Neither flesh nor fleshless…
dal 28/3/2005 al 7/5/2005
Segnalato da
28/3/2005
Neither flesh nor fleshless…
Clapham Art Gallery Unit 2, London
Works by Nayef Homsi, Sarah McGinity, Conrad Frankel. Each of these artists works with a passion for the human face. They are concerned with an interior sense of identity, or indeed lack of, that might be revealed through a manipulation of image in paint. Their works carry a psychological charge that forces the viewer to consider variously notions of generic types, gender and internal force of character.
Works by Nayef Homsi, Sarah McGinity, Conrad Frankel
Clapham Art Gallery is delighted to present three exciting new portrait painters in ‘Neither flesh nor fleshless…’ Nayef Homsi and Sarah McGinity graduated from City & Guilds of London Art School with an MA in Fine Art in 2004. Conrad Frankel will graduate from the same school with an MA in 2005.
Each of these artists works with a passion for the human face. They are concerned with an interior sense of identity, or indeed lack of, that might be revealed through a manipulation of image in paint. Their works carry a psychological charge that forces the viewer to consider variously notions of generic types, gender and internal force of character.
CONRAD FRANKEL works with an unusual material physicality, calling to mind the works of Frank Auerbach and Leon Kossoff. Frankel works from models with an intensity that reveals an eagerness to indulge in the drama of life. With an emphasis on the performative aspects of a stare, smile or frown, Frankel looks to reveal what might be concealed by such expressions. In denying the veracity of instinctive reflexes he challenges the very notion of the way that human beings physically present themselves, emphasizing instead the dark, anxious, psychological state within.
NAYEF HOMSI creates delicate portraits in oil on panel. His intimate works emanate an atmosphere akin to classical and neo-classical painting. In referencing the drama of the Mannerists from Michelangelo onwards and drawing on the technical application of the French 19th Century School of David, Homsi creates an unusual symbiosis between subject and artist. Familiar male types are revered by his homoerotic gaze, offering a subversion of usual associations. Thus, Homsi’s desiring works offer an alternative understanding of masculinity throughout a range of historical and contemporary points in identity politics.
SARAH McGINITY paints outsized portraits of fictional subjects. Her poetic works inhabit an ambiguous space between reality and imagination that force one to reconsider notions of form and beauty. This emphasis on artificial, non-authentic portraiture is therefore a means for the artist to explore her own preconceptions about generic types. The result is a portrayal of strange, beautiful manifestations that are equally alluring and vacant. McGinity’s most recent work focuses heavily on a sense of boredom and indifference in her characterizations; she emphasizes a refreshingly non-psychological, illusory objectivity.
Private View: Tuesday 29/03/05 7.00pm – 9.00pm
Clapham Art Gallery Unit 02
40-48 Bromell's Road
London SW4 0BG
Gallery Hours: Tue-Sat 11am-6pm