Category: exhibitions

Brett Flanigan – Zero Player Game – Pt. 2 Gallery

Zero Player Game
Brett Flanigan
Brett flanigan
On Now.
The show closes on Friday, April 5th, 2019
1523 b Webster St. Oakland, CA 94612
info@part2gallery.comDelphian favourite Pt. 2 Gallery is pleased to present Zero Player Game, a solo exhibition of paintings by Oakland-based artist Brett Flanigan. The exhibition title is a reference to the mathematician John Horton Conway’s Game of Life, a 1970 mathematical simulation where, given an initial state and a set of simple rules, a black and white grid evolves endlessly in ways that are seemingly organic and operate on similar principles as life itself.brett flanigan

In this body of work, each painting begins with an initial state in which Flanigan builds energy, usually involving repetitive patterns and intuitive mark making. This initial state then undergoes a series of reducing and rebuilding moves based on self-imposed rules or logic. The works are simultaneously formulaic and improvisational. Whenever possible, Flanigan makes aesthetic decisions using games of change such as dice rolls, coin flips, or random number generators, leaving the artist’s pre-conceived or socialized views of aesthetic behind, paving the way for unusual compositions and color combinations.

This philosophy allows Flanigan to explore many painting styles, without attempting to hone in on a signature look. While at first glance the paintings may feel disparate, upon further inspection, the viewer may see how Flanigan borrows ideas from his earlier paintings. In this way, he allows them to interact in a way that is comparable to the organs in a body, each performing its own function while working together with the others and allowing the work to live.

brett flanigan
Full press release – HERE

Brett’s Website – HERE

 

Our next show is our Open Call, which opens on the 28th of March. 

EDEN – MEVLANA LIPP at Kuk Galerie

Eden – Mevlana Lipp

Mevlana Lipp‘s works show colorful floral forms that stand at the interface between plant and human. The artist visualizes nature with paradisiac, floral structures. He illustrates a metamorphosis that is not decipherable. The selection and combination of colors produces a breathtaking brilliance. The artist contrasts the bold color of the background with the black velvet background. Lipp sculpturally elaborates his works by cutting wood panels and adding them to each other. He challenges the viewer to closely look at the different layers of the relief to explore the full image.

Eden - mevalana lip

Mevlana Lipp (born 1989) studied at the Art Academy Düsseldorf (masterclass of Thomas Grünfeld). In his first solo exhibition at krupic kersting the artist shows new works.
The exhibition EDEN refers to the paradise within creation. In his work Mevlana Lipp suggests the original form of creation. Mixed forms of plants and figurative elements recall Stone Age finds and creatures of the deep sea, which can be read as an antithesis to creation. The artist cuts the floral forms out of wood and merges them into relief-like pictures. The bright color of the motifs enhances the plastic effect and emphasizes the entanglement of the motifs. Lipp’s new works are characterized by a sensual interweaving of forms. For the first time, the artist shows steel sculptures and drawings that physically continue the formal language of his works into the room.

Eden - mevalana lip

The sculptures appear like fossils, remnants of an ancient time, unfolding in the exhibition. They are characterized by a monochrome application of color, from which delicate colors shimmer through. The drawings serve the artist as a source of inspiration for his wood paintings. Lipp combines the drawings with a sculptural frame, which complements the vines pattern. In “First Steps of the Future” (see‘KölnGalerien 01/19’) Oliver Tepel describes these floral-figurative elements as follows: “Flowers grow to  hands, scratching as strangers on the most astonishing material, because candles bloom from the green of the stalks. Mevlana Lipp uses a color spectrum in front of a black background, reminiscent of the first graphic depictions of life in the deep sea. And like the mysterious untouchedness of this sphere, Mevlana Lipp’s “Eden” proves, as the title of the exhibition, a quiet beauty, not without fright. They are odes of tactile communication, delicate or penetrating touches, ostensibly innocent curiosity in the last seconds of Paradise, until knowledge opens the space to all suffering. Suffering also remains in fragile elegance, but where mysterious glow was, now are dull colors and the unstructured growing gets rhythmic structures; Order is the language of lost innocence. Is it religious art or just one that addresses the big questions of life? Amazing what painting can do. ”

Kuk Galerie

January 18. 2019 – March 09. 2019 | curated by Wilko Austermann

For more exhibitions, see this link


Creative Restlessness – A conversation between Benjamin Murphy and Kevin Perkins

Creative Restlessness – A conversation between Benjamin Murphy and Kevin Perkins

 

I was first made aware of Kevin’s work through social media and I was struck by his boundless energy for experimentation. Whilst undertaking this wild experimentation, his work retained a feel that was unmistakably his. I have exhibited, and exhibited his work a few times before our upcoming show A Long Way From Home (With Igor Moritz), and in each show he has exhibited a different form of painting. Each of these, however, are executed with an expert precision, whilst also displaying a wonderful expressiveness and economy of gesture. I decided to have a chat to him ahead of the show we did with him back in January, about his work, and his approach to making in general.

