Dexter Dalwood
dal 16/11/2014 al 23/1/2015
Segnalato da
16/11/2014
Dexter Dalwood
Simon Lee Gallery, London
London Paintings. For this exhibition the artist present the recent series of works focusing on the capital presents us with an entirely new and unexpected narrative through which to view a seemingly familiar city. London is the inspiration and starting point for an exercise in representation.
Simon Lee Gallery is proud to present 'London Paintings', Dexter Dalwood's first exhibition since joining the gallery.
London, as a setting and subject matter, has recurred throughout Dalwood's career. However, this recent series of
works focusing on the capital presents us with an entirely new and unexpected narrative through which to view a
seemingly familiar city. Specific London locations or sites are reconstructed from a collage of memory, cultural and
political history and subjective association, and informed by a consideration of the painted history of the city over
many years. London is the inspiration and starting point for an exercise in representation – a means to an end and
a nominal reference; these are in the end paintings in themselves.
The 'London Paintings' signal an exciting shift in Dalwood’s formal approach towards a more fluid, personal and
interpretative working method. These paintings provoke consideration of how history is painted and how it might
continue to be painted. Historical references and quotations are increasingly mediated through the painting
process, resulting in images of a world that can never be quite settled upon or interpreted. The paintings refuse to
coalesce into a space or place, demanding from the viewer a longer and more involved process of looking. The
satisfaction of recognition is denied, instead a space is created whose function - purely through its painted reality –
is to produce a strong sense of time, site, memory and history – the very things that make up a sense of place.
Somewhere between the title, the fragments of imagery and the viewer’s subjectivity, each work acquires its
meaning.
Moving with ease between the subjective and the specific to create a rich and individual language, Dalwood expertly
combines elements from painting's past to produce something startlingly original in the present: a body of work
that continues to re-invigorate and re-invent contemporary history painting.
Dexter Dalwood ( b.1960) lives and works in London. Recent solo exhibitions include Kunsthaus Centre d’art Centre
PasquArt, Biel, Switzerland (2013); Orientalism, David Risley Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark (2012); Dichter und
Drogen, Nolan Judin, Berlin, Germany (2011) and a major solo exhibition at Tate St Ives (2010), which toured to
FRAC Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, France and CAC Malaga, Spain. His work will be included in the Fighting History
exhibition at Tate Britain (2015). Recent group exhibitions have included The Venice Syndrome – The Grandeur and
Fall in the Art of Venice, gL Holtegaard, Denmark (2014), Not Being Attentive I Notice Everything: Robert Walser and
the Visual Arts, Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau, (2014); Le Corps de l'Absence, FRAC Champagne Ardennes, Reims,
Setting the Scene, Tate Modern, London (2012) and Dublin Contemporary (2011). He has work in numerous public
collections, including: Tate, The British Council Collection and The Saatchi Gallery.
Press Contact: Julia or Jay at Purple
julia@purplepr.com | Jay@purplepr.com | +44 (0) 207 434 7010
Private View: Monday 17 November, 6-8 pm
Simon Lee Gallery 12 Berkeley Street, London
Hours: Monday – Saturday 10 am – 6 pm