|
Gimpel Fils: Steven Gontarski Gallery 2: Alan Davie / Seamus Harahan, littlewhitehead and Lucy Stein - 9 Sept 2010 to 6 Nov 2010 Current Exhibition |
||||
|
|
|||
|
||||
|
||||
|
Steven Gontarski I woke up to the sound of a drum 9 September � 6 November 2010 Private view: Wednesday 8 September, 6-8pm (New Moon) �On the last new moon I drummed for a while in the dark. Later that night when I was in a deep sleep I suddenly woke up because I heard the sound of a drum coming from the room where I had held my ritual a few hours earlier. I wasn't sure if I was awake or dreaming�. � Steven Gontarski, August 2010 Divided into two parts, Steven Gontarski�s exhibition of new sculptures and drawings creates a dialogue not only between the objects themselves but also across time and space, life and dreams. The first section of the exhibition comprises a series of drawings depicting a number of birds, astral nebulae and a small golden sculpture, linked together by a swooping bough. Recalling Constantin Brancusi�s Bird in Space, Gontarski�s sculpture, Beltane Object, was inspired by the form of a bird in flight. However rather than describing the appearance of a particular bird, the work communicates the notion of flight itself and presents the bird as a mediator between earth and the heavens. Covered in gold leaf, the play of light as it bounces off the highly reflective metallic surface is reminiscent of the ways in which birds dart, dip and glide. The movement of light as it reflects and refracts is a recurring theme in this exhibition. Inspired by the ways in which the sun and moon illuminate, albeit in different ways, Gontarski has created a series of warm golden, and cool translucent, sculptures that appear as though they are themselves light sources. The glow of the patterned golden surfaces of Beltane Sun Object is rich and pregnant with energy, while the Lunar Ob sculptures are calmer, with cool crisp auras. Silver outlines and glitter details on the drawings, also catch the light in focused glints. In 2009 Steven Gontarski made a tour of prehistoric sites in the west of England, following in the footsteps of the English modernists. In his efforts to express energy in sculptural form, his new body of work is indebted to the ancient monuments and landscapes that he visited. It was in 1936 that Barbara Hepworth made a comparison between abstraction and the Neolithic menhirs of Stonehenge; More than 70 years later, Gontarski too had a revelatory experience when visiting Silbury Hill and the stone circles at Avebury. The circles at Avebury have been, and continue to be, used to celebrate lunar and solar progressions through the year, and Gontarski�s sculptures take their titles from the word �Beltane�, the Gaelic name for the first of May: the midpoint in the Sun's progression between the spring equinox and summer solstice. The use of light in Gontarski�s work echoes the transitional movements of the celestial orbs as they pass over the prehistoric stones, while his biomorphic sculptural shapes also recall the formations of life-creating nebulae. Believing that sculpture has an inner vitality and force that comes from the combination of material, form and concept, Barbara Hepworth and her contemporaries saw in the Neolithic sites and standing stones of Stonehenge prehistoric precedents for their artistic aspirations. Hepworth went on to suggest that the preoccupation with the abstract was a search for the absolute, the universal experience of life. She proposed that in seeking solutions to the problems of shape, balance, form and material, humanity might also find solutions to �human difficulties�. Through his use of light, surface, volume and line Gontarski seeks an understanding of the earth beneath our feet. His works suggest that the modernist call for harmonious relationships with the earth was a precursor of today�s environmental concerns. Whilst visiting West Kennet Long Barrow, a Neolithic tomb, Gontarski was witness to a new moon drumming ritual and ever since has become attuned to the earth as it orbits, and is orbited by, the sun and moon. Gontarski now greets every full and new moon with a drum ritual of his own. These rituals are his attempt to access a world somewhere between the known and unknown - between waking and dreaming. Steven Gontarski�s public sculpture Ob 8 was recently unveiled outside Central Saint Giles, Renzo Piano's first completed building in London. Gontarski was born in Philadelphia and studied BA Architectural Studies/Visual Art at Brown University, Rhode Island and MA Fine Art, at Goldsmiths College, London. His first solo exhibition at Gimpel Fils was held in 2007 and he has also had solo shows