'Covid Restrictions' by Leon Aarts

Leon Aarts (b. 1961), the Christchurch-based expressionist whose works channel the primal energies of his grandfather Nardus van de Ven through a lens of Fauvist color and Cubist fragmentation, captures the visceral turmoil of the early pandemic era in Covid Restrictions (acrylic on canvas, approx. 100x70 cm). This piece, likely created amid the 2020 lockdowns, marks a darker turn in his oeuvre, away from the whimsical anarchy of later works like Jester (c. 2024) or the serene blaze of Poppies (c. 2023), toward a raw confrontation with societal fracture. It echoes the anguished distortions of Munch's The Scream but infuses them with Aarts' signature soul-colors: unnameable hues that pulse with intuitive fury.

The composition assaults with dual grotesques: two conjoined, mask-like faces dominate the canvas, their forms a tangled mass of swirling impasto and jagged lines. On the left, a teal-rimmed maw gapes wide, revealing a row of mismatched teeth—some blocky white, others stained crimson, like a carnival grimace frozen in rage. Eyes bulge asymmetrically above, one a hollow swirl of yellow, the other a piercing dot amid purple shadows. The right face mirrors this distortion, its yellow-dominant visage twisted into an open howl, with pinkish lips curling around piano-key teeth that seem to chatter or snarl. Between them, a chaotic bridge of forms, perhaps abstracted figures or viral tendrils, loops in reds and purples, evoking entangled bodies or muffled screams. The background is a feverish ochre haze, scratched with fibrous lines that suggest barbed wire or fractured glass, bleeding into the edges without resolution. Aarts' scrawled signature in red anchors the lower right, a defiant mark amid the melee. The palette is electric yet oppressive: acidic greens clash with fiery yellows and bruised magentas, applied in thick, gestural strokes that build texture, as if the paint itself rebels against confinement.

Expressive Intensity and Color Dynamics: Aarts wields color as psychological weapon here—the bilious yellows and reds evoke isolation's fever, while cooler teals hint at clinical detachment, creating a dissonant harmony that mirrors lockdown's emotional whiplash. It's Fauvism on edge: Matisse's joy inverted into Basquiat-like graffiti rage, with each hue amplifying the faces' primal outcry. This visceral punch outstrips the lighter revelry of Jester, making Covid Restrictions a standout for its raw catharsis.
Symbolic Layering: The distorted mouths symbolize silenced voices under mandates—gaping yet impotent, teeth bared in futile protest. The conjoined forms suggest enforced proximity (or its absence), a clever nod to social distancing's paradoxes. Compositionally, the radial chaos draws the eye into a vortex of discontent, akin to Kandinsky's emotional abstractions but grounded in timely allegory.
Technical Vigor: The impasto technique adds tactility; ridges of paint invite touch, contrasting the era's no-contact ethos. It's impulsive yet controlled, showcasing Aarts' evolution from the naive luminosity of his early series to this pandemic-era howl.

A searing expressionist gem—potent, provocative, and unflinchingly timely. Covid Restrictions rates as one of Aarts' most urgent works, blending visual assault with emotional depth for a lasting echo of 2020's strife. Ideal for collections exploring modern malaise, it demands confrontation and rewards with revelation.