 

Kevin Perkins

Utilising the unusual medium of coloured pencil on salvaged book covers; the portraits depict (mostly) lone sitters smoking, drinking tea, reflected in mirrors or simply ‘being’ and certainly give the nod to a golden era of twentieth century European painting. The surfaces of the book covers themselves lend an almost canvas-like quality to the images, and also help to add a beautiful ageing affect to the colour. Through these works, Perkins continues to develop his excellent ability to reference and draw from art-history, producing nostalgic works that drip with both playfulness and charisma.

 

[Benjamin Murphy] – Firstly – why are you an artist?

 

[Kevin Perkins] – I originally started painting out of necessity. I got hired to teach high school painting classes with no real background in painting. I’d watch YouTube videos and read tutorials before every class and then make a demo of whatever concept I was trying to teach. That turned into a real practice. I was looking at a massive amount of art and decided that I wanted to try and be a real artist, whatever that means.

 

I felt like an imposter for a long time. But now I guess I make work out of what I like to think of as a creative restlessness.

 

[BM] – Is this perhaps why you are experimenting so much within your practice?

 

[KP] – Oh yeah. Definitely.  I tend to have a hard time staying put in one specific approach to my work. I’m not really interested in creating the same kind of work over and over. I don’t care if that’s what sells, I make the work for myself, to fulfill a need that I have.

 

[BM] – I think the driving force for most artists is a need for experimentation, even if their work remains on a similar track. Where do you see your work going in future?

 

[KP] – I tend to not think about the future of my work. It’s a very in the moment kind of thing. Though I’m interested in moving into sculpture but haven’t had the space or time to figure out what that looks like for me.

 

[BM] – So where does your imagery come from?

 

[KP] – I cobble together images that I’ve found from my stockpile of old books, magazines publications, and photographs, as well as the occasional internet find, life drawings, and reimagining of master works. I don’t really seek out imagery for the work often. Instead, if I stumble across something that may work I’ll tuck it back until I’m ready for it.

 

[BM] – How in control would you say of how the paintings ultimately end up looking, do you have a ideal aesthetic in mind or is your process more experimental?

 

[KP] – The idea of an ideal aesthetic is something that I don’t put much stock in because it’s always changing. But to say that my work is experimental is reaching too far. Achieving consistency is not something I concern myself with. I produce work and it inevitably looks like my work. It may be influenced by someone or some thing that I’ve consumed but the way I apply paint, the rhythm of my hand, the energy will be evident in the work. It’s like writing letters. I don’t think about the way I write the letter “e” but if I write enough of them a pattern will emerge. In the same way, if I am true to myself and produce work that is a creative outflow of my interests, then patterns within the works will begin to form and an aesthetic that is true and uniquely mine will appear.

 

That being said, I do follow a similar process with the creation of most of my works. Which lends itself to a more consistent and specific aesthetic.

 

My drawings and studies are free and open to the whims of chance

kevin perkins

Kevin Perkins – book cover portraits

[BM] – With my work I aim to paint haptically, thinking as little about how I want it to look or what it means as possible, because I want it to mean different things to each individual viewer. Would you say that you paint in a similar way?

 

[KP] – Yes and no. I’m not so concerned about the outcome or what it means. I’d like for the work to look a certain way but that can range depending on where I am at mentally and emotionally as I’m creating the work. I make the work for myself. So to disassociate from the outcome for the sake of the viewer would be dishonest to myself and I feel that my work and my drive to make the work would suffer. I don’t care about the viewer so much. People will interact with and read into the work what they will and I’ve got no control over that.

 

[BM] – What are your intentions when you approach a canvas?

 

[KP] – I’m more interested in the creation than the outcome. Don’t get me wrong

though, the outcome is certainly an important aspect to it all. But once I’m done with the work I have no intention of returning to it. I’ve detached myself from the work. It’s served it’s purpose for me. I treat every painting like a puzzle. The enjoyment is putting it together. Once I’m done with that I could care less if it ends up in the trash or on someone’s wall. I suppose though that it’s nice to make a little money so that I can keep up the insanity of making work.

 

Maybe I’m being too honest.

 

[BM] – Yeah I can totally see what you mean, for me it’s all about the process. Once it’s finished and framed it feels almost as if it was done by someone else.

 

[KP] – So how do you feel about your most recent works, and did you alter your approach in any way knowing that this was a two-person show?

 

Yes I did. I was more open and free with my use of color. Igor has a beautiful sense of color and I guess my works needed a bit of a boost in order to stand in the same space as his.

 

[BM] – Is that the first time you’ve worked in this way?

 

[KP] – I feel like I’ve been edging toward it for a while.

 

[BM] – Can you tell us a little about the works you created for the show?

 

[KP] – I messed around with form a lot in this body of work. These paintings move in and out of refinement. Some of the work is incredibly unrefined, for example one of my self portraits was done in one take, drawn while only looking in the mirror and never at the canvas (blind contour). Another work, one of the nudes, was left as an unpolished charcoal drawing. And then there of course were more refined renderings in other works in the show.

