MARC BLAKE

Marc Blake Relativity

21 July - 15 August 2012

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

Milford Galleries Dunedin 18 Dowling Street (03) 477 7727 info@milfordhouse.co.nz

1. Form and Emptiness (2012) acrylic, graphite, colour pencil, UVLS varnish on board, panel: 1070 x 1016 x 50 mm

2. Relativity (2012) acrylic, graphite, colour pencil, pigment ink, UVLS varnish on board, panel: 800 x 956 x 50 mm

3. South (2012), acrylic, colour pencil, UVLS varnish on board, panel: 798 x 950 x 50 mm

4. Just Us (2012) acrylic, graphite, colour pencil, UVLS varnish on board, panel: 800 x 954 x 50 mm

5. Modern Love (2012) triptych; acrylic, graphite, colour pencil, UVLS varnish

h on board, panels: 1680 x 1015 x 50 mm each, overall: 1680 x 3075 x 50 mm

6. At the Exact Same Moment (2012) acrylic, graphite, colour pencil, pigment ink, 24 k gold, UVLS varnish on board, panel: 1070 x 1015 x 50 mm

7. Space (2012), acrylic, colour pencil, UVLS varnish on board, panel: 452 x 362 x 50 mm

In Relativity Marc Blake presents us with a suite of works that examines the place of the individual within society. In a world that displays ever more connectivity but, paradoxically, ever more disconnection, Blake examines ideas of isolation within a multitude, the transitory nature of the moment, and the uncertainty of the future.

The idea of ongoing process is evidenced in the techniques Blake uses, as well as in his subject matter. Through the manipulation of found images that have been deconstructed and recomposed, the works retain a sense of layered histories. His transferral of images imprints them into the surface of the plywood and they become part of the surface rather than sitting upon it. Likewise Blake’s use of the natural woodgrain turns the medium into the subject matter. In At the Exact Same Moment ply ripples form on the lake, morphing into ridges of earth as the tones of Blake’s palette shift from violet to brown.

Whereas previous paintings have contained a number of seemingly disconnected tableaux, in Relativity Blake has pulled his focus tight, illustrating a single instant. His lone subjects, faces often turned away, invite solipsistic reflection on our own place in the world. Do we take our place in the world irrespective of others around us, or are we constructed by their mirrored glances?

Blake’s depictions of singular moments do not exist in a vacuum, each is relative to that which has gone before and that which will follow after. Form and Emptiness reveals this layered time: the frozen second, the two-score-and-ten of man, the long centuries of the ‘old man pine.’ (1) It is no coincidence that Blake has chosen this Asian symbol of longevity to tower above the monk practising his martial art. It serves as a form of memento mori, as do the cherry blossoms in Relativity, their fleeting presence a reminder that ‘this too shall pass.’

1. Marc Blake, Artist’s Statement, 2012

EXHIBITION PRICELIST

1

Form and Emptiness (2012)

5,000

2

Relativity (2012)

4,000

3

South (2012)

4,000

4

Just Us (2012)

4,000

5

Modern Love (2012)

6

At the Exact Same Moment (2012)

5,000

7

Space (2012)

1,500

12,500

All prices are NZD and include GST; Prices are current at the time of the exhibition

MARC BLAKE b. 1974, lives Auckland

Future Fund (2011)

“I seek to create paintings that contemplate notions of time, space, experience and the interconnectivity of things.”(1) A raft of (seemingly) disconnected dream-like images inhabits the works of Marc Blake. Realist images of children, schoolgirls and old men are belied by apparent contradictions of time and place. Using flattened, unreal perspectives, and accompanied by stylised trees and imagined landscapes, Blake’s figures are trapped in singular instances of time.

In a world that displays ever more connectivity but, paradoxically, ever more disconnection, Blake examines ideas of isolation within a multitude, the transitory nature of the moment, and the uncertainty of the future.

Marc Blake was born in Auckland where he lived and studied gaining a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of Auckland. After time spent in Japan and Sydney, Blake returned to New Zealand in 2011 and is currently based in Auckland. A regular exhibitor since 2002, he has participated in solo and group exhibitions at private galleries and public institutions including the Kyoto Cultural Museum, BankART Yokohama, and the Auckland Art Gallery.

A three-time finalist in the Wallace Trust Award, in 2011 Blake’s entry, Future Fund, was selected to be part of the Wallace Trust exhibition that travelled to the Dowse Art Museum in Wellington. Blake’s works are held in the Wallace Trust Collection as well as in private collections throughout New Zealand and abroad.

1.

Marc Blake, Artist’s Statement, 2012

Marc Blake 2012 CV P a g e |1

Milford Galleries Dunedin

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz

MARC BLAKE b. 1974, lives Auckland EDUCATION Bachelor of Arts (English Literature), University of Auckland

SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2012 2011 2008 2007 2006 2000

Relativity, Milford Galleries Dunedin Analogue, Michael Reid Gallery, Sydney, Australia Status Update, Milford Galleries Dunedin Nothing Like This, Backspace, Christchurch Condensed History, Aveia Gallery, Auckland Where It All Begins, Backspace Gallery, Christchurch Watergarden, Arts Council Koganecho, Yokohama, Japan New Paintings, EON, Auckland

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2012 2011 2010

2008

2007

2006 2005

The Surreal, Milford Galleries Dunedin Wallace Art Awards, Auckland Introducing Marc Blake and Tim Thatcher, Milford Galleries Dunedin Wallace Art Awards, Auckland Anna Pappas Gallery, Melbourne Wallace Art Awards, Auckland New Zealand Painting & Printmaking Award, Auckland Anthony Harper Award for Contemporary Art, Christchurch New Zealand Fashion Week, Auckland Off The Wall Project, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland Light and Dark, Satellite Gallery, Auckland Backspace, Wellington, New Zealand In the Midst (with Jos Wheeler) (independent), Auckland 3rd Annual Amuse Artjam, Kyoto Cultural Museum, Kyoto, Japan FIVE (with Ko Masuda), BankART Studio NYK, Yokohama, Japan

AWARDS 2011 2010 2008

2005

Finalist, Annual Wallace Art Awards Finalist, Annual Wallace Art Awards Finalist, New Zealand Painting & Printmaking Award Finalist, Anthony Harper Award for Contemporary Art Finalist, Annual Wallace Art Awards Two month studio residency & exhibition, BankART NYK, Yokohama, Japan Finalist, 3Rd Annual Amuse Inc. Artjam, Kyoto Cultural Museum, Kyoto, Japan

COLLECTIONS The James Wallace Trust

Relativity (2012) Marc Blake 2012 CV P a g e |2

Milford Galleries Dunedin

www.milfordgalleries.co.nz