calendario eventi  :: 

X

15/9/2003

Two exhibitions

Lisson Gallery, London

Tony Oursler, 52-54 Bell Street, NW1
17th September ­1st November 2003

In this new body of work, Oursler returns to the deceptively simple device that made him famous whereby he constructs an elaborate installation of comically ghoulish faces projected onto amorphous convex sculptures. Disembodied, mismatching bloodshot eyes, fat lips and snaggled teeth whisper and exclaim like bulbous poltergeists, while conspicuously absent noses accentuate the grotesque overall impact of these oddly endearing creatures. Eyes blink and swivel; mouths frown, smile and pucker while uttering barely audible words through nearby speakers. Listen closely and you may hear one face complain, "You treat me like garbage. I told you I love you but I don't. Thanks for nothing" while another bug-eyed male tries to fend off anxiety by muttering to himself, "You've been making new friendsx{2039}reward yourself with a smile".

The real success of these works is due to the fact that though they are highly entertaining to watch, they also captivate on an emotional level by the sheer poignancy and familiar angst of their internal monologues. They are at once seductive yet vaguely unsettling, gripping the viewer in their disorientating psychological mini-dramas.

__________

Christian Jankowski, Bravo Jankowski!, 29 Bell Street, NW1
17th September ­ 1 November 2003

"Christian Jankowski is an infiltrator: he imposes himself into various societal structures and systems (particularly media), making cunning artworks that, in turn infiltrate the artworld. A deceptive appropriator, Jankowski's art doesn't really look like art. Although he is aptly described as a conceptual artist, his reliance on culturally based subjects and motifs also link him with Pop Art and later Pop-inspired tendencies."
Dean Sobel

Christian Jankowski's work is a performance which engages often unsuspecting collaborators to innocently collude with him, making them 'co-authors' of the final result which is often a surprise, even to the artist himself. The collaborative nature of Jankowski's work is paramount as each participant unwittingly contributes his or her own texture culminating in a layered psychological journey that one suspects is as curious to the artist as to the viewer.

Jankowski's work is at once sympathetic, ingenuous and human, yet subversive and sharply observed. Unafraid of exposing himself within the work he takes an acute, humorous and thoughtful look at the human condition.

Private View: Tuesday 16th September, 6-8pm, both spaces

Opening times: Monday - Friday 10 - 6, Saturday 11 - 5, Closed Bank Holiday Mondays

Lisson Gallery, 29 & 52-54 Bell Street, London, NW1 5DA
T: 00 44 (0)20 7724 2739
F: 00 44 (0)20 7724 7124

stampa

permanent link