gallery elena shchukina
hormazd narielwalla sanctuary 15th
June - 14th July 2017
Celebrating human life and our relationship with nature The solo exhibition Sanctuary brings together bold new, accompanied with some existing artworks from the London based artist’s signature collage technique, using French antique sewing patterns as the conceptual and material starting point for each work. Painstakingly applying coloured and painted paper, acetate and textiles to fill in the planes between the lines, the artist breathes new life into these long forgotten patterns. Inspired by notion of the garden as a metaphor for society, Narielwalla’s works in Sanctuary gather as a multi-sensory forest, a refuge from the chaos of urban life and open up a space for contemplation and reflection. “A sanctuary of ideas and beauty, for the preservation of life and of humanity. And what is human? We are just flesh and bone. Art, literature, culture, creation, design is what makes us human.” Understanding the garment pattern as the closest geometrical abstraction of human bodies, Narielwalla builds on the legacy of Cubism to introduce a fourth dimension of time and movement into his exploration of the body - compressing the sensation of a moment in time into one single image, as experienced in the silent drama of the artwork Pilgrim. “To enter Sanctuary is to find oneself immersed into magical gardens, where fertility goddesses, secret orchards, and mystical forest creatures create a maze of beauty that celebrates life and humanity.” In the past Narielwalla’s art frequently took the form of an examination of the interplay of the human body and mind, as seen in his recent series Lost Gardens at the Southbank Centre in London. With Sanctuary the natural world is invited back onto the scene for a joyous celebration of the human creation, such as in Goddess of Fertility and Garden of Paradise. The exhibition is a timely reminder of the reaffirming spirit and union with nature that only an allembracing human civilisation is capable of creating.
"The intention of this work was to create a rampant inculcation of colour, giving the viewer a notion of a magic forest – secret pathways and abstracted flowerbeds, with a hint of glistening silver material to suggest the sparkling attributes of a freshly watered patch of floral landscape."
Magic Forest 2017 Painted Japanese paper, block paper and silver paper lace collages on French antique sewing patterns 10 frames, 65 x 47.5 cm each
Magic Forest detail
Magic Forest detail
"Made from original 1970s lingerie patterns, this artwork suggests a flock of birds in flight. The work also references the political feminist gesture of women throwing their bras into the sky to protest the patriarchal establishment. The work articulates freedom and political rights in the Sanctuary."
Flight 2015 Lingerie paper cutting pattern 3D collage on board 113 x 113 cm
"Paris is known for its gardens and landscape constructions. The notion of the work is to imagine a Parisian woman walking through a garden with water features and her reflection being dissected and abstracted into lines and triangles of the surface of the water. The materials are dark, to signify the reflection occurring in the middle of the night."
Midnight in Paris 2015 Paper collage on French antique sewing pattern 96 x 66.5 cm
"The Forbidden Gardens reflects on the enticement a situation may offer, being it dangerous and inhibited, particularly in the context of forbidden love. Gold is an enticing material that we all want to possess, however if consumed another way – it is deadly and poisonous."
Forbidden Gardens 2017 Black cloth and gold paper lace collages on French antique sewing patterns 12 frames, 65 x 47.5 cm each
Forbidden Gardens detail
Forbidden Gardens detail
"The artwork references my love of Sonia Delaunay’s work, where geometry is key to achieving a sensitive, natural composition in an artwork. Like Sonia, I am an immigrant in a European country, which is the sub context of the work. I want to convey the idea of an outsider, creating a Sanctuary to celebrate life, beauty and humanity."
Dreaming of Sonia 2016 Paper and acetate collage on French antique (c. 1915) sewing pattern 66 x 108 cm
“This collage artwork is made on two original French sewing pattern joined in the middle. It depicts a pilgrim walking through the Sanctuary, and tells the story of the people who travelled from distant lands to enter this space, not only to experience the Sanctuary, but also to thrive in it."
Pilgrim 2017 Paper collage on French antique sewing pattern 180 x 82 cm
"The work is made on an antique German pattern that has printed on it construction outlines for 20 different women’s and children’s items of clothing. This superimposition of multiple garments to me signifies the idea that we are all connected, and that all our individual identities come together and make up the Sanctuary. Through abstraction, the work's geometric shapes come to reference actual bodies."