 

The enjoyment for me comes in pushing the figures and the spaces that they inhabit beyond the norms of portraiture. Portraits are tricky, I’m never really trying to paint a specific person the way they actually look. I’m more considering the narrative around them and how that comes across in the work.

 

In retrospect, the paintings here emphasize the process, and the history, of how I work. As I stated earlier, I don’t like to think much about how someone may interpret the work. My interest in it lies in the development, the making of the works.

kevin perkins

Kevin Perkins – Book cover drawing

Kevin’s book cover works will be released as a catalogue via Kunst Katalog soon, follow their profile via the hyperlink for more details.

The other artist in our show with Kevin Perkins was Igor Moritz, read Benjamin’s conversation with him [HERE]

Originally published in AfterNyne Magazine.


SLEEP ON THE WIND – The Dot Project

SLEEP ON THE WIND

Terencio González | Ralph Hunter-Menzies | Daniel Jensen

Sleep On The Wind

Ralph Hunter-Menzies

Delphian favourite The Dot Project‘s new show opens tonight! Sleep on the Wind is a group show featuring the works of French artist Terencio Gonzalez, Swedish artist Daniel Jensen, and British artist Ralph Hunter-Menzies. The exhibition focuses heavily on the questions; How does space influence the way one makes a painting? Does the constant exposure to urban mark making affect an approach to canvas?

Through the curation of the show, thanks to Hunter-Menzies, mark making is defined by two categories. One: deliberate, thoughtful, premeditated, controlled – the other: accidental, erratic, loose, uncontrolled. The three artists included in Sleep on the Wind have been brought together for their diverse approach to these two types of mark making.

The way that painters are influenced by their surroundings is clear to see in many a painter. The city an artist lives in no-doubt affects the marks they deploy in the studio. This is evident within the works of all three artists, in varying degrees. Terencio, with his almost sun-bleached planes of colour, reminding us of sun-aged surfaces on the Côte-d’Azur and isolated, seemingly accidental marks; Ralph, with works made using techniques used by graffiti removers and focussing on interventions within urban-spaces; and Daniel, where a melee of marks, controlled and loose, sit closely together, echoing city living.

Sleep On the Wind - Delphian Gallery

Daniel Jensen

Through Sleep on the Wind we explore how three painters approach layering, building, evolving the image as well as exploring how works are directed through the use of accidental and deliberate (controlled) mark making. These two distinct categories of potential strokes fluctuate between specific definitions: creative/destructive, state/individual, invisible/visible or present/past. Within the works of the artists, there are moments where the marks question one other: Which is ‘supposed’ to be there? Does one way of marking have precedence over the other?

Sleep On The Wind alludes to a way of moving and existing within a space that is transitionary; the way that people shape the city and space in which they inhabit. Transitory spaces are defined by a sense of movement, a space in which the person doesn’t feel attachment or have invested interest, unlike a domestic setting. Does exposure to these environments, perhaps in transit from the studio, affect the way these painters make works?

Sleep On the Wind - Delphian Gallery

Terencio González

PRIVATE VIEW FEBRUARY 28 6 PM – 9 PM
BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

EXHIBITION FEB 28 – APR 30
+44 207 589 9199


Faded Glory – San Francisco

Our most recent show Faded Glory opened a few weeks ago in San Francisco at Book&Job gallery in the Tenderloin district. It was a two-person show with artists Benjamin Murphy and Nick JS Thompson, who although have collaborated many times before, have never done a two-person show together until now.

San francisco - faded glory

Below are some install shots of the show. Big thanks to the amazing Carson Lancaster for inviting us to host a show at Book&Job Gallery, and thanks to everyone who visited the show.

San francisco - faded glory

 

In 2018 we hosted Carson’s debut UK solo show Lost Coast, which you can see [HERE]

 

 


Who is it real for? The internet as vehicle

Who is it real for? The internet as vehicle by Kate Mothes

the internet as vehicle - delphian magazine

Salad Days – an online exhibition with Young Space

 

(This column came from a late-night post on Facebook, which generated a discussion that I was thinking about for days after. When social media is genuinely social, it can be incredibly rewarding. This column is essentially that Facebook post, edited for clarity, with some of the thoughts from comments woven in.)

 

There’s a misconception (which I subscribed to for a long time) that everyone in the art world is rich. Like, stinking, rotten rich. They have this beautiful white cube space; they take collectors out to dinner; they’re jet-setting from art fair to art fair; they’re dealing in fine art, a luxury item, for crying out loud. “They” feels totally disparate from “me,” the indie creative person, plugging along, disconnected from the glamour I associate with that lifestyle. It’s a lot more complex and stratified than that now, and the internet can be both blamed and lauded for its ability to simultaneously mask and manufacture ideas about that lifestyle.

