True Identity catalogue

TRUE IDENTITY?

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True Identity?

View Art Gallery presents a group show

True Identity November 15 - January 19, 2013

View Art Gallery 159-161 Hotwells Road Bristol BS8 4RY United Kingdom for enquiries: +44 (0)5603 116753 info@viewartgallery.co.uk

BETH CARTER AMELIA CIRIELLO ANN GOODFELLOW CATHERINE KNIGHT ANDY PRICE CLEM SO FRAN WILLIAMS

ANDY PRICE Japanese customs, traditions, society, symbolism and even its environmental issues, act as a muse for Andy Price’s latest series of works.

Although each painting is strikingly unique, Andy employs the kimono in each painting as his means to convey his observations and perceptions on this intriguing country. Predominantly set against contemporary backdrops, his series intends to illustrate how fraught with contradiction he believes Japanese society is.

From the vibrant neon-soaked metropolis of Tokyo to the horror of the aftermath of Hiroshima, his paintings will incite everything from laughter to tears.

The original painting images of Andy Price are also available as signed limited edition giclee prints.

Sakuhin acrylic on panel 97 x 82 cm

Tokyo Time acrylic on panel 160 x 107 cm

Resurrection acrylic on panel 160 x 107 cm

Osaka Time acrylic on panel 150 x 107 cm

Neon Nihon acrylic on panel 160 x 107 cm

See No Evil acrylic on panel 43 x 32 cm

Hear No Evil acrylic on panel 43 x 32 cm

Speak No Evil acrylic on panel 43 x 32 cm

Noh to Ganguro acrylic on panel 160 x 107 cm

Cameo acrylic on panel 78 x 108 cm

Spring Snow acrylic on panel 32 x 20 cm

By the Shore acrylic on panel 24 x 32 cm

CLEM SO Seeking to raise questions about ancestry, history and identity, Clem So’s work simultaneously explores his intriguing Chinese heritage whilst hinting at the feeling of loss and a numbness of something not quite there.

Primarily using his own family as the subject matter for his beautiful paintings, So intends for them to entice the viewer to stay awhile and perhaps, in viewing his own ancestral past, provoke reflection and reminiscence about ones personal family connections and past.

Through a combination of the traditional and digital process, Clem is able to peel back and reveal hidden layers of abstracted texture and subtle gestures of narrative, transmitted through his compelling portraiture.

Burrowing deep into the underbelly of his own identity, Clem So’s work is a virtual feast of visual flavours

Tears of Pearl chinese ink, charcoal, emulsion on canvas 101 x 101 cm

over page left: I Will If You Will chinese ink, charcoal, emulsion on canvas 101 x 101 cm

above: Breaking The Mould chinese ink, charcoal, oil, rice, soy sauce on canvas 89 x 70 cm

over page right: Demon Daughter chinese ink, charcoal, emulsion on canvas 101 x 101 cm

right: The Unperturbed chinese ink, charcoal, spray paint, emulsion on canvas 127 x 101 cm

Mother Never Digital composite on hahnemule photo rag 60 x 42 cm

From The East Digital composite on hahnemule photo rag 60 x 42 cm

The portraits on the following pages are images of the artist’s ancestors and are available as limited edition giclee prints.

Some of the portraits can also be seen on the glazed dinner plates featured in the ‘Dim Sum Daily’ installation.

Mr Yun (left)

Sifu Gung (left)

Portrait from the Afterlife

Treasure Each Moment

(right) Lady Fu True Self

right) Eternal Grandmother

Beauty of Xiohe chinese ink, charcoal, spray paint, on canvas 127 x 112 cm

Losing Face chinese ink, charcoal, oil paint, on canvas 89 x 70 cm

When all is said and done chinese ink, charcoal, spray paint, ash, on canvas 127 x 121 cm

The Mandarin chinese ink, charcoal, emulsion on canvas 178 x 131 cm

CATHERINE KNIGHT Emotive, conceptual and purposefully ambiguous, Catherine Knights’ mystical paintings provoke pertinent questions about the concept of family.

Catherine finds inspiration for her work from old family photographs of people who are part of her history, yet unknown to her. In trying to piece together and make sense of her own history, her paintings mirror how family histories and personal mythologies are half-remembered, smoothed over and exaggerated over time.

The conceptual nature is achieved through her use of colour. As the original photographs are black and white, she is free to experiment, thus explaining the slightly unreal, unnatural feel to her paintings. This heightened colouration is also suggestive of a romanticized or hazed over version of events.

Her application of paint, with its fluid layers, dripping and seeping across the surface, create a fine line between control and chance. The resultant scenes are unstable, with an intentional ambiguity that encourages the viewer to question and complete the story.

