physical body because the portraits he makes are of people he does not know which is why he prefers to show their names, their context and their story. This is also the reason behind painting them, as Cloud says, “in death or in dying as a destruction of the physical body in order to privilege other aspects of the soul or the personality”.

“Bike Crash (Tess Rothstein)”, 2023; “Child Exposed to Air”, 2023; or “Plane”, 2023 are great examples of Cloud's unique approach to questioning aesthetic and social conventions by drawing from various cultural influences. In the case of “Bike Crash (Tess Rothstein)”, Cloud depicts the tragic death of a 30 year-old woman (Tess Rothstein) while she was cycling in a busy street in San Francisco, USA. Her death created commotion in the community, especially citizens who had long advocated for more safety for bikers.

Despite the interlaced essence of his work, Cloud maintains faith in the prospect of communication through painting, contributing to his status as a thought-provoking and influential figure in the politics of contemporary art.