John Carter
dal 1/11/2004 al 27/11/2004
Segnalato da
1/11/2004
John Carter
The Blue Gallery, London
Recent work
Recent work
The Directors of the Blue Gallery are pleased to announce the first
exhibition in London since 1996 of the work of John Carter, an artist whose
40 year career has often been followed more attentively abroad rather than
in the UK with solo shows in Germany, Japan, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium
and the US. This may have more than a little to do with a perceived
ambiguity as to the nature of his work. He operates in what he has termed a
no-man's land between sculpture and painting, appropriating characteristics
of each to fashion a hybrid which, although almost exclusively wall-based,
shares the physical volume that classifies the sculptural.
Mel Gooding observed that the dynamic engendered by standing in front of a
Carter is due to the contradiction between what is seen by the eye and that
which is known by the mind. Carter's work has always been concerned with the
relationship between mathematical, usually geometrical, principles and our
instinctive perception of the visible world: Structures which overlap one
another or appear to be mismatched and which show the irregularities of
geometry.....Shapes which are almost identical, but which display small
differences of size or angle, the relationship of areas to linear
dimensions......I accept that optical illusions are inevitable in the sorts
of visual interplay that I initiate. That the distortions, implied movements
and tensions created by the juxtaposing of these elements, are not
harmonious ones. I must emphasize however, that each element used, is part
of a logical system and although two or more systems may be in conflict
within the same work, there is no aspect of it which is random or arbitrary.
Exactitude is essential for this work, not only for integrity's sake, but
for the proper functioning of its parts.
The aesthetic of a work is balanced by his manipulation of its surface.
These wooden constructs are coated with a mixture of acrylic and marble
powder and then sanded to impart a variable tonality and just enough visual
incident to hold the eye. Moreover, for Carter this enhances the tactility-
and hence reality - of the work.
Drawing and maquettes have consistently been important media in the process
of defining the constructions themselves. Although always initially working
studies, he does on occasions develop them to the point at which they almost
become pieces in their own right. An accompanying exhibition of a number of
these works will take place simultaneously in the gallery's project space.
For further information and/or visual material, please contact Giles Baker-Smith or Philip Godsal on 020 7490 3833.
Private view @ the Blue Gallery - Tuesday 2nd November 6.00-8.30pm
The Blue Gallery
15 Great Sutton Street London EC1V 0BX
The gallery is open Monday - Friday 10am - 6pm Saturday 11pm - 3pm
Tube: Farringdon, Barbican