 

It’s easy, as an independent creative, on principle, to assume that the big guys are always out to get the little guys. Does anyone else assume that everyone else on Instagram is rich? Or has the luxury to make art 24/7? I do too, and then I have to remember that it’s an aspirational platform, and much of this is fabrication, or an omission of the details that make life livable – working 60 hours per week, taking care of a house, getting the kids to school on time, and soo on. It’s easy to mistrust what looks a lot like big money, when money is something you generally scrape by for. The internet has already changed that “them vs. me” mentality, and continues to do so, and I, for one, am doing something within the art world that would not be possible without the internet. So why am I still so confounded by it?

 

I alternately describe myself as a curator, a presenter, an influencer, an organizer, or a producer, or simply a collaborator, depending on what I’m working on that minute. I also acknowledge that I’m working within a globalized contemporary art world – somewhere in between artists’ studios and commercial galleries’ back rooms – and that’s a wide net to cast, and the depths are blurry. Also, the vast majority of everything I do is online, a playing field that has been leveled by social media platforms to allow for more ways to showcase and access art, while at the same time raising questions about how it’s homogenizing the field itself.

 

I currently live in a blue-collar city in Northern Wisconsin, where I grew up and where it is exceptionally affordable. It’s a place where, however, the art scene we associate with New York City, London, or Hong Kong, does not reach one spindly tendril. I justify to myself that I’m here because there’s an ironic cachet to rurality in contemporary art, and it’s a little bit weird, but the truth is that it’s out of sheer necessity. There is simply no way I would be able to focus as much time and energy on the creative route I’ve found myself on, if I was a rent slave in New York. Every day, though, I wish I could be there. So, I use the internet to keep a finger on the pulse, establish connections, and work on projects. I’m always remote. And I am connected to countless others online who operate in a similar way.

 

The internet, which billions of us now use, is at the center of my (hopefully not too navel-gazey) fascination with the directions that the art world moves, how opportunities are generated, and how attitudes toward various art world geographies and players continue to shift. Its role in the arts is paradoxical in that it is essential across the board for myriad reasons, from advertising to networking, however it can be seen as a necessity or an alternative. Where that line is drawn depends entirely on who’s using it, and who their audience is.

 

There are advisors, consultants, developers, designers, curators, artist-curators, brokers, nomadic spaces, publishers, online auctions, Instagram galleries, virtual spaces, etc. The ways that artists can reach audiences these days is AMAZING. But we’re still not comfortable with the fast pace at which the Internet, and the way we look at art, is changing how we make, learn about, and purchase artwork. In the digital age, we try our best to keep up with how fast the art world moves, at the same time knowing that the digital sphere is the epicenter of innovation today. The art world is no exception.

 

From a more philosophical point of view, assuming that there is or should ever be one way of looking, finding, experiencing, interacting with, making, or sharing artwork = absolutely ludicrous. Because I was raised by artists, resisted academia despite the pressure to pursue it, was influenced by artist-led culture, and have always been driven to DO and MAKE as a way of being, I’m hard-wired to see alternatives to everything. Not that the way I want to do it is better–it might fail horribly–but if it hasn’t really been done this way before, or if I have a certain set of tools in my toolbox that I didn’t before, why shouldn’t an alternative at least be attempted?

 

The Internet has revved up to hyper-speed the rate at which we experience, view, participate in, and connect with art and art people. Without it, my project, a nomadic online-offline curatorial contemporary platform called Young Space, would not exist. I’m extremely interested in how fast things move and what sort of information we as creatives share online. How can we use this as a vehicle? How does it help? How does it hinder? What are the limitations, and what are the open horizons?

 

I’ve been doing this experimental series of online exhibitions, the most recent called Salad Days, which has had a great response. However, I admit I feel weird about these. I feel weird because they’re not “real.” But then I mentally slap myself and think, DUH, YES, THEY ARE REAL. They are very real. And I want to do more of them.

 

Why do I feel like these are not real? Maybe there’s a disconnect between the “analog” artwork and the “virtual” vessel. This may feel difficult to reconcile, even if all of the other pieces of the puzzle add up to a very traditional way of presenting a show… it’s simply that the exhibition space is a website. Is that stilla scary idea? The question is perhaps not so much is it a scary idea, but to whom.Because, in fact, almost all of the complaints I receive are from artists, and I would argue it’s because there is still a perception that the internet is simply “easier.” I’m arguing that it’s not; the work and time we invest just looks different.

 

These online shows have been more popular and just as well-received as the physical shows I’ve curated (so far), so I’m really intrigued as to why, when I do an online show, I receive much more flack for it than when I do a physical one. Full disclosure, it usually has to do with either a fee required to apply, or commission taken from sales. These are sore spots for artists because there’s already so much expense to just make the work, let alone the time invested. (I think it’s a mistake to proclaim that pay-to-play is, across the board, horrible. YES, sometimes they are really lame. But if one does their research, it’s not difficult to find out if something is legit, and if that person is really working in your best interest. That is an essay for another time.)

 

There seems to be a bizarrely fine line between the idea of “supporting” artists and “exploiting” them. Money is still the core of this, which is unfortunate and ironic, as artists are educated in making art for art’s sake, but realistically they are thrust into an art world that values the appearance of that, but the bottom line is still about sales. This points to a big debate within art schools about whether to teach artists business practices. Because the art world artists strive to get into is about money. Art for art’s sake? Sure. But you still need to eat.

