THREE PAINTERS: CAROLINE KHA DEAN MARSH BIDDY PEPPIN 31 January - 1 March 2014
dalla Rosa Gallery | 121 Clerkenwell Road | London EC1R 5BY | dallarosagallery.com
Dean Marsh, Head (2006), oil on copper, 25.5 x 20.5 cm
THREE PAINTERS: Caroline Kha, Dean Marsh, Biddy Peppin 31 January – 1 March 2014 dalla Rosa is delighted to present Three Painters, a group exhibition curated by Philip Jones and including work by Caroline Kha, Dean Marsh, and Biddy Peppin. The show brings together three artists whose methods diverge stylistically and in subject, but who have recently been working with still-life in different ways. None of them are solely still-life painters, with the exception of Biddy Peppin, who makes it a key part of her practice. Caroline Kha’s found images of landscapes and natural settings are transcribed from photographic reproduction and digital images, while Biddy Peppin represents everyday objects subtly infused with emotional symbolism. Dean Marsh uses his exacting technique to paint distorted figures that become almost sculptural through the delicate layering of oil paint on copper. Caroline Kha uses the term ‘transcriptive painting’ to describe parts of her practice that include small silverpoint tondos of islands found on Google Earth, monochrome paintings of mountainscapes sourced from websites, and transcriptions of Rembrandt paintings made at The National Gallery in London. In the series The Book of Changes Kha produces imaginary landscapes that trace aspects of her own cultural heritage using sourced material from the collections of Chinese porcelains at the British Museum. A respected portraitist Dean Marsh has been shortlisted for the BP Portrait Prize, at the National Portrait Gallery, several times. In 2005 he won first prize and the resulting commissioned tondo of Kids Company founder Camila Batmanghelidjh is now part of the permanent collection. In his recent still-lifes Marsh painted distorted figures that have been created by modelling plasticine. His naturalistic technique applied to these anthropomorphic forms produces an image that is both abstract and figurative at the same time. Tightly composed collections of found material, including tyres, branches, boots and tin-cans, make up the objects in the paintings by Biddy Peppin. She describes these as ‘valueless objects which I invest with autobiographical or symbolic meaning’. These include themes of ageing and war, illustrated through walking sticks and chopped tree branches. Author of many publications on illustration and women Vorticists, Peppin is a respected Art Historian as well a painter. Philip Jones is an artist and has been gallery consultant at dalla Rosa since its launch. For further information contact hello@dallarosagallery.com All installation photos by Philip John Jones.
opposite: Caroline Kha, Shan Shui (2010), oil on canvas, 51 x 61 cm
Biddy Peppin, Dead Wood (2008), oil on canvas, 71 x 91.5 cm
Biddy Peppin, Old Sticks (2012), oil on canvas, 71 x 91.5 cm
Dean Marsh, Angelica (2006), oil on copper, 45 x 30.5 cm
Caroline Kha, Detail of fig. 283. Self-Portrait (2008), detail, oil on canvas, 20 x 25 cm oppsite: Dean Marsh, Snuff (2009), detail, oil on copper, 34.5 x 45.5 cm
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