17 June 2010

Man&Eve presents 'The Borrowed Loop' - opening show of new project space at 8a Courtenay Street, London, SE11 5PH

Man&Eve

'The Borrowed Loop', 01.07.10 - 14.08.10
Private view, Wednesday 30th June 2010, 6-9pm


Man&Eve is pleased to present 'The Borrowed Loop', a group exhibition featuring work by Iain Andrews, Karin Brunnermeier, Filippo Caramazza, Bouke de Vries, Ori Gersht, Henrietta Simson, Esther Teichmann and Michael Whittle.

The exhibition takes its title from Nicholas Bourriaud's 2002 book 'Postproduction' in which the modern day artist's use of appropriation is likened to the DJ's sample or 'borrowed loop'. As in music, the art of postproduction breaks with traditions of referencing and citation, moving instead towards a culture of 'shareware' in which forms, already within the circulation of the cultural market, are re-imagined and re-contextualised by artists.

Whilst the themes explored by the artists within the exhibition are varied, what links them is a propensity for the referencing and re-editing of images and concepts from further back in the 'collective machinery'. The selected works within the exhibition look beyond recent art history, drawing instead from the iconography of periods such as the Renaissance, Dutch Golden Age and Orientalist art.

Rather than aiming to dismantle traditions or devalue the essence of the 'original', the artists within the exhibition borrow from visual culture to create new forms, re-mixing concepts and imagery from the past, creating new dialogues with the present. Ori Gersht's 'Falling Bird', from his recent filmic trilogy, draws upon the imagery and symbolism of Chardin's still life compositions as a means of exploring relationships between the photographic image and objective reality. Filippo Caramazza also borrows from the still life tradition, dismantling and reassembling masterpieces into new forms in order to re-contextualise them within the perception of the present moment, whilst commenting on the process of appropriation itself. Similarly Bouke de Vries' fractured still life sculptures, constructed from reclaimed china, glass and pottery, inhabit the style of the Dutch Golden age whilst instilling new virtues and values for his objects.

Other works within the exhibition also engage with specific art historical references and artists. Henrietta Simson's recent paintings reference the frescoes of Ambrogio Lorenzetti, reinterpreting the representation of landscape space in images - from historical paintings to contemporary photographic sources - exploring notions of the 'real' and 'original'. Michael Whittle's monochromatic, drawings from his 'Dark Ages' series borrow from the works of medieval artists such as Bosch and Bondel, to examine tools of knowledge and our endeavours towards gaining knowledge, as well as the margins and aftermaths where these endeavours break down and fail. Similarly, the paintings of Iain Andrews originate from close dialogue with images from art history in an attempt to communicate something of the spiritual and sensual through painterly language, creating a series of creative duels between the past and present, the physical and the metaphysical.

In other works within 'The Borrowed Loop', artists revisit themes used throughout art history to create new commentary. Karin Brunnermeier's film 'La Toilette' wittily reinterprets the painterly tradition of depicting a woman combing her hair to explore ideas of the ego and societal roles. Other artists within the exhibition inhabit styles, invoking the vocabulary of a period of art history whilst fusing it with modern day commentary. In her photographic works, Esther Teichmann extracts gestures, imagery and narratives from a range of references - from Orientalist painting to classical sculpture and literary sources - melding the fictional with the autobiographical to explore origins of fantasy and desire and how these are bound to experiences of loss and representation.

In 'The Borrowed Loop' meanings are disrupted, hierarchies challenged and alternative narratives constructed.The exhibition, which includes painting, works on paper, sculpture, installation and video, calls into question ideas of authenticity and authorship and the dissemination of the image in contemporary culture.
'The Borrowed Loop' runs from 1st July - 14th August 2010. Opening hours: Thursday - Saturday, 12 - 6pm and at other times by prior appointment. A private view will take place on Wednesday 30th June, 6 - 9pm.
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'The Borrowed Loop' is the first exhibition to take place at Man&Eve's new temporary project space in the heart of Kennington. 8a Courtenay Street is a former sea cadet training centre on the Duchy of Cornwall Estate. This unusual and atmospheric building will enable us to produce a series of ambitious and experimental exhibitions on a larger scale. The space will also accommodate studio space for gallery artists, and short-term residencies for exhibiting artists.
131 Kennington Park Road, London, SE11 4JJ will continue as our registered office address.

Directions:
Click here to view Map
8a Courtenay Street, London SE11 5PH is approximately 7 minutes walk from Kennington and Vauxhall stations.

From Kennington station, cross over Kennington Park Road and turn left. At City and Guilds of London Art School, turn right into Cleaver Square, cross the square and exit via Cleaver Street. At Kennington Cross, take the second left into Kennington Lane and then the second right into Courtenay Street. Number 8a is at the far end of the street on the left.

From Vauxhall station, take the exit marked for 'The Oval' cricket ground. Turn left and cross the road towards the Royal Vauxhall Tavern. Turn right into Kennington Lane and Courtenay Street is approximately the sixth turning on the left.

The following bus routes all pass through Kennington Cross: 3, 59, 133, 155, 159, 196, 333, 360, 415
Man&Eve
London SE11 5PH
+44 (0) 207 582 7861
info@manandeve.co.uk
www.manandeve.co.uk

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