GRAHAM DAY: FROM THE 1970s Artist’s Books & Works on Paper
dalla Rosa Gallery 2 - 24 November 2012
dalla Rosa Gallery | 121 Clerkenwell Road | London EC1R 5BY | dallarosagallery.com
Graham Day: From the 1970s 2 - 24 November 2012 dalla Rosa Gallery
Structured as a selective retrospective of work made in the pre-digital 1970s, the exhibition gathers over sixty pieces by Graham Day, mapping his interests and chosen subject matter. Day’s practice is concerned initially with concept, which determines appropriate techniques and materials. An eclectic mix of subjects including Geometry, Anthropology, Tantric iconometry and History are researched meticulously and provide a platform of infinite experimental possibilities. Paper is the common denominator of this body of work, from the 2,000 drawings that form the artist’s book A Directory of Rectangles (1971-72) to large watercolours, screen prints and 3D models. Day’s method expresses a rare mix of freedom and technical knowledge but also an intellectual quest for understanding construction and meaning. Born in London in 1946, Graham Day studied at Hornsey School of Art, Bath Academy of Art and the Slade School of Fine Art (UCL). He has been exhibiting in the UK and abroad since the early Seventies, and his work is part of prominent collections such as the British Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, British Library, and the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. dalla Rosa would like to thank Rose Issa for the loan of work from her private collection. For further information contact hello@dallarosagallery.com
opposite: Graham Day, Five Identical Views (detail, 1977), ink and watercolours on paper
GRAHAM DAY Education The Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, London Bath Academy of Art, Corsham, Wiltshire Hornsey School of Art, London The Working Men’s College, London Solo Exhibitions 2011 The Seneca Collection, Rose Issa Projects, London 2006 The Game of Life, Gallery 66, New England USA 2005 Plato’s Shadow, Studio Caparrelli, London 2004 Philosophical Furniture, Studio Caparrelli, London 2003 Naïve Science, Studio Caparrelli, London 2002 Simorgh, October Gallery, London 2002 The Conference of the Birds, Mary Ogilvie Gallery, Oxford 2001 The Conference of the Birds, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (Iran) 2001 Graham Day, Galerie Jaine Rubeiz, Beirut (Lebanon) 2001 The Art of Graham Day, Los Angeles Public Library (USA) 2000 Around, Forge Gallery, Bath 1997 Retro-Perspective, Diorama Gallery, London 1996 Perfect Form, Diorama Gallery, London 1995 Urban Yantras, Leighton House, London 1993 The Fetishism of Technique, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath 1992 The Conference of the Birds, Jaliyan Gallery, London 1990 Marbrure Integrale, Bibliothèque Municipale, Rennes (France) 1990 Recent Works on Paper, Galerie Jeanne Thouard, Paris 1988 Photo-Domino, C.I.C.L. Arles (France) 1986 Painted Books, Victoria Gallery, Bath 1978 Graham Day, Chapter Art Gallery, Cardiff 1975 Works on Paper, Midland Group Gallery, Nottingham 1974 Graham Day, Thumb Gallery, London Works in Public Collections British Museum, London British Library, London Victoria & Albert Museum, London Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris The World Bank, Washington D.C., USA
opposite: installation view, Graham Day: From the 1970s at dalla Rosa Gallery
Graham Day at dalla Rosa Gallery
Graham Day, Pyramid Calendar (1979), ink and watercolour on paper mounted on wood
Graham Day, ETCETCETC
Young Alchemist meets Old Archivist (B.C. Life before computers) by Graham Day In selecting pieces of my art made during the 1970’s I have asked myself what connects the work, what overriding idea permeates the disparate collection of fading pieces of paper? In material/technique terms- they are all drawn, painted or printed -on paper, they are small format (which is dictated by the paper sizes), they are mostly linear. They are conceptual, i.e. the idea determines the content, the techniques employed and the presentation. The works are mostly visualizations, interpretations or rearrangements of an eclectic mix of existing ideas and texts. The earliest pieces were made in response to a quotation- that we cannot see an idea, I attempted to document experiencing the idea, imagining it, cataloging other people’s attempts at visualising it. I spent 7 of the 10 years drawing the exacting arrangement of 43 interlocking triangles known as the Sri Cakra Yantra, at that time in the West very little was known about Tantric iconography whereas now an internet search throws up 244.000 answers. I asked myself what are the ideal proportions of a rectangle and didn’t get an answer only 2,000 suggestions. I wondered if form and content could be combined, they can. I flirted with danger and allowed techniques to become a fetish, which is enjoyable but unrewarding. I experimented with Naïve Science and discovered nothing new but it was exciting. I looked at how we used to see the world before we captured it, it was contrived but quaint. I asked what to look for in a woman’s face, they answered don’t. So, what connects the work? Answer: The pleasure derived from grabbing a pencil and the back of an envelope and seeing if…. London, September 2012
Graham Day at dalla Rosa Gallery (portrait by Philip John Jones)
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