Seth Pimentel: An Ode to Catharsis
Seth Pimentel is a Johannesburg-based illustrator, painter and visual artist who consistently focuses on challenging traditional norms and boundaries that are often associated with visual arts by embracing the idea of experimentation. His practice not only reflects and captures the multiple elements of who he is as an artist and as a human being, but it also incites conversations of mental illness and how he specifically has dealt with his mental health.
In his debut solo exhibition, An Ode to Catharsis, presented by the Kalashnikovv Gallery, sets premise on emotional release, his identity as a male, what it means to be unapologetic and vulnerable and how to understand and manage those feelings by finding a balance.
During his private walk through for An Ode to Catharsis which was held on the 20th February 2021, Seth Pimentel describes this body of work as very “intimate”. He continues by explaining that An Ode to Catharsis simply addresses release of emotion and acknowledges the transitional phases that he has gone through, “This body of work is very, very intimate. I was kind of going through the biggest transitional phase, I wouldn’t say of my life, but rather just right now in this moment. This (An Ode to Catharsis) is simply an Ode to emotional release, finding myself in this weird space in my life and deciding to create and use that as a tool to let loose”
Influenced by Anis Mojgani’s For those who can still ride in an airplane for the first time (aka Quentin), Seth expresses that even though each portrait might not be the most physically accurate representation of himself, they capture parts of who he is.
“I often get asked “who are the people in the portraits?” or “why aren’t there any femme bodies/ portraits included? Every piece here is me dealing with my identity as a male. (Different facets of the self). The multiplicity of myself!”
An Illustrator by profession, Seth details that his relationship with painting is relatively new. “Painting has always been part of experimentation (for me), so I never really painted until last year (2020) lockdown”. He furthermore explains that his obsession with paint allowed him to push the limits of what paint could be. “I think when you come from a digital space, you always want to experiment as much as you can, especially with texture and mark making”
With his first piece titled, Figuring Out The Human Thing, Seth explains that the creation of this piece was certainly the “Genesis” of An Ode to Catharsis. Created unconsciously, Figuring Out The Human Thing, was somewhat a meditative outlet for the artist, which elaborates on freedom and emotional release.
“So the backstory of this piece (Figuring Out The Human Thing), I was sitting in my studio really sad and depressed. I had three canvases set up on the wall. And I was like “fuck dude what are you gonna do”…And I just threw paint on it without even realizing. It was kinda meditative. Everything else since this piece has somewhat tried to be a replication of that feeling, that initial release, that first burst of freedom. That’s literally what this entire body of work is about.”
According to Seth Pimentel, An Ode to Catharsis, was not meant to be rationalized instead it was meant to be felt and deeply understood. “I wasn’t conscious about a lot of these pieces. Artists are generally some of the most critical and deep thinking people. Everything they do is plotted out and planned out. An artist knows what they’ll be doing for the next 6-7 months. It’s rhetorical; it has weight and depth to it. So many artists structure and rationalize their work pre-creation. And with this body of work, it wasn’t meant to be rationalized. It was meant to be felt.”
With evidence of texture and colour, Seth explains that every pallet used describes how he was feeling on a specific day, “The pallet really resonates with how I was feeling that day. Blues and Yellows, I was feeling quite depressed, blue and sad. Blacks and reds, I was quite angry, very annoyed and irritated. Pinks and Browns were my happy colours.”
An Ode to Catharsis unapologetically unveils experiences and emotions that are so unique and dear to the human experience. “I never try and counter how I’m feeling, if I’m feeling sad, I will embrace that feeling. The beautiful thing about being Human, is this unique experience of emotion, pain, fear and happiness. It Defines us”, says Seth
An Ode to Catharsis is an emotional journey through the gaze of Seth Pimentel.
