Simon Moretti, Portrait of an Ellsworth Kelly, 2002
acrylic on wood panel, 30 x 25 cm.
The Green Room
Curated by Simon Moretti
Percy Miller Gallery, London
25 January - 7 March 2002
Fiona Banner Simon English Gareth Jones Simon Moretti Jonathan Parsons Fergal Stapleton Matthew Tickle Amikam Toren
The Green Room brings together the work of eight London based artists who take as their starting point a single medium and through a process of manipulation transforms it into a hybrid of the original. The resulting work occupies a space between painting, sculpture and architecture, questioning conventional categorisation. Fundamental to the thinking behind the exhibition has been the spatial nature of the work and the idea of creating a whole environment rather than simply a collection of objects.
Fiona Banner's tiny neon full stop continues her fascination with language and text by appropriating punctuation and presenting it in a three dimensional form. She is also showing a text drawing titled Helicopter, in which the letters wp, wp, wp are repeated, creating an onomatopoeic effect. Amikam Toren's armchair paintings are canvasses found in second hand shops into which he cuts texts, thus charging the often bland image with a powerful message and simultaneously transforming it into a sculptural object. Simon English's new work incorporates stretched layers of semitransparent fabric, in which the under and over painting trade places, setting up a narrative and spatial swap-shop in which to change and effect meaning.
Matthew Tickle's new small works engage directly with the architecture of the gallery - they are made to occupy normally overlooked areas of the space, while Simon Moretti's work, which has grown out of his live performances, combines photography with various sculptural processes to make discreet interventions. Gareth Jones is showing two structures, one made from timber, the other from cassette tape and a shelving bracket. Both works share a rigid system of dimensions and are placed relative to one another, suggesting a spatial purpose.
Jonathan Parsons is presenting a large map of Mars, made up only of its Latin place names, painted directly on the inside of the gallery window. He will also be showing a new watercolour diptych of a graffito. Fergal Stapleton's small installation will consist of three elements, including a rotating sculpture on a plinth and a portrait of a cat.
Thanks to Anthony Reynolds Gallery, Frith Street Gallery, Matts Gallery, Sheila Lawson, Platform and Richard Salmon Gallery.
Amikam Toren, Armchair Painting - Untitled, 1990
oil on canvas
Fiona Banner, Neon Full Stop, 1997
Neon, wire, Transformer, Wooden Box