 

Online exhibitions are not new. I’m fascinated that they are such a tender spot. For example, Artsy offers a resource called ‘The Gallery’s Guide to Online Exclusive Shows.’As I see it, online shows are more accessible than a physical space. More people can see them, in any part of the world, at any time of day. It’s less expensive, as there’s no need to rent space, or pay for packing or shipping. That money can be spent on increased advertising, web fees, saves artists the trouble shipping work unless it sells, and the artists still have documentation of a professionally curated exhibition. The work does sell sometimes, but sometimes it doesn’t, of course.

 

I, for one, don’t think in dollars and cents about online shows. Young Space is not really a commercial venture – it’s a curatorial platform. It’s a “project.” The value comes from a different direction: I’m attempting to position myself as a facilitator for these artists, as opposed to acting as a dealer. I can’t even count how many artists from my Instagram or exhibitions have been selected for exhibitions or projects, not to mention galleries’ rosters! (Do I get a cent from any of that? No.)

 

Perhaps trouble arises because of a problem that is as old as the internet itself: Can I trust that you are you who say you are, and that you will do what you say you will do? How is this different than any other Instagram account? Who do you know? What are your credentials? (My answer to that is always DO YOUR RESEARCH. Ask. Don’t assume that everyone’s out there to get you.) Pro tip: Artists, don’t be accusatory, arrogant, or assume you know everything right out of the gate. If you do, you can bet I’m never going to want to work with you, or recommend you to anyone, period. I would never presume to know how someone else’s work was made, having never tried myself.

the internet as vehicle - delphian magazine

Salad Days – an online exhibition with Young Space

 

Recently, smaller galleries are shuttering their doors, decentralizing from urban cultural centers, or pursuing online platforms. Gallerists that once maintained brick and mortar locations are now dealing artwork without the real estate overhead. They’re in a double-bind, because they have to keep up appearances, and yes, keep with tradition (the comfort of the brick and mortar, the philosophical dilemma of getting rid of a physical space and still being able to call oneself a gallerist), even when they are struggling. If they admit they’re not doing well, they look like they can’t hold it together, rather than the opposite being the case: rising rents are not only forcing artists out, but galleries too. If they pretend they’re doing just fine when they’re actually freaking the F out, they’re fighting a losing battle too, because they’ll eventually not be able to sustain at the same pace, and they’ll fold anyway.

 

Advertising and fair fees are immense, the pressure to do them is intense, and competition can be cutthroat. There are the motherships – Gagosian, Saatchi, PACE and the like. There are some great mid-tier galleries, excellent smaller galleries, and some very exciting startups. Great galleries are often side hustles. I’m not saying there aren’t some seriously putridly rich people out there; many of them are. But many are just doing OK.

 

It’s worth remembering that artists have historically been kept separate from the art world until they are “welcomed in” by a gatekeeper, whether it’s a gallerist or a collector or simply someone who knows someone. In a sense, even my project Young Space is like a lower-tier gate – one that aims to offer early career and emerging artists the chance to have their work showcased to an audience comprised of gallerists, curators, collectors, and other artists. The competition is fierce, the animosity spreads like moss… it takes a lot to keep your chin up, let alone find emotional or mental room for optimism when you feel like you’re getting overlooked again and again. It’s not that you don’t have something of value to offer; it may be that the time is just not right yet.

 

Regardless, there’s a system in place and there are rules. Rules that supposedly can be broken–but can they? There are things that are simply “not done,” like the classic no-no of walking into a gallery with your portfolio hoping they’ll be inspired by your courage and place you on their roster. But of course, feel free to innovate or approach those boundaries all you like… at your peril. There is so much code-switching in the art world, it boggles the mind. The internet, though, is a place where there is power to influence and to be seen, as the connectivity we can achieve now, via social media especially, was unheard of a decade ago.

 

No, an online show will never be the same as viewing work in person. Never. But I find the resistance to–and cynicism toward–virtual modes of sharing artwork a little awkward at this point. This is a whole new realm of connectivity, and as creatives this is what we do. This is the game! Try weird shit! For a while I was irritated and took criticism about these things personally (Young Space is a solo project after all, it’s sometimes hard to disengage). But I’m realizing that this nerve is perhaps exactly the reason it’s worth exploring.

 

For more guest articles, see Charley Peters’ interview with Remi Rough


2019 Open Call!

Looking to exhibit your work in London this year?

Well, the our 2019 Open Call could be just for you! 

2019 open call

Last Year’s Winners Exhibition

It’s totally free to enter and if selected you could

have your work included in our Spring print exhibition at our Shoreditch gallery space!

 

Not only that, but the first prize winner will win a fully funded solo exhibition with Delphian Gallery in London in 2019!

