Simon Linke began working from the advertisement pages of Artforum in 1986, employing various sized oil on linen canvases. Visible in all of Linke’s work is a laborious painting process in which the act of reproduction becomes an act of human accomplishment. Early works contain an especially stark contrast between painterly brushwork and the strikingly graphic content of 1980s Artforum pages. The monochromatic color schemes and bold text point directly to the advertisement’s persuasive power and ultimate intent. As the critic James Roberts comments on Linke’s paintings, “the topical becomes the historical when featured galleries or artists no longer play an active part in today’s discourse.” Classified, for example, was drawn from an Artforum section that no longer exists. Similarly, the artists Richard Milani, Martha Jackson, and Kevin Moss have lost their magazine presence and galleries like Xavier Fourcade and Lawrence Rubin have long-since closed. Andy Warhol and Gagosian, on the other hand, continue to fuel Linke’s compositions, suggesting an association between historic relevancy and economic success.

The classic square Artforum ad (the grid-like design of which was conceived by Ed Ruscha,) serves as an indelible endorsement of the exhibition it announces. Although Artforum is respected for its serious editorial content, its advertisements have become an increasingly significant component of the magazine. Often seen before or in lieu of the actual exhibition, advertisements encourage pre-judgment based on commercial qualities such as graphic design, recognizable gallery logos, or the artist’s assumed prestige. With humor, critique, and technical precision, Linke reproduces these familiar images to displace the ego and reclaim art’s conceptual content.

Recent paintings replicate the exact scale of an Artforum layout. Thickly applied paint reaches out in vibrant colors, playfully responding to prominent shows by Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and John Currin. Matthew Marks, David Zwirner, and the continually notorious Gagosian are the galleries Linke most commonly references, randomly selected yet conspicuous in their reoccurrence. Paintings of advertisements for edition companies and auction houses (such as Sixteen Jackies, which refers to the November 2006 Christie’s sale) quietly comment on art’s commercial relevancy. The paintings thus chronicle both the evolution of aesthetics and the art market’s nascent swell.

The Australian born Simon Linke lives and works in London. Linke had solo shows at the Grey Art Gallery, New York, Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York, De Appel, Amsterdam, Lisson Gallery, London, and at Le Consortium in Dijon, France.