George Henry Longly and Rupert Norfolk
dal 19/1/2007 al 23/2/2007
Segnalato da
19/1/2007
George Henry Longly and Rupert Norfolk
Galerie Chez Valentin, Paris
Two young British artists, whose works will meet in an appropriation of minimalist space in the gallery. Recalling solid constructions, they both confront these structural elements with their own approach. Two aspects of the object are confronted: what is being represented and what is actually there.
An appropriation of minimalist space in the gallery
Galerie Chez Valentin is please to announce an exhibition by two young British artists George Henry Longly and Rupert Norfolk, whose works will meet in an appropriation of minimalist space in the gallery. Recalling solid constructions, they both confront these structural elements with their own approach. How does matter interacts with the perception one has with an object? How does the conventional pattern or structure of an object can mislead one’s interpretation when it is re-modelled or redirected? Our cognitive notions of these familiar objects can sometimes be blurred and often transformed in this intriguingly economic, simple space.
The "I Beams" by Rupert Norfolk is a series of four rolled steel joists arranged on the floor. In their recognisable condition, these objects are usually encrusted with earthen matters and rusts of all kinds. Here, the artist turns them into the very prototype of steel; a perfect surface on which one can distinguish disconcerting reflections. While moving around the works, the visitor realizes that if some impressions of light and reflections change along with him, others remain unchanged. “I Beams" suggest the behaviour of light falling down on a metal surface throughout reflections and alterations of shades. The shining aspect of the paint and its smooth application bring a whole set of contrary shades.
The re-invention of the object as it exists in its natural environment, or even in its formal use leads the visitor to question the work shown. Two aspects of the object are confronted: what is being represented (a pile of leaves, reflections of the light on steel) and what is actually there (plywood folding, nuances of colours...). The logic of his work becomes flexible; the meaning, the form, the nature of the object is in perpetual dialogue with the artistic production resulting from it.
George Henry Longly questions the way we perceive objects when their value can no longer exist in terms of practical use. The result leads to no clear or singular reading of the artwork which ambiguity interacts with both ideas of time and space he perpetually re-arranges. The way he sets and gather objects treats both with formal interest and aesthetics of inner structures; how to create a new space by inserting a new element, an impression with the grounds of an existing place.
Image: Rupert Norfolk, Untitled, 2005. Lime Stone Rock Wall - Dimensions variable. Courtesy Saatchi Gallery
Galerie Chez Valentin
9, rue Saint-Gilles. - Paris