\u201cMy way of getting back at the abstract art was making realistic abstract art,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s obviously these abstract paintings, but so much more realistic than paintings of people, because I\u2019m representing paint with paint.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oftentimes, the studio becomes a messy mood board, with things taped or tacked up to provide either direct or indirect inspiration. There\u2019s a photograph of himself that I\u2019ll later see, in painted form, in the middle of a painting at the Rubell.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s me as a kid, painting,\u201d he said. \u201cEverybody\u2019s always like, \u2018When did you start painting?\u2019 And so I always keep that photo up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The studio is going to get pretty full in the next few months. He\u2019s got a few works in a group show at Max Hetzler in Berlin that\u2019s filled with heavy hitters, and he\u2019s making work for a private museum in the same city that will be up for years. Abillama is opening a permanent outpost of Gratin in Paris next year\u2014\u201cEveryone wants to spend money in Paris,\u201d he said, by way of explanation\u2014and Amos will have a show there. Certainly, there are bigger stages to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe puts so much pressure on himself\u2014he\u2019s never satisfied, never, and I think that\u2019s a great sign of a great artist,\u201d Abillama said. \u201cHe\u2019s never complete. It is just like, \u2018No, I got to do more. No, there\u2019s something wrong.\u2019 And I\u2019m looking at it like: That\u2019s like the greatest thing I ever saw! He is like, \u2018No, it\u2019s not.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n