Artists include:
Anna Donovan
Claire Lee
Cos Ahmet
Enzo Marra
Jamie Frost
Lee Hardman
Mariel Borst Pauwels
Matthew Wilkinson
Norbert Pietraszek
Richard Kitson
Russell Lumb
Sarah Payne
Simon Dobbs
Sue Burley
Zosia Olenska
Figure
Group show
14 July – 25 August
Opening 7:30pm Friday 13 July
Shrouded, dismembered, decapitated, full frontal, buried, intimate, invasive, distorted, disjointed, experimental, explorative and letting it all hang out!
Figure is a diverse exhibition showcasing a broad response to a classic subject.
Throughout our history as a species we have recreated our shape in every medium available. In this exhibition Cupola brings together 21 artists all grappling with the subject of the figure. From the traditional techniques of painting and printmaking through to 3D printing and digital photography the exhibition is a delightful smorgasbord of contemporary art practice.
It isn’t simply the disciplines that provide the variety but the use of the figure to explore subjects from body dysmorphia, the intersection of modern technologies with classical art, personal histories, the phantasmagorical and surveillance; even the art world itself is put under the spot light.
Materials play a crucial role with work from the very talented Jamie Frost whose sculptures almost look as if they have carved themselves from the wood from which they are hewn, through to Cos Ahmet’s painted figures, refracted through space; their shadows reduced to a stencil which is repeated and repurposed as paint melts and swirls on the canvas.
The technique of impasto painting is explored by two artists in the exhibition. Simon Dobbs' romantic portrayal of couples on benches creates a stark contrast to Enzo Marra’s post-modern portrait of iconic performance artist Rebecca Horn rendered in thick lime green oil paint.
Contemporary urban culture is also brought under the spot light with Lucianne Lassalle's 'Three Disgraces' which clearly reference classical Greek mythology of The Three Graces. These beautifully rendered male nude sculptures of 'Bristol Boyz' question attitudes to young urban males, city street culture, aggression and vulnerability. Mariel Borst Pauwels deals with the faceless figures captured by CCTV footage blurring the form from the lo resolution cameras and the archetypal freeze frame moment seen on news footage of criminals and the seconds before a crime or accident occurs.