‘Portray’ Exhibition Catalogue
October 2018 V.23 - The Old Biscuit Factory Block F SE16 4DG London UK
INDEX 1. Kelly Simon Frank 2. Judyta Pilarczyk 3. Ioana Elecfi 4. David Agenjo 5. Kevin M Gavagham 6. Thomas MacGregor 7. Mary Jones Ceramics 8. Domenico CV Talarico 9. Georgina Ottaway 10. John Gathercole 11. Tania Furnea 12. Maria Varnava 13. Lee Kay-Barry 14. Laji Sanusi 15. Deborah Sfez 16. David Bickley
Kelly Simon Frank kellyyfrank@hotmail.co.uk www.ksfrank.com
The Self-Portrait is not merely an exercise in light or shadow, form or structure. It is importantly a portrayal of how you see yourself. Your virtues, Your Vices. Each person in their lifetime oscillates between these binaries, ultimately we find ourselves flawed. It is said that ‘The eyes are the windows to the soul’, my paintings are concerned with how the interior is reflected through the exterior and how time and careful observation unravel the mannerisms beneath the skin. My self-portrait shows the resonance between what we choose to reveal and conceal about our characters. A person In Process.
‘Self Portrait’ 43x53 cm, mixed media on paper,2017
1
Judyta Pilarczyk judypilarczyk@gmail.com www.judypilarczyk.com
‘The drawing was done during an artist residency in Switzerland and it’s a portrait of a writer, Trinity, whom I met there. I have always been in love with the human form and what attracts me the most is the face. Trinity had this interesting tattoo that added a bit of character to her appearance and highlighted her personality. She was posing in the residency studio opposite my window.I used only graphite pencils.’
‘The girl with the tattoo’ 70 x50, pencil on paper 2018 2
Ioana Elecfi mariaelecfi@gmail.com www.ielecfi.myportfolio.com
This is about me. The essence of the painting shows a more solid, lasting side of me not just an instant feeling in time. You see my presence, my energy and the way I look at the world: abstract. It’s a mysterious silhouette in a warm space: the eyes - two different collages that reveal the battle between paradox emotions. A strong and brave character who speaks through her red hair.
‘SELF PORTRAIT’ acrylic on canvas 1m x 70 cm 2018
3
Kevin M Gavaghan keving0670@hotmail.co.uk
Screaming is an action born from emotion that we often internalise. I painted this self portrait at a time of unrest and angst in my life and when asked about my well-being, I would often respond with positivity and a smile. This is a portrait of emotion, an internal reflection highlighting the unrest I felt but would hide from those close to me as I continued my daily life, I was wearing a mask that cloaked what feelings I truly had. The painting is also a chain of questions to myself about honesty, self well-being, mental health, and how I provide love for myself whilst showing love to others. Is it better to let the scream out? KMG
‘Screaming’ Oil Paint 50cm x 40cm 4
David Agenjo info@davidagenjo.com www.davidagenjo.com
I conceived these portraits whilst attending an artist-in-residence program in Mumbai (Nov 2014 Jan 15) and finished them back in my London studio in 2017. Under the name “Made in India” I developed a series of paintings inspired by this frenetic and visually charged Indian metropolis. I focused my work on exploring some of the most marginalised areas of Mumbai, vast slums where my interaction with people soon became an experience I wanted to describe with portraits. Through the use of life-sized characters my intention is to confront the viewer directly, with a face to face dialogue, beyond words. Rather than depicting the usual portrayal of the poor and highlight misery, I chose to enrich my characters and present them with dignity and mesmerizing human attributes, which so often we lack in western ‘developed’ cultures.
‘Kolam Artist’, 90x65 cm, Oil on canvas, 2017 ‘Rickshaw Racer’, 90x65 cm, Oil on canvas, 2017 5
Thomas MacGregor canihavealightmac@gmail.com www.tdmacgregor.com
I had been living in Bolivia for half a year, working towards my first solo show there, when I started this piece. I was making a series of dogs wearing human masks as if marching in carnival and I didn’t know they needed a patron saint until I met Roberto who came to my studio to sell fur pelts. He was selling door to door with furs stacked up on his bicycle. I asked him to come and pose for a painting and paid him the equivalent price of 2 pelts to sit for a while. He was ruthless and looked as if he would have skinned dogs alive. He was more devil than saint but the dogs I had been painting were pretty vicious so he made the perfect Patron.
‘San Roque (the patron saint of dogs)’ Oil on canvas 2008 6
Mary Jones Ceramics happyart100@hotmail.com www.maryjonesceramics.com
Mary Jones “My main interest as a ceramic artist is the human emotions and how they are translated in our faces. I have conversations with people, usually about their memories. Often people like to share stories from their childhood revealing a wide variety of emotions. My chief intention is to find different ways to convey these emotions, communicating them through my ceramic practice, consequently giving each piece a ‘Presence’. I achieve this by painting and printing coloured porcelain slips, oxides and glazes onto the clay.... as I explore and develop exciting relationships between colour, texture, drawing and form, I endeavour to capture the essence of who we are, revealing our internal worlds. While striving to capture other people’s emotions in my work, I discover the creating process becomes an integral part of who I am. Consequently and unintentionally the work therefore absorbs some of my own memories and emotions. The faces I make appear solid and grounded, motionless and still, seemingly arrested in time yet occupied and full of life” ‘He’s somewhere else now’ 27cm H, 18cm W, and 22cm D Ceramic 2016
7
Georgina Ottaway georgina.ottaway.art@outlook.com www.georginaottaway.com
Using my brother in this piece allowed me to connect the paint and subject with the piece of wood I chose to use as my canvas. The wood creates a halo around my brother’s head to signify his innocence through his youth. The grain of the wood is significant in this piece by visibly showing through the layers of paint. The lines in the wood reflect on my brother’s youth, as they are on and around his head as if appearing as rays of sunlight. Using palette knife to apply the paint gave the piece a texture that sits on top of the face of the wood, yet compliments the bark around the edge.