The Maze of Time 2016 Paper and acetate collage on German antique multiple sewing pattern 150 x 90 cm
"I created these works in 2013 using lingerie patterns. They are abstract depictions female anatomy, and celebrate female sexuality and the gift of life. Titled with the Latin names of various flowers, these works ask us to reflect upon our relationship with the natural world."
Lady Gardens - Erythronium Dens Canis 2013 Lingerie pattern and acetate collage on paper 58.5 x 46 cm
Lady Gardens - Gaga Lutea 2013 Lingerie pattern and acetate collage on paper 58.5 x 46 cm
Lady Gardens - Gentiana Clusii 2013 Lingerie pattern and acetate collage on paper 58.5 x 46 cm
"This miniature work delicately inserts coloured paper and remnant brown paper from tailoring patterns into an embroidery pattern, to give a literal representation of the themes of flowers that inspires the exhibition."
Flower Study 2015 Remnant bespoke tailoring patterns and paper collage on original embroidery pattern 24.5 x 32 cm
"This geometric, intricate, maze-like collage utlises paper, coloured pencil and cut-outs from garden plates. The composition references nature but also hints at the human form, suggesting the silhouette of a face in profile."
Pretty Pastel 2015 Paper collage and colouring crayon on French antique sewing pattern 72 x 58 cm
"This paper collage, made on two French sewing pattern joined in the middle, depicts a woman looking at her reflection in a water lily garden. Philosophically, the work uses this image as a metaphor for our personal self-reflection as human beings."
Reflections in a Water Garden 2015 Paper collage on French antique sewing patterns 126 x 95.5 cm
"This collage artwork, made on an antique French sewing pattern, references the depiction of fertility goddesses in the history of visual art. The Egg, a shape synonymous with fertility, was apparent to me on this pattern. The work also symbolises the notion of growth and celebration of humanity in the Sanctuary of life."
Goddess of Fertility 2016 Paper and acetate collage on French antique sewing pattern 94 x 72 cm
“This artwork embodies a joyous impression of a garden. Painted clouds, and Japanese hand-printed flower papers are used to create this composition, made on two original French sewing pattern joined in the middle."
Garden of Paradise 2017 Paper collage on French antique sewing pattern 180 x 82 cm
"The collage artwork made on an original French sewing pattern depicts the gesture of a woman drinking tea, imagined in the Garden of Eden. Here I imagine the garden as a Sanctuary of mystical creatures and romantic mysterious figures, all in the pursuit for beauty and righteousness."
Woman Drinking Tea in the Garden of Eden 2017 Paper collage on French antique sewing pattern 69 x 89 cm
"This bold new pair of lithographs, first presented at the London Original Print Fair by Paupers Press Fine Art Publishers, draw together diverse cultural influences to celebrate the body and consider its presentation across the history of art. In The Mesopotamian Maze I turned my gaze to the more distant past: an ancient terracotta figure in the British Museum collections, sculpted by an unknown hand. The voluptuous forms of this prehistoric fertility goddess are a powerful antecedent for the abstract patterns that were the template for 20th-century femininity, and the proud sexuality of modern woman."
Mesopotamian Maze No.1 & No.2 2017 Lithograph 80 x 40 cm each
Hormazd Narielwalla Hormazd Narielwalla (b. 1979) is a London-based artist who works in collage. Narielwalla uses found materials; bespoke Savile Row tailoring patterns, and their antiquarian and contemporary trade counterparts, to create artworks exploring the body in abstract form. Narielwalla’s work is a meditation on the human condition, proposing a new interpretation of tailoring patterns as interesting abstracted drawings of the human form. Freed from function they are drawings ahead of their time, anthropomorphic in origin and beautifully abstract in isolation. Narielwalla holds a PhD from University of Arts, London, and is the author of a biography of Master Tailor Michael Skinner, The Savile Row Cutter (2011). Since his first solo show, Study on Anansi (2009), sponsored and exhibited by Sir Paul Smith, he has developed a permanent presence and critical acclaim in the academic and commercial art world alike. He exhibits regularly in London an internationally, and has collaborated with organisations and brands including the Serpentine Galleries; Artbelow; Jigsaw; Tiger of Sweden. Narielwalla’s work is held in public and private collections worldwide, including the British Library; the National Art Library, INIVA; Fashion Institute of Technology, New York; and Parsons School of Art & Design, New York. He is the winner of the 2014 Saatchi Art Showdown Prize, and in 2016 was awarded the Paupers Press Prize at the International Print Biennial in Newcastle, resulting in a new commission to be shown at the Royal Academy of Arts in April 2017.
