 Jon Widman: Creatures of Darkness, 2004 Flashe on linen, 108 x 91 cm Courtesy of Zach Feuer Gallery (LFL) Paintings Simon Keenleyside, Robert Platt, Jon Widman, Cristof Yvore "...If my paintings were not serious I would not be anxious. If I were not anxious then I would not care. If I did not care then I would not make the paintings" (Simon Keenleyside, 2003). Taka Ishii Gallery is pleased to announce our new exhibition, "Paintings", consisting of new paintings by an international group emerging artists. The exhibition will include Korean-born US based Jon Widman, French Cristof Yvore, and British artists Simon Keeleyside and Robert Platt (presently based in Kyoto, Japan). Following is a brief text on each participating artist: Simon Monk on Simon Keenleyside - from the essay "That Flower, Honeybee Thing" (2003): Although it is true that they employ schematic representations of objects such as trees and flowers (familiar motifs from children's drawings) and sweet, pastel color schemes, these are merely elements in an artistic strategy of formal and conceptual sophistication. The artist's aim is synthesis; the reconciliation of the youthful memory of the magic of special places with the inevitably more prosaic adult understanding of a place. Artist Robert Platt on his work (2004): In my recent works "Landscape" is a pretext to find a path from the artificial to a primordial past in an attempt to re-establish our relationship to contemporary space. Within this context I am interested in the merging of the abstract and the representational and the movements between the two... In recent works there has been a shift within the depictions of landscape/place with the introduction of anomalous features to challenge familiar codes of the perception of contemporary space. Excerpt from Zeno X Gallery (Belgium) text on Cristof Yvore: The painting does not impart a narrative, but instead discusses the nature of color and composition, the practise and craft of painting. A painting by Yvore is an obstinate investigation in the field of artistic possibilities, rather than a representation referring to an idea outside its frame. The results of Yvore's research are conveyed through varying textures of paint (watery to thick), size (large to small), and a particular range of color nuances (mainly vibrating hues of brown). Excerpt from LFL Gallery (New York) text on Jon Widman: Jon Widman's paintings, watercolors and collages investigate issues of control and fear through tightly rendered images and carefully arranged scenarios. He works from both still life and imagination. The predominantly muted palette and tightly rendered images arouse a hyper-dream-like space and time in the viewer. This combination helps to create the narratives and formal complexities that give his work a jarring, yet familiar edge. Exhibition: February 15 - March 5, 2005 Opening hours: Tue-Sat 11 am - 7 pm Taka Ishii Gallery 1-31-6-1F, Shinkawa, Chuo-ku J-Tokyo #104-0033 Telephone +81(0)3 5542 3615 Fax +81(0)3 3552 3363 Email tig@takaishiigallery.com www.takaishiigallery.com |
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