calendario eventi  :: 

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22/11/2006

Two exhibitions

Gimpel Fils, London

Louis le Brocquy

Homage to his Masters

"Echo is a good word" Louis le Brocquy, September 2006

Louis le Brocquy is Ireland's most distinguished living artist. Born in Dublin in 1916, his career has spanned over seventy years, and he has become a dominant force in the evolution of Irish art. This exhibition comprises new work and demonstrates le Brocquy's continuing commitment to exploring the human figure through the medium of paint.

Throughout his career, Louis le Brocquy has experimented with the abstraction and dissolution of the figure, and the works included in this exhibition evince le Brocquy's continued investigation of the human form. Le Brocquy is perhaps best known for his Portrait Head series that he has worked on since the mid-1970s. Examining individual personality through fractured, interiorised portraits, le Brocquy painted artists and writers in an attempt to discover the true nature of their identity. These portraits were followed by Human Images, explorative and meditative paintings in which the human form dispersed into particle forms.

Homage to his Masters sees le Brocquy return to his early artistic influences, Velasquez, Goya, Manet and Ce'zanne. Le Brocquy visited Paris, London, Venice and Geneva, in 1938, and seeing works by these artists cemented his own desire to become a painter. Each of the paintings in this exhibition has its source in a masterpiece by one of his four artistic forbearers. Four Odalisques, dominate the show, each female nude echoing the compositional design of Manet's Olympia. These works are not intended as reproductions or copies, but rather, le Brocquy has used Manet's painting as a starting point for his own concerns. Shape, colour, and the dissolution of the human form become the primary subject matter.

In his 90th year, Louis le Brocquy has returned to his artistic beginnings and this look back to his early influences is particularly resonant for Gimpel Fils. This year the gallery celebrates its 60th Anniversary, and having exhibited le Brocquy's work in its inaugural year, the forthcoming exhibition also marks the 60th anniversary of our relationship with this exceptional artist.

Louis le Brocquy represented Ireland at the 1956 Venice Biennale, at which he was awarded an international prize, and his work was included in the historic exhibition Fifty Years of Modern Art at the World Fair in Brussels, 1958. He has had numerous solo exhibitions across the globe and his work is represented in public collections such as the Guggenheim, New York and the Tate, London. In Ireland Le Brocquy's contribution to art was celebrated with a major retrospective in 1996 at the Irish Museum of Modern Art. Louis le Brocquy is the first and only living artist ever to be included in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Ireland. Le Brocquy was made Chevalier de la Le'gion d'Honneur, France, in 1975 and Officier des Arts et des Lettres, in 1996. President Mary Robinson conferred him with the title of Saoi, Aosdana, in 1994. In 1998, Louis le Brocquy was presented with the first IMMA/Glen Dimplex award for a sustained contribution to the arts. Honorary degrees include Hon. Litt. D., University of Dublin, 1962; Hon. Ll. D., University College, Dublin, 1988; Hon. D. Phil., D. Univ., Queen's University, Belfast, 2002; Hon. Associate, NCAD, Dublin, 2006.

In celebration of his 90th Birthday, and in recognition of his importance to Irish art, The Irish Museum of Modern Art and Hunt Museum, Limerick have both held exhibitions of le Brocquy's work this year. In November, The National Gallery of Ireland will host the exhibition: "Louis le Brocquy. Portrait Heads A celebration of the artist's ninetieth year", from 4 November 2006 - 14 January 2007. In Paris, the Galerie Jeanne-Bucher will host a retrospective exhibition of his work from 12 October - 10 November, and the Tate Britain will mark the artist's 90th with a presentation of works from 6 - 22 November.

Private view: Thursday 23 November, 6 - 8 pm

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John Duncan

Solo show

Belfast seems a familiar city: images of it have been in over-circulation during the 'troubles'. John Duncan has been making photographic work in Belfast over the last decade as the city has been affected by the Peace Process, the ceasefires, the influx of capital investment and as it has slipped off the front pages. His images depict Belfast as it is dragged into the contemporary world, while remaining conscious of it as a place that resists standardisation and normalisation.

In the earliest series 'Boom Town' we see evidence of the new city being put in place. The city under construction inevitably looks theatrical, like a set: something unreal made to resemble something real. A divergent strand in the work draws on the artist's experience of moving from the more affluent South of the city to North Belfast and being confronted first hand by the sectarian tensions that continued to mar this area. An image of a relatively ordinary street turns out on closer inspection to be littered with debris from the aftermath of a riot. In these images old history asserts itself in all too familiar ways. 'Trees From Germany' explores more directly the interfaces that have been created between the new developments and some of the existing communities in the city. In an image made in the city centre we see the lawn in front of the new Days Hotel being rolled out towards a paramilitary mural. The hotel reappears again in the next image competing on the skyline with a Twelfth of July bonfire, part of Protestantism's annual celebration of their perceived victory over Catholicism, at the Battle of The Boyne in 1690. A few streets away Duncan moves inside the protected space offered to apartment dwellers. Another bonfire protrudes into the view from the roof garden of these apartments in a Loyalist area recently colonised by developers. The contrasts illustrate the battle going on for Belfast's future.

The most recent series 'We Were Here' looks at the demilitarisation that is taking place as part of the peace process. At Girdwood army barracks in North Belfast, successive army regiments marked their tour of duty by painting operational banners on the internal walls of the base. During the handover to civilian contractors dismantling the base, these have been painted out. This series continues Duncan's examination of the rebuilding and re-imagining of Belfast.

John Duncan studied photography at Newport and Glasgow School of Art. He has exhibited widely, including exhibitions at Stills Gallery, Edinburgh 1998, The Gallery of Photography, Dublin 2002, NGBK Berlin, 2003; and EAST International, Norwich, 2006.

Private view: Thursday 23 November, 6-8pm

Gimpel Fils
30 Davies Street - London
Gallery opening hours: Mon - Fri 10am - 5.30pm, Sat 11am - 4pm. The gallery is closed 22 December - 7 January inclusive

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