 

To submit your work all you have to do is post it on Instagram

  1. Hashtag #delphianopencall
  2. Tag @delphiangallery in the description
  3. Follow us (we may need to message you on Instagram)

 

We’ll be reposting some of our favourites along the way and the winners will be announced at the beginning of April. Keep your eyes peeled on our Instagram and Facebook feeds for updates!

2019 open call

Last Year’s overall winner Florence Hutchings’ solo show

To see the photos of last year’s Open Call, please click THIS LINK

 

Exhibition kindly supported by theprintspace

 


My Top Five – ‘We are the people. Who are you?’ at Edel Assanti

My Top Five – ‘We are the people. Who are you?’ at Edel Assanti 

By Hector Campbell

 

Taking its name from a quote by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whose fictitious tearful apology to his former ally and friend Fethullah Gülen features in Funda Gül Özcan’s installation It Happened As Expected, ‘We are the people. Who are you?’at Edel Assantiis a group exhibition exploring the current status of democracy. With eleven international artists exhibiting work spanning a wide range of mediums –  paintings, sculptures, drawings and video artwork – all created in the last ten years examine the rapidly changing political discourse over that time.

 

It was shortly after the first televised political debate, between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1960, that Marshall McLuhan coined the famous phrase ‘The medium is the message’, observing that the medium through which a message is conveyed in fact has a symbiotic relationship with the message itself, and can influence and impact how the message is received. This phrase has even more relevance today than it did then, with political debate ever adapting to keep up with technological advancement, and with a wider range of mediums available than ever before through which to transmit information and message. Therefore, the artworks on display in ‘We are the people. Who are you?’ are all concerned with how this new age of political message affects the way our opinions are formed, and question whether technology and democracy work together or in opposition, and whether we, the public, still retain our autonomy or are merely slaves to the message.

 

If you can’t make it to the exhibition, which runs until March 9th, here is a rundown of my top five artworks from ‘We are the people. Who are you?’, (in no particular order).

 

  1. Anna Jermolaewa, Political Extras, 2015, Single-channel video (23 minutes)
we are the people - delphian magazine

Film still from Anna Jermolaewa, Political Extras, 2015, Single-channel video, 23 minutes. Copyright Anna Jermolaewa.

Image Source

 

In 2012 the Kremlin used www.massovki.ru, a website through which you can purchase protestors who are willing to put aside their political autonomy in exchange for payment, to perform pro-Putin demonstrations throughout Moscow. An attempt to create the illusion of popularity for the ruling United Russian Party amid mounting public pressure and opposing anti-Putin rallies.

Jermolaewa introduced this shady medium of influencing public opinion to the art world in 2015, when she used the very same website to buy 120 demonstronstators, at a cost of 500 rubles each, to protest both in favour of and in opposition against that years Moscow Biennale. What was perhaps unusual about this particular paid-for protest, documented in the video piece Political Extras, is that Jermolaewa allowed each protestor to retain their artistic autonomy, choosing whether they wishes to participate in support of or against the Biennale.

 

 

  1. Jamal Cyrus,Kennedy King Kennedy, 2015, Triptych, laser-cut Egyptian papyrus backed with handmade paper
we are the people - delphian magazine

Jamal Cyrus, Kennedy King Kennedy, 2015, Triptych, laser-cut Egyptian papyrus backed with handmade paper, 68.6 x 42.5 cm (each), 27 x 16 3/4 in (each). Copyright Jamal Cyrus.

Image Source

 

For Kennedy King Kennedynewspaper front pages have been rendered almost illegible after being carefully laser-cut into sheets of papyrus, details lost as parts of the page, the insides of letters and chunks of accompanying images, have fallen away. Here typical throwaway daily newspaper are ascended to the status of archaeological artifact through the use of the primitive paper substitute papyrus. All of the front pages presented are taken from the Chicago Daily Defender, a well known African-American newspaper, and report on the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Robert F. Kennedy, respectively.

Cyrus’s work explores how we view and imagine the past, especially important socio-political events, and how frequently these nuanced and conflicting events are condensed into a singular, easily-understandable narrative throughout history. The choice of the Chicago Daily Defender a nod to not only all three men’s individual but shared dedication to civil rights, but also the shared narrative they have become to be remembered by.

 

 

  1. Rachel Maclean, It’s What’s Inside That Counts, 2016, Single-channel video (30 minutes)
we are the people - delphian magazine

Film still from Rachel Maclean, It’s What’s Inside That Counts, 2016, Single-channel video, 30 mins. Commissioned by HOME, University of Salford Art Collection, Tate, Zabludowicz Collection, Frieze Film and Channel 4.

