Different Landscapes
dal 10/9/2003 al 11/10/2003
Segnalato da
10/9/2003
Different Landscapes
Art Space Gallery, London
Group show. Some believe there is a shared common ground among figurative painters, as though simply by virtue of the fact that artists who are dealing with an aspect of reality must necessarily have a shared reality. The only certainty here is that the word 'reality' is itself uncertain and the minute you examine it the ground beneath your feet opens up and you are faced with something unknown and changing.
Different Landscapes
Ray Atkins
Miguel Barcelo
Rainer Fetting
Paul Gopal-Chowdhury
Alex Katz
John Lessore
Some believe there is a shared common ground among figurative painters, as
though simply by virtue of the fact that artists who are dealing with an
aspect of reality must necessarily have a shared reality. The only certainty
here is that the word 'reality' is itself uncertain and the minute you
examine it the ground beneath your feet opens up and you are faced with
something unknown and changing.
In a time when so much photography and video is seen and promoted, painting
seems to have taken a back seat. If you want to record an event or an aspect
of human behaviour the camera provides a marvellous and instant solution.
But painting can record things too, and in different more complex ways. The
medium itself is the prime factor in this and those who are engaged with the
language of painting find ways to capture reality at different levels. Some
of the descriptive elements used by photographers may appear to be the same
in painting - and in some painting it is - but there are artists who go
beyond the surface appearance. To try and describe this is both difficult
and complicated because it is different in every case. Put simply, a sort of
game takes place where the various elements in painting act on and against
each other so that they produce a multitude of forms and movements quite
different from the depicted scene. A camera simply can't do this.
Different Landscapes, means not only different places but also different
ways of seeing and interpreting. The six painters in this exhibition have
one thing in common, a personal subject uniquely viewed. We hope by showing
these works together to reveal the essential character of each one.
Ideally, we would have liked to present the exhibition in a bigger public
space with more painters from Britain and abroad. Perhaps one day it will
happen. In the meantime, we intend by making a start, we can play a small
part in showing a much-neglected area of contemporary painting.
Private view on 11 September 2003, Thursday.
Image: John Lessore
Crossing Rye Lane,
at Night I
2000-1
130 x 163 cm
oil on board
Art Space Gallery
84 St Peter's Street N1 8J
London