Monday, February 25, 2008

Faith


curated by David Hancock

Edwin Aitken, Matthew Burrows, Simon Burton, Sarah Doyle, Steve Dutton/Steve Swindells, David Hancock, Thomas Helyar-Carwell, Barry Thompson, Cathy Ward, Isabel Young

Private View Thursday 6th march 6 - 9pm
exhibition runs from 6th March - 13th April
open: Thurs - Sun 11am - 6pm

Gallery Primo Alonso
395-397 Hackney Road
London E2 8PP
map

When presenting an exhibition on the theme of faith, as an artist one has to consider what one believes in. Do we believe in the power of the representations of faith in art that have held us enthralled over centuries or is it the power of faith itself that draws an artist to make work? The 10 artists included in this exhibition all question the notions of faith and explore the theme in very different ways.

Some of the artists explore faith in terms of its relevance to the History of Art. Their work may reference a particular religious painting, symbol or object. Thomas Helyar-Cardwell considers how in a society that is increasingly losing its faith, what do these arcane signifiers become when confused or forgotten. These objects gain a new role in his paintings and banners, transforming these symbols into fresh iconography. Similarly David Hancock subverts masterpieces of religious art to make comments upon contemporary society. By working within the tradition of painting he manipulates this loaded genre continuing the discourse on painting’s role within contemporary art.

Simon Burton’s paintings are drawn from the pomp and ceremony of war that suggest the idea of a religious crusade. These works draw parallels to past and present conflict and well as include signifiers drawn from art history. Burton depicts a bewildered landscape of ruin where the decimated aftermath of a confliction of abstraction and figuration is expressed through his multi-layered surface. Isabel Young‘s paintings seek to question the traditional hierarchy of the animal kingdom with man at the pinnacle. She re-works this classification through the tradition of icon painting, placing animals in the role of a deity. The use of iridescent paint transmits this ethos by referencing the precious materials used in icon painting, and subsequently notions of importance, power, and status.

Other artists have chosen to discuss what we believe in today. Matthew Burrows’ paintings explore what it means to believe, and in what context it is possible. He unpicks our expectation of science by developing a mythic view of evolution. Through this upended and regressive world Burrows highlights our assumptions that reason has the monopoly on truth and satirises the views of creationists. Edwin Aitken’s paintings attempt to uncover an essential meaning or truth. Through his work he seeks a ‘burden of proof’ that will inevitably validate his own personal faith in painting as a means to express ideas that have an ongoing relevance. In contrast Cathy Ward's installations centre on a childhood incident that contributed in her subsequent loss of faith. Her contribution will be revisiting her departure, both as a reconstruction, and reviewing its many manifestations in her work. For Dutton and Swindells the matter of faith offers the opportunity to make work out of a number of positions simultaneously whilst still believing in all of them. Their videos and wall drawings reference William Friedkin's "The Exorcist" by paying particular attention to the use of inversion and reversal to denote evil. This collaging of disparate elements generates new dialogues for making art.

Both Barry Thompson and Sarah Doyle consider the roles of contemporary icons and whether they supplant the religious deities of the past. As we desperately try to retain some kind of faith by attaching it to our own heroes, we build our own identity around these superstars who inspire us. The fervour with which we aspire to these role models could also be considered religious, as in Doyle’s work, where she focuses specifically on the phenomenon that is Prince.

Each artist has tackled this theme in a unique and original way and the exhibition hopes to highlight the diversity of current contemporary practise.

Suburbia


The Foreign Press Association
11 Carlton House Terrace
London SW1Y 5AJ
map

Curated by Lee Campbell

Painting Performance Projection

MARCH 1ST 2008
Doors open at 18:00

ARTISTS:
Francesca Anfossi, Jenny Baines, Alex Baker, Rebecca Birch, Lee Campbell, Paul Carr, Alexander Costello, Sarah Doyle, Eccentric City Newspaper, Sharon Gal, Emma Holden, I*A*N*A*P*A, Jasper Joffe, Calum F. Kerr, Caroline De Lannoy, Ian Larson, Adrian Lee, Daniel Lehan, Carali McCall, Josie McCoy, Frog Morris, Peter Reiling, Mike Ryder, Sam Semple, Henrietta Simson, Sister Mercedes, Dora Wade, Greta Wade, Laura Wilson

Lee Campbell
leejjcampbell@yahoo.co.uk
Tel. 0797 437 6324


SUBURBIA SCHEDULE
18h Doors open

2D and Sculpture
FRANCESCA ANFOSSI, JENNY BAINES, LEE CAMPBELL, ALEXANDER COSTELLO, SARAH DOYLE, EMMA HOLDEN, JASPER JOFFE, IAN LARSON, JOSIE MCCOY, MIKE RYDER, DORA WADE, GRETA WADE

On Going Performances
DANIEL LEHAN with “OBITUARY” ADRIAN LEE with “TABLEAU VIVANT” LAURA WILSON with “CUT GRASS” CALUM F. KERR with “CURTAIN TWITCHERS OF THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY CONVENTION" REBECCA BIRCH AND SHARON GAL with “THE BAG LADY OF SUBURBIA”

18:40h
THE ECCENTRIC CITY NEWSPAPER PRESS LAUNCH
WITH HARRY PALMER AND SIMON WALKER

19h Live Art Section Upstairs
PROJECTION BY HENRIETTA SIMSON
19:00 - 19:15 PETER REILING WITH “EXPRESSIONS OF A GASTRONOMIST, RELINQUISHING HIS KNIVES”
19:15 - 19:30 CAROLINE DE LANNOY WITH “DARK LIGHT”
19:30 - 19:45 FROG MORRIS WITH “CAN YOU TELL WHAT IT IS YET?”
19:45 - 20:00 ALEXANDER COSTELLO WITH "100 FT FALL INTO A BUCKET OF WATER”
20:00 - 20:15 ALEX BAKER
20:15 - 20:30 LEE CAMPBELL WUITH “WHAT I’LL DO (BIRDS OF A FEATHER)”

20:30 INTERMISSION
CARALI MCCALL with “GRAPHITE 8” (DURATION ONE HOUR)

21h Music section Upstairs
21:00 - 21:30 DANIEL SCROGGINS AKA I*A*N*A*P*A SINGS SONGS FROM HIS ALBUM "THE CURSE OF LETCHWORTH"
21:30 - 22:00 SAM SEMPLE
22:00 - 22:30 SISTER MERCEDES
23H END

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Real Life


still image from 'Soup' by Layla Curtis

REAL LIFE
curated by Sarah Sparkes

Layla Curtis, CMPW (Chris Coombes, John Moseley, Julian Wakeling, Harry Pye),
Gordon Beswick, Sarah Doyle, Lizzie Hughes, Romain Forquy, Axel Stockburger,
Heidi Stokes, Geraldine Swayne, Ricarda Vidal, Josie Wood,
Andrew Cooper and Sarah Sparkes (fabrication of Agit Train Cinema)


Private View 4-8pm Thursday 6th March
Exhibition continues March 7th – 15th 2008
Opening hours: Thursday - Friday 4-7, Saturday 1-6

Portman Gallery
Morpeth School
Portman Place
London E2 0PX
map
(Tube: Bethnal Green)

Saturday Matinee - ‘The Stuff of Life’ artists’ film screening, curated by Ricarda Vidal,at 3pm on Sat 15th March
What is real? how can we be sure that this world is nothing more than an illusion, and that life is just a dream?
‘Real life’ is an exhibition in which artists use film and photography as a means to capture their own sensations
and experience of the external, whether analytical, intellectual or emotional, and allow us a transitory, illuminated
insight into the world from behind their eyes.