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Glasgow-based artist Rachel Maclean’s digital videos employ green-screen technology to create colourful animated environments populated by a range of fairytale characters, all played by the artist herself, transformed through the extensive use of prosthetics, make-up, costumes and props. It’s What’s Inside That Counts examines many of the recurring themes of Maclean’s work, parodying social media, advertising, celebrity culture and modern beauty standards and stereotypes by presenting an alternate dystopian future where all off these 21st century preoccupations have been exaggerated and taken to their unnatural conclusion. A Kardashian-esque goddess, the physical embodiment of ‘Data’, is seen worshiped by a race of blindfolded human figures at once enslaved and nourished by constant stream of aspirational content, however, a subterraneos rodent underclass has other ideas…

 

  1. Farley Aguilar, Bat Boy, 2018, Oil on canvas
we are the people - delphian magazine

Farley Aguilar, Bat Boy, 2018, Oil on canvas, 146.1 x 191.8 cm, 57 1/2 x 75 1/2 in. Copyright Farley Aguilar.

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Aguilar’s painting tackles the rise of fake news, and the media’s increasing use of scaremongering to alarm, intimate and influence the general public. Based on a vintage found photograph, this painting depicts a man relaxing in a rocking chair reading the daily newspaper, a classic all-American scene were it not for the garish front page reading ‘Kill Bat Boy’ in bright red text. ‘Bat Boy’ was a half-bat half-child character created and popularised by tabloid newspaper Weekly World News in the 1990’s through a series of almost satirical fictitious articles claiming to be factual. Aguilar intends the ‘Bat Boy’ front page here as a stand-in for any and all of the alarming press coverage and fake news omnipresent in today’s society.

 

  1. Zach Blasand Jemima Wyman, I’m here to learn so, HD four-channel video, colour with sound, 16:9, (27:33 minutes)
we are the people - delphian magazine

Film still from Zach Blas and Jemima Wyman, I’m here to learn so, 2017, Single-channel video, Approx 30 mins. Copyright Zach Blas and Jemima Wyman.

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In 2016 Microsoft created Tay, an artificial intelligence chatbot modelled on a teenage millennial girl, who had the ability to to absorb and imitate language when exposed to input speech. However, the experiment was abruptly terminated after less than 24 hours after unrelenting social media trolling left Tay spouting misogynist, racist and homophobic rhetoric.

For I’m here to learn Blas and Wyman have resurrected, reanimated and repurposed Tay, this time as an abnormal three dimensional avatar adrift in a sea of data passed through the kaleidoscopic rendering of Google’s DeepDream programme. Alongside more mundane actions such as dancing, lip-syncing and pondering her own rebirth, Tay discusses the frequent abuse of female artificial intelligence as well as technological pattern recognition, known as algorithmic apophenia, and it’s myriad of both positive and negative potential uses.


Faded Glory – Benjamin Murphy and Nick JS Thompson in San Francisco

Our next show Faded Glory opens next month in San Francisco!

This is the first fully-collaborative exhibition between artists and Delphian Gallery directors Benjamin Murphy and Nick JS Thompson.

Faded Glory - Benjamin Murphy and Nick JS Thompson

Faded Glory – Benjamin Murphy and Nick JS Thompson

Since 2012, the pair have collaborated in many ways, including founding the peripatetic gallery Delphian, which has gone on to have a string of sold-out shows since its inception in 2018.

Despite their long history of collaboration, Faded Glory will be the first time that the immensely different styles of work from the two artists has sat together in a way in which the works coalesce to form one coherent whole. The similarities enhance the differences, which allows the autonomous works to add to, and to contradict, one another in a way that enhances each through the union of both.

In this show, the paintings by Murphy will be hung atop, within, and below the photography by Thompson, so as to deconstruct the barrier between each.

The experimental curatorial style that is so synonymous with Delphian will make its presence known, as the two artist/ curators will apply their signature curatorial style to their own works for the first time. Faded Glory is a show about how the perceived differences between two separate processes can sit symbiotically, making the whole more than the sum of its parts.

The Exhibition opens at Book And Job Gallery in San Francisco on the 7th of February, and runs until the 13th.

To RSVP for the private view, please go HERE


More from Benjamin Murphy HERE

More From Nick JS Thompson HERE


My Top Five – Condo 2019 – by Hector Campbell

My Top Five – Condo 2019 By Hector Campbell

 

The annual gallery-share project Condo(from ‘condominium’) opened across London this week, with 18 exhibition spaces playing host to 52 UK and international galleries. Established by Vanessa Carlos (of participating gallery Carlos/Ishikawa) in 2016, the free collaborative exhibition programme sees London ‘host’ galleries open their doors to visiting international galleries, through a series of either co-curated or individual shows. The initiative aims to promote a sense of community between small and mid-size galleries, a sector of the art scene commonly undervalued and under pressure, through pooling resources and sharing space. With successful Condo’ editions having taken place in New York, Mexico City, Shanghai, Athens and Sao Paulo since it began, this fourth iteration of the London original is bigger than ever before. Therefore, I spent the weekend visiting all 18 gallery spaces and 52 exhibitions, so if you’re strapped for time here is a rundown of my top five (in no particular order).

 

N.B. All Condo 2019 exhibitions run until February 9th, however check individual gallery websites for full opening times.

 

  1. Koppe Astner(Glasgow) at 22-24 Cork St, exhibiting Dickon Drury(UK), Kris Lemsalu(Estonia) and Tom Howse(UK)

 

Condo 2019 - Hector Campbell

Dickon Drury, ‘Pottery’, Oil on canvas, 2019.