‘Wood Portrait’ Oil on Wood, Sculpture 32 by 28 by 12 cms 2017
8
Domenico CV Talarico info@domenicocvtalarico.com www.domenicocvtalarico.com
Questioning the concept of identity and its fading during time the artist Doménico CV Talarico paints portraits of unknown people from forgotten photographs and brings them back to life. His unique neo figurative style which is a mix between old aesthetic and modern illustrative elements allows room for interpretation, who these people were and what they experienced, causing viewers to sink into their own world of thoughts and reflect on deeply ingrained dreams and desires. His works are shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions from Berlin, Munich, London to Rome, Budapest and other cities. He is member of the Enter Art Foundation and founder of the Goldstaub Collective. His artwork is part of several big private collections for instance located in Paris, Brussels and Vienna. ‘bipolar color pallete’ #1 and #2 acrylic on canvas 50cm x 60cm 2018
9
Maria Varnava varnava_maria@outlook.com www.mariavarnava.com
Maria Varnava guise’s herself as outlandish characters with the use of make-up, props, and green screen technology. Emerging from this is a tension between the truth and falsity behind the making of an image and documentation. She is interested in the idea that we have the capacity to shape our own identity, particularly through our dependence on technology. Her work is about the subjected image we see of ourselves, and that illustrates the conflicting nature of a dual relationship. As she plays the role of director, photographer and performer at the same time, themes of the double manifest and reflect the idea of unity and division between the character and artist.
Untitled photography 80cm Ă— 53.3cm 2018 10
Tania Furnea tania.furnea@gmail.com
The work belongs to the series ‘The Room with Friends’. The esthetic content is represented by a true gallery of portraits captured in different moments of the everyday life. The volume approach is made in a sketchy way, not hesitating, suggesting the presence of definitive forms, valued through connections of forms and symbols. There is an incompatibility between the sensory perception and the need of conventions, especially when we talk about expressions. Precisely this contradiction creates a complex of symbols, which determines the drawing’s style itself. I proposed a superlative visual experiment, where the ordinary ‘uniform’ takes different shapes, from beauty to theatrical, from purity to ludicrous and from bliss to humility. All these stages are exceeded by the perennial shadow of the overwhelming feeling regarding the passing of time, which is being cancelled, however, by the hope of finding everyone, friends from the past and from the future.
‘Friend Number 1’ 70 x 100 cm, acrylic and pencil on paper, 2015 11
John Gathercole johngathercoleartist@yahoo.co.uk
John Gathercoles work has an irreverent attitude but tackles personal and deep issues of aesthetics, cognition and media by exploring the void between beauty and reality with a blend of humour and horror, which feeds the contemporary human condition and social neurosis. Remember challenges the fleeting obssessions of beauty within terms of fashion and social requirments. And will anyone really recall or care next year, next week or the next second.
‘Remember’ Oil on canvas 102cm x 82cm 2017 12
Lee Kay-Barry leekay-barry@outlook.com
‘Van Engelandt’ Oil and charcoal on canvas 45.7 x 35.6 cm, 2018
13
Laji Sanusi www.lsanusistudio.com lsanusistudio@outlook.com
Im a self taught artist with influencers which include a great array of artists such as Alphonse Mucha, Andy Warhol, Adam Hughes, Jean-Michel Basqiuat and Alex Ross. As a result, my artwork has the feel of both Pop Art and Art Nouveaux in my style. I work with both digital and tradional art but the artwork i have provided are all digital pieces transferred onto either giclee paper or wood. I love and respect art so much - The feeling of someone appreciating my work is truly a gratifying one. I plan on continuing to develop, learn and grow to become special in my practice.
‘Voila’ - digital pop art on photo rag paper (60cm x 60cm) with frame 14
Deborah Sfez deborah.sfez46@gmail.com www.deborah-s-artist.com
‘Mirabella’, Video
15
David Bickley dibickley@mac.com
‘Tome’, Video
16
Art Number 23 is a London-based organisation, mainly responsible for curating art exhibitions inside the U.K. and overseas. The aim is to create opportunities in order to encourage and support artists from all over the world to exhibit and promote their work. Art Number 23 was founded in 2016, by the artist and curator Constantine Anjulatos, and is being supported by several artists with a common mission: to create a global network of artists, curators, galleries and art enthusiasts, and organise art-related events where the participants can socialise, practise their skills, share their knowledge and exchange ideas. Previous projects of Art Number 23 include exhibitions in NYC and Philadelphia (USA), Moscow (Russia), Berlin (Germany), Athens (Greece), Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Timisoara (Romania). www.artnumber23.uk instagram: @artnumber23
‘Portray’ www.artnumber23.uk @artnumber23
October 2018 V.23 - 100 Clements road, Block F The Old Biscuit Factory, SE16 4DG London, UK