This is about you
dal 7/3/2007 al 6/4/2007
Segnalato da
7/3/2007
This is about you
Whitecross Gallery, London
Artists whose art, though aesthetically disparate, all address the ever relevant subject of the role of artist. The exhibition looks at the communication channels opened up between an artist and the viewer by each work produced. With works by Akiko Usami, Paolo Giardi, Alexis Panayiotou, Stefano Scheggi.
Works by Akiko Usami, Paolo Giardi, Alexis Panayiotou, Stefano Scheggi
Curated by Stefano Scheggi
Whitecross Gallery is pleased to announce a new show
of four artists whose art, though aesthetically
disparate, all address the ever relevant subject of
the role of artist and the corresponding, intertwined
role of the viewer. Curated by, and including the work
of, Stefano Scheggi, the exhibition looks at the
communication channels opened up between an artist and
the viewer by each work produced. The curator states
"This is a contribution to self-awareness, focusing on
the ongoing dialogue between the artists, their work
and the audience. During the viewing and appraisal of
the artwork, we become aware of our limits, our
excesses and our possibilities." The works each
challenge the viewer to go beyond the simple aesthetic
and chart the limits and possibilities of the
temporary, and temporal, relationship formed. Each
work references relationships past and the present;
art movements, art thoughts, old and new. Scheggi adds
"There is no such thing as passive observer, nor the
solitary artist."
Alexis Panayiotou's works on paper references the
infinite possibilities of art and the limitless nature
of an artist's endeavor. Each Panayiotou work involves
redrawing and collaging elements from disparate
sources of interest (iconic images from art history,
mythology and the creatures of fantasy and science
fiction). The works challenge the viewer to recognize
the reference, with some being obvious and others
impossible to distinguish. By hiding some of the
references the artist is opening up the possibility of
an infinite number of sources contained within the
frame.
The patterns Akiko Usami creates in her work seem,
perhaps at first glance, uniform, when in actual fact
they endure slight, subtle, differences that
challenges the viewer's attention. These accidental
variants are the highlight of, what is for the artist,
a deliberately mechanical and repetitive process. They
dent the formal motifs that reference the artist's
Anglo-Japanese background, creating an analogy for the
clash of cultures that she seeks to investigate.
Like Panayiotou Paolo Giardi's paintings also draw
references from external source material. For Giardi
however hiding his appropriations is not an option,
for it is integral to the philosophy of each work. The
source material is taken specifically from a vast
personal catalogue of 2D imagery and each work is
product of this catalogue. Giardi comments,
flippantly, that his role is almost one of an
administrator "It's more about collating and filing,
then being guided by my findings".
Stefano Scheggi's series of eight photographic prints,
Reflections on Desire, debuted here, reference
minimalism and modernist dreams of the past.
Architectural in form, they provoke and encourage the
viewer to shift their physical position, to see works
from a variety of angles and challenge the viewer to
make of them what they will. Likewise for the artist,
each image challenges the limits of the lens and
allowed the artist to remind the viewer of the
limitless possibilities of camera and subject matter.
Private view thursday 8 march 2007
Whitecross Gallery
122 Whitecross Street London EC1Y 8PU
Open tuesday - saturday 11am - 6pm