 Simon Willems Folk Law Percy Miller gallery are delighted to present "Folk Law", their second solo exhibition of paintings by Simon Willems, in which he furthers his interrogation into the mythologies by which we forge identity. Recalling his show last year in Paris, "Death to the Archers", Willems continues to confront the concept of breeding and lineage, of "new age" escapism and the natural in opposition to the cultural. Paradoxes abound: elegant, refined drawing and brushwork depict the boldly cropped flanks of two rutting horses; soap bubbles, painted in slithers of silky colour, arrest the imminent collapse of a fractured wall; whilst roll-up butts form the fountain of "new age" culture. In the painting which gives the show its title, Willems presents a ramshackle window. A generic "new age" curtain blocks our view inside, yet habitation is suggested by the discarded roll-up butts littering the external ledge. Poorly maintained, this environment gives an alternative gloss on the world of psychedelics and "alternative" idealism. Through addressing a-historical mythologies, and vague borrowings from the East or Celtic legend, Willems asks us to re-examine the modes by which we, as a society, attempt to escape our circumstances. Willems does not stand aloof from his object of study, but rather observes, with ambivalence, certain aspects of how we perceive folklore. This is difficult territory yet the paintings themselves do not set up polemics, but rather acknowledge this complexity through a measured and understated slowness. The power of Willems' art is in its openness, its unobtrusive, yet demanding, texture of references. In "Folk Law" the subtle strategies we use to maintain our identities and to escape social reality are matched by the artist's sophisticated gambits in paint. Ausstellungsdauer: 8.11. - 6.12.2002 Öffnungszeiten: Di-Fr 11 - 18 Uhr, Sa 12 - 16 Uhr Percy Miller Gallery 39 Snowsfields GB-London SE1 3SU Telefon +44 20 7207 4578 Fax +44 20 7207 0593 E-Mail info@percymillergallery.com www.percymillergallery.com |
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