Education: 2009-14 PhD in Fine Art, University of the Arts London 2006-07 MA Fashion Design & Enterprise, The University of Westminster, London 2003-06 BA Fashion Design, The University of Wales, Newport, BA Solo Exhibitions: 2017 Sanctuary, Gallery Elena Shchukina, London 2016 Lost Gardens, Southbank Centre, London 2016 Body Architecture, Foundry Gallery with Saatchi Art, London 2015 Showcase, Fasion Museum, Bath 2015 Haute Collage, Art 18/21, Norwich 2015 Saatchi Art, Timothy Everest Atelier, London 2014 Birla Academy of Art and Culture, India Art Fair 2014 2013 Love Nest, Margaret Street Gallery, London 2012 Lady Gardens, Long White Cloud, London 2012 Showcase, Harvey Nichols, London 2012 Dead Man’s Patterns Memento Mori, Sheridan&Co, London 2012 The Other Art Fair, London 2011 Fairy-God, Fashion-Mother, Modern Pantry, London 2010 Hat-Parade, Bernstock Speirs, London 2009 A Study On Anansi, Paul Smith Gallery, London Selected Group Exhibitions: 2017 Migrations, Eagle Gallery, London 2016 Woolich contemporary Print Fair, London 2016 International Print Biennale, Newcastle 2014 Spring Fever, Saatchi Suite, Hyatt Regency London 2014 Glue, CHART Gallery, London 2013 Connect, A-Side B-Side Gallery, London 2013 Pap(I)er Fashion, Galerie Stihl, produced by ATOPOS cvc with Barbican, London 2013 COLLECT 13, Crafts Council, England, Saatchi Gallery 2012 Summer Salon, Islington Art Factory, London 2012 Imprint, Centre of Possible Studies, Serpentine Gallery, London 2011 Block Party, Crafts Council, touring exhibit, UK 2011 Drawing and the body, KG52 Gallery, Stockholm 2010 Art Below, Old Street Tube station, London
Awards: 2016 2014 2009 2007
Winner, Paupers Press Prize, International Print Biennale, Newcastle Winner, Saatchi Art Showdown – The Body Electric First International Rectors Scholarship to read on a PhD, University of Arts London Awarded 2 Erach Roshan Sadri Foundation grants
Publications: 2017 Lost Gardens, artist’s book 2015 Anansi Tales, artist’s book 2014 Hungarian Peacocks, artist’s book 2011 The Savile Row Cutter, Benefactum Publishers 2008 Dead Man’s Patterns, artist’s book Collections: National Art Library Special Collections Rare British Modern Collection at the British Library Stuarts Hall Library of Artist Books, Iniva collection Courtauld Institute of Art collection Fashion Institute of technology collection of artist books, New York Central Saint Martin’s collection of artist books London College of Fashion, Special Collections Edinburgh college of Art Special Collections University of Winchester Special Collection of Artist Books Manchester Metropolitan University Somerset College, Arts & technology Liverpool John Moores University Special Collections, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York Special Collections, Parsons School, Art & Design, New York Special Collections, University of Minnesota
gallery elena shchukina
gallery elena shchukina 10 lees place, mayfair london w1k 6ll +44 (0)20 7499 6019
www.galleryelenashchukina.com
From its base in Mayfair, Gallery Elena Shchukina brings emerging contemporary artists to London. Gallery Elena Shchukina is a contemporary art gallery located in the heart of Mayfair. We are dedicated to exhibiting emerging and established international contemporary artists, exhibiting identifiable or innovative techniques. We believe in choosing contemporary artists who display exceptional talent, technical skill, and creativity. Through our programme, we deliver engaging contemporary art exhibitions that are accessible to everyone. The Gallery also offers a stimulating schedule of art and cultural events, workshops and lectures.