John Isaacs
dal 10/1/2007 al 3/3/2007
Segnalato da
10/1/2007
John Isaacs
Aeroplastics Contemporary, Bruxelles
You said tuo would always be there
You said tuo would always be there
"...and some certain significance lurks in all things, else all things are little
worth, and the round world itself but an empty cipher..."
Captain Ahab from Moby Dick by Herman Melville
It is impossible to categorise or define the work of this mercurial British artist,
and this is one of the properties of his work which John Isaacs consciously
perpetrates, as if trying to conceal in a hall of mirrors the trail that leads back
to himself. Isaacs produces such a wide range of work that many loose the sense of
the individual identity behind it. However, whether it is directly in his titles, or
in the physical manifestation of his work, Isaacs refers to previous artistic
output, his own or others; from literature, music, science, film, and art, to guide
the viewer through the labyrinth towards the door.
In this his second solo exhibition at Aeroplastics, the central theme of the work
stems from the position of the individual in time and space, both emotionally and
physically. Whether it is a blank ceramic newspaper covered in cigarette butts, a
skull dripping in stalagmites like a cave, or a half peeled potato in the shape of
Rodin's thinker, one is confronted with images which are familiar, yet unsettling in
their changed presentation.
Isaacs's work, outwardly shocking and tragic at times, actually comes from a deeply
felt romantic empathy. It is not the things that separate us from one another that
he is focused on, but the things that we share but somehow loose along the way.
Isaacs's work is filled with dreams of a world in which thought precludes action, in
which the theme of protest melts away from the dialectical to form the everyday
emotional landscape of the individual elevated to the societal. For Isaacs, art
represents not the manifestation of an egotistical creative language or ability,
lost in a self-reflective abstraction, but the root of a pre-lingual connection in
which all mankind can find itself. Though there are many themes, many forms running
through the works presented here, at their centre lies an unwavering exploration and
investigation of the human psyche, of the place in which the body meets the mind,
and finds in this communication that it is not alone.
John Isaacs has been represented by Aeroplastics contemporary since 2001. It is his
second solo exhibition in the gallery. He has exhibited extensively on an
international level over the last 14 years. Exhibitions include, Wonderful Life,
Lisson Gallery, London, 1993, Young British Artists IV, The Saatchi Gallery, London,
1996, Spectacular Bodies, The Hayward Gallery, London, 2000, Century City, Tate
Modern, 2001, Mike Kelly - The Uncanny, Tate Liverpool, 2004 and "Les Grands
Spectacles", Museum der Moderne, Salzburg, 2004. He is currently working on a new
book to be published by Other Criteria, and exhibiting at The Serpentine Gallery,
London, "In the darkest hour there may be light - works from the Damien Hirst
Collection", and will be participating in Museum exhibitions this year in Germany,
France, and America.
He lives and works in Berlin.
Special Preview Opening: Thursday 11 january 2007, 6pm - 9pm
Aeroplastics contemporary
32 rue Blanche 1060 - Brussels
Opening hours: Wed-Sat 2-6 pm or by appointment