Lofoten oil on canvas 122 x 91 cm

Root oil on wood 40 x 30 cm

1929 oil on canvas 150 x 110 cm

Family oil on canvas 30 x 40 cm

Skane oil on canvas 150 x 180 cm

Green Mountain oil on wood 18 x 24 cm

Low Cloud oil on wood 15 x 20 cm

Waldsee oil on canvas 55 x 80cm

Waterfall oil on canvas

FRAN WILLIAMS Evocative and vivid, Fran Williams’ oil paintings explore human experiences common to us all.

Using the human form, in particular the silhouette, her paintings are created through methods of mark making: applying the paint, working and distressing it and then “’reading’ the feelings it’s created.

Offering different interpretations and stimulating multiple emotional responses, Fran aims for her work to really connect with the viewer, whether that’s by provoking broken’ sadness, abandoned joy, torment, longing or desperation as long as it moves the viewer, Fran feels her work has fulfilled its role.

Fran nearly always writes on her canvases, seeing it as representational of the many thoughts and questions we all have running through our minds at one time. Through re-working of her surfaces, she makes most of this text unreadable, liking how it fades out just like many of the thoughts or feelings we see on the faces of other people.

That Which We Choose To Leave Behind oil on wood 40 x 30 cm

left: The Familiar Unfamiliar oil, acrylic on wood 30 x 40 cm right: Who I Was.. Who I Am..

Who I Will Be oil, acrylic on canvas 90 x 120 cm

Gatekeepers Of The Mind oil on wood 70 x 20 cm

left: The Roles We Play oil, acrylic on wood 40 x 40 cm

above: You Are Always oil on driftwood 38 x 22 cm

I Am oil on wood 25 x 25 cm

The one not dancing knows lots of songs oil, acrylic on wood 32 x 62 cm

The Eternal Question oil and acrylic on canvas 100 x 50 cm

Tomorow’s Promise oil on wood 45 x 65 cm

ANN GOODFELLOW Exploring notions of ‘presence’ and existence, Ann Goodfellow’s sculptures are simultaneously mysterious and beautiful.

Using her own body as the model for her works, Ann initially creates drawings through a sense of touch alone. The heightened awareness of her body, created by this unusual artistic technique, leads her to feelings of exaggerated scale: typically the torso feels large whilst the head appears small. These sensations, together with the rhythms, weight and tensions result in unusual markings emerging on the self modelled ceramic bodies.

Despite the cold, hard material of Ann’s medium, there is an evident energy and sensitivity, which brings these remarkable figures to life.

The resultant strangeness, which appears on the familiar figurative shapes, invites the viewer to follow the lines and shapes of their own “presence” to share the experience.

Pink Wrap stone 70 x 50 cm

Ecstasy of Time 1 stone 72 x 31 cm

Ecstasy of Time in Blue stone 68 x 28 cm

Hiraeth stone 47 x 30 cm

Presence stone 66 x 47 cm

Ecstasy of Time 2 stone 84 x 38 cm

Ecstasy of Time in Yellow terracotta 89 x 37 cm

AMELIA CIRIELLO Striking and alluring, Amelia Ciriello’s latest body of work seeks to explore hidden feelings and stories behind each of the women she paints. Fascinated by female faces and the internal and external beauty of them, she finds the process of trying to solve their mysteries a rewarding challenge.

Her current interest is Geishas. Their secretive and reserved natures and traditions appeals to the artist’s intention to unearth mysteries through her art.

Geisha Girl oil on canvas 70 x 50 cm

left: Belle Blue oil on wood 30 x 40 cm

over page left: Miss Mia oil on wood 30 x 40 cm

right: Liberty oil on canvas 60 x 90 cm

over page right: La Maschera oil on wood 30 x 40 cm

left: Ava oil on wood 95 x 75 cm

right: Princess Toyotama Framed giclee print a/p 80 x 60 cm

BETH CARTER Beth’s work inspires a pure child-like response as well as deeper adult themes. The unusual characters created by her expansive imagination can be humorous and playful. On further investigation, it is possible to be taken on a more sinister journey of sadness, pity and fear.

Beth is skilled in sculpture, drawing, and unique animated ‘drawings’. Consistent in all forms is an almost eerie amount of life projecting from an inanimate object.

Clown Head black resin edition of 12 73 x 35 cm

Sleeping Minotaur bronze or bronze resin edition of 25 50 x 50 cm

Carnival Mask bronze resin edition of 15 base: 33.5 x 23 cm height: 78 cm

Buck Rabbit bronze resin edition of 15 base: 33 x 22 cm height: 100 cm

Standing Horse bronze artist’s proof base: 21 x 21 cm height: 50 cm

This is an exhibition that provokes emotions and feelings that are very familiar and yet private. At first we are intrigued by the artists’ personal and generic messages and then we are challenged to reflect on our own identity and ask questions... who are we? who do we want to be? how are we perceived?

Nick Waugh, View Art Gallery

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