at pkm gallery, Seoul, and Changing Role, Naples, both 2006, at Groninger Museum, Groningen, in 2005, and Le Consortium, Dijon, 2003. His sculpture Prophet Zero was exhibited in The Economist Plaza, London, 2004 while Untitled (yellow) has been on permanent display at Paddington Central, Phase II, London since 2008. Recent group exhibitions include Le sort probable de l�homme qui avait aval� le fant�me, Centre de monuments nationaux, Paris, 2009; Crazy Damn Right I�m Crazy, Ferens Art Gallery, Hull, 2008; and Elastic Taboos at Kusthalle Wein, 2007. His work was included in the seminal �Die Young, Stay Pretty� exhibition at the ICA in 1998. Works by Steven Gontarski can be found in The British Museum, Saatchi Gallery, Denver Art Museum and the British Arts Council collection. Gallery 2: Alan Davie Happy 90th Birthday 9 September � 2 October 2010 Private view: Wednesday 8 September, 6-8pm In celebration of Alan Davie�s 90th birthday, Gimpel Fils is honoured to exhibit a mini-retrospective of his work. The exhibition in gallery 2 will include previously unseen work and will span the entirety of his lengthy career. From early student works, to Venetian landscapes; paintings created in response to the American Abstract Expressionists to those charting the vistas of St. Lucia, this display is a testament to the diversity of Davie�s visual forms and his unbounded creativity. Alan Davie has never been afraid to experiment. As a consequence his painterly forms and compositional structures are markedly different when we compare works from the 1950s with those made in the 1970s, or works from the 1960s with those from the 1990s. However, despite these differences, Davie�s passion for painting has been consistent. The desire to penetrate and excavate inner emotion and sensations in order to uncover a hidden truth has been his life�s vocation. Throughout his career, Davie has maintained an unwavering faith in the necessity of painting and in his 90th year, he remains dedicated to the principle that painting can enable transcendental revelation. This exhibition follows a number of solo displays celebrating Alan Davie that have taken place this year. In January, Gimpel Fils presented Night Gems, which comprised works made in the last two years. A retrospective exhibition took place at The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery, University of Leeds in March followed by a solo display at the Leeds City Art Gallery, which continues until October. Alan Davie has also taken over Callendar House, in Falkirk, his home town. A series of exhibitions and events will take place at Callendar House until October, while a street party is planned in his honour in Grangemouth, where his mosaic mural enlivens the town centre. Tate Britain will be exhibiting work by Alan Davie on the Manton Staircase during September in recognition of his contribution to art. Alan Davie will also have exhibitions in London, Paris and Dublin in 2011. Prior to the Second World War Alan Davie studied at Edinburgh College of Art and after being demobbed in 1946 he quickly returned to his artistic career. He and his new bride Bili visited the metropolitan centres of Europe in 1948, in which year Davie saw work by the Surrealists and the new American painters at the Venice Biennale. With the support of Peggy Guggenheim, whom he met in Venice, Davie was able to establish himself as an emerging artist of terrific significance when he returned to London. Davie had his first solo exhibition at Gimpel Fils in 1950 and we are delighted to be exhibiting his work 60 years later. Alan Davie�s last major retrospective exhibition was staged at Tate St. Ives in 2003-4. Other exhibitions of his artwork include The Barbican Art Gallery, London (1993), The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh (1997), COBRA Museum, Amstelveen (2001). His paintings, drawing and prints can be found in numerous international public collections including Tate Collection, London; The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh; the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam; and Museu de Arte Contemporanea, S�o Paulo. Gallery 2: New Work by Seamus Harahan, littlewhitehead and Lucy Stein 7 October � 6 November 2010 For further details please contact the gallery. Tel: +44 (0)20 7493 2488 Fax: +44 (0)20 7629 5732 www.gimpelfils.com [email protected] Gallery opening hours: Mon - Fri 10am - 5.30pm, Sat 11am - 4pm Gimpel Fils, 30 Davies Street, London W1K 4NB |
||||
re-title.com
International contemporary art
SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS
SIGN UP for ARTIST MEMBERSHIP
SIGN UP for GALLERY MEMBERSHIP
Click on the map to search the directory