Fresh Meat
25 Jan - 23 Feb 2008
OPENING: Friday 25 Jan 2008 18h00
Whatiftheworld / Gallery 208 Albert Rd. Woodstock
‘Fresh Meat’ is a show of new painting, by a group of painters who have come together to strengthen the presence and position of their shared attitude. Painting tends to be hemmed in and misunderstood both by a conservative mainstream and by other artists who see themselves as conceptual. This group of painters is well acquainted with contemporary theory and philosophy of art, but is taking it into a new debate which aims, as Francis Bacon put it, to “deepen the game”. Limited edition catalogue available, featuring essay by Robert Sloon (Artheat).
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‘A couple of young deer graze in the forestry undergrowth. The dappled light plays along their fawn hinds, as they browse on the fine greenery. Dreaming of happy deer things. A twig snaps. A panther, black as night, swoops out a tree and stalks away with a deer dangling by its throat. A trace of blood smears a leaf. A meal is sustenance for some, and gory death for others.
Painting has had a long and tiresome history. It has been the yardstick by which people measure art. It has moved in and out of fashion. At the height of the modernist movement it was declared dead, a victim of it’s own diminishing returns, on its last legs, eating its last dinner. Then a twig snapped.
This metaphor of life and death, destruction and creation, although sounding unfortunately like it could be sung by Elton John, moves in the paintings on this show too. It reflects on the vigour that contemporary painters have brought to the medium, having supped well. It also reflects on the themes many of the paintings work with. And it, perhaps, reflects on the time in which we live, where the world is not necessarily a safe place to hang out.’
Excerpt from ‘The Last Dinner’ by Robert Sloon
Click here to download the exhibition catalogue.
Click here to download Lizza Littlewort’s cartoon booklet ‘The Whole World Will Be Fixed’ accompanying her body of work for the exhibition.
Participating Artists:
Georgina Gratrix
Rebecca Haysom
Jake Aikman
Justin Brett
Trasi Henen
Matthew Luke Hindley
Linda Stupart
Lauren Palte
Lisa Brice
Lizza Littlewort