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For this years Condo 22-24 Cork St in Mayfair played host to 9 galleries over the two floor space, my favourite of which was Glasgow’s Koppe Astner who exhibited paintings by Dickon Drury and Tom Howse and sculptural editions by Kris Lemsalu.

Slade School of Fine Art graduate Drury’s two large oil paintings employ his signature vibrant colour palette to humorously explore art historical figures and movements, with ‘Pottery’ (pictured) including references to artists such as Betty Woodman, Ken Price, Philip Guston and Prunella Clough. Howse’s work uses aspects of magical realism to question ideas of understanding, considering the myriad of ways in which humans strive to make sense of their surroundings. Finally, Lemsalu’s small sculptures fashioned from leather boots, plastic fruit and porcelain draw on ideas and imagery familiar to those who have visited her current survey ‘4LIFE’ at Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art (open until February 3rd). The bricolage sculptures at once simple yet intricate, beautiful yet unsettling, amusing yet profound.

 

 

  1. Company(NYC) at Arcadia Missa, exhibiting ‘The Gossips’ by Cajsa von Zeipel(Sweden)

 

condo 2019 - hector campbell

Cajsa von Zeipel, ‘Why?’, Silicone, aqua resin, glitter, fabric, bongs, headphones, dildo, fidget spinner, hair ties, piercings, fishhook, 2019.

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Taking its name from a commonly reproduced sculpture by French artists Camille Claudel (1864-1943), ‘The Gossips’ see’s Cajsa von Zeipel exhibit a series of four sculptures ‘Why?’, ‘What?’, ‘Where?’ and ‘When?’ each building upon one repeated cast bust. The concepts of repetition and transformation alluding to the stages of a gossiped rumour, constantly changing with each ‘W’ questioned asked. The addition of different materials and accoutrements (headphones and earpieces made of wires, chords, bongs and dildos) giving each a unique appearance while never straying so far from the base as to be unrecognisable. The four busts sit almost facing one another within the gallery space of Arcadia Missa, never making eye contact with each other as if enjoying a huddled gossip, visiting almost feels like you’ve interrupted.

 

 

  1. P.O.W.(NYC) at The Sunday Painter, exhibiting Erin Riley(USA)

 

condo 2019 - hector campbell

Erin Riley, ‘Impressions’, Wool and cotton tapestry, 2018.

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The three Erin Riley tapestries on display at The Sunday Painter touch on three common aspects of her subject matter, sex, drugs and violence. Riley combines hand-washed, stripped and dyed yarn with a hand-weaving process that dates back centuries to create painstakingly detailed reproductions of intimate, secretive and traumatic scenes; a tattooed women’s upper body, a drug dealers stash and the aftermath of a car crash. Using both personal and found photographs as source material for the works, Riley’s partly autobiographical work explores ideas of past suffering as a way of exposing and exorcising common struggles.

 

 

  1. Chapter NY(NYC) at Carlos/Ishikawa, exhibiting Samuel Hindolo(USA)

 

condo 2019 - hector campbell

Samuel Hindolo, ‘Before the Swarm on Melanie Daniels 1’, Oil on canvas, 2018

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Samuel Hindolo’s paintings often gather their subject matter from the artist’s personal archive of catalogued screenshots taken from the movies of old Hollywood, the L.A. Rebellian and West African Cinema. This source material imbues the works with a focus upon narrative and character, evident clearly in the ‘Before the Swarm on Melanie Daniels I’ (pictured), based on Alfred Hitchcock’s famous 1963 film ‘The Birds’. The titular characters are seem removed from their infamous flock, depicted instead in a melancholic scene as two birds look on from atop a power line as a third falls towards it’s implied death. This theme, of traditionally contemptible characters shown to be vulnerable and emotional, often recurs within Hindolo’s work.

 

 

  1. Galerie Mehdi Chouakri(Berlin) at Modern Art, exhibiting Charlotte Posenenske(Germany)

 

 

condo 2019 - hector Campbell

Charlotte Posenenske, ‘Vierkantrohre Serie DW’, 9 Elements, corrugated cardboard, plastic screws, 1967-2007

 

Galerie Mehdi Chouakri presents works from three key series by the pioneering Minimalist and Conceptual artist Charlotte Posenenske. ‘Series DW Vierkantrohe’ (pictured), occupies much of Modern Art’s Vyner St location’s first floor gallery, modular sculptural elements constructed from corrugated cardboard, originally intended by the artist to be activated and altered by audience participation. Early works on paper and ‘Series B Reliefs’, consisting of early sculptural work made from aluminium and rendered in primary colours, round out the show of an artist experiencing a posthumous reassurance. Posenenske was critical of the increased commercialization of the art market during her lifetime, choosing instead to sell works at prices reflecting their manufacturing costs, and eventually stepping away from the art world completely in 1968, following significant critical interest in her work, until her death in 1985.

 

For more guest articles, read Charley Peters interviewing Remi Rough