Michael Landy
dal 13/10/2008 al 14/11/2008
Segnalato da
13/10/2008
Michael Landy
Thomas Dane Gallery, London
Meticulously rendered simply in pencil on paper, Landy's series of portraits began as intimate sketches of his immediate family as a means of reconnecting and spending time with them.
Thomas Dane Gallery is delighted to present a new series of drawn portraits by
Michael Landy as one part of his forthcoming exhibition at Thomas Dane Gallery
opening on 14th October 2008. This will be Landy’s second show at the gallery since
2004.
Meticulously rendered simply in pencil on paper, Landy’s series of portraits began
as intimate sketches of his immediate family as a means of reconnecting and
spending time with them. Each portrait takes at least two full days of sitting before
the artist in extremely close proximity. In Landy’s vast studio there sits only an
easel, a bench for the artist and a chair for the subject. Painstaking in his attention
to detail, Landy has captured each sitter’s every wrinkle and blemish in stark,
intricate graphite drawings of brutal honesty. Studying each face for hours on end,
Landy challenged himself to replicate each detail with complete empirical
detachment. The finished portraits, drawn without necks or shoulders, float
ethereally on the page. Exercises in pure representation, the drawings testify to the
artist’s extraordinary skills as a draftsman.
Since April, Landy has been drawing someone every day, for eight hours, seven
days a week. He has now expanded his range of subjects, drawing those who have
been close to him throughout his career, including artists such as Michael Craig-
Martin, Rebecca Warren and Tracey Emin, leading figures in contemporary art
such as Norman Rosenthal and Ivor Braka, collectors such as Anita Zabludowicz,
and the landlady of his local pub, Sandra Esqulant.
The graphite portraits will constitute one part of Landy’s upcoming solo show. The
artist will present a newly conceived body of work in the other galleries.
Michael Landy was born in 1963 in London, where he continues to live and work.
Recent solo exhibitions include Three Piece at Sabine Knust, Munich, 2008; Man in
Oxford Street is Auto-Destructive at Sherman Galleries, Sydney; and Michael Landy:
H2NY at Alexander & Bonin, New York in 2007. His 2001 monumental installation
for Artangel, Break Down, was a systematic destruction of his possessions in a
former department store in London. In 2004, he created Semi-detached, a full scale
model of the front and back facades of his parents’ house, shown at Tate Britain. His
work has been in numerous group shows since 1989, including the 1997 Sensation
exhibition at the Royal Academy, London and Brilliant: New Art from Britain at the
Walker Art Center in 1995. Michael Landy’s works are held in many public
institutions including the Tate Collection, London; the Arts Council England; and
the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
The exhibition will be accompanied by the launch of a new monograph on Michael
Landy’s work, which will be published by Ridinghouse.
Other upcoming opening exhibitions include a solo show at Galerie Paul Andriesse
in Amsterdam, from September 5 until October 18.
opening on 14th October 2008.
Thomas Dane Gallery
11 Duke Street, St. James’s - London
Hours: Monday to Friday 10am – 6pm; Saturday 11 am – 4pm
Admission: Free