DegreeArt.com Presents Andy Owen’s 2008 Solo Show
‘in/ex/ternal’ at DegreeArt.com, the Empire Gallery, London
29th October – 9th November 2008 – 12-6pm daily Private View November 6th 6-9pm
University of the Arts graduate Andy Owen returns to Vyner Street this autumn with a new body of paintings which are an exploration of illusionary space; its de-construction and re-organisation on a two dimensional plane.
The paintings have the look of quasi landscapes formed of fragmented wholes. The linear divisions of a grid are used to construct pixel like cells, pixels that have mutated and evolved, their flat equality corrupted to define multiple snapshots of space. These spaces are interrupted by flowing forms. Like pathogens they spread through the surface, moving in and out of spaces, in and out of focus; giving the appearance of movement between foreground and background. Their looser, more organic language subverts the grid’s rectilinear order.
The formation of each piece begins with the smallest section of a painting scanned into the computer screen. Over and over again it is filtered, distorted and broken down; giving rise to a multiplicity of images. These fractals are edited, combined and ordered into a hierarchy of spaces. Then drawing takes over to further enhance the developing composition. Extending, combining and effacing elements, the image is kept in a perpetual state of flux during translation onto the canvas.
These processes engage with abstraction’s autonomy; its historical position as a self absorbed, internalised medium purged of outside influence. Yet simultaneously they echo parallels in the wider world external to painting. They explore relationships between the pictorial surface and the digital screen; both deceive our eyes, conjuring illusions of space and movement on their flat, static surfaces. They share the same potential for the creation and dissemination of ideas, referencing their movement between the real and virtual worlds.
Ultimately this is a convergence of different languages. Digital manipulation meets drawing and painterly traditions, while the romantic, spatial experience of landscape is juxtaposed with the formal aesthetic of the grid. Collectively these elements form the basis for an expansive exploration of abstraction through a variety of processes on multiple surfaces.
www.DegreeArt.com – 020 8980 0395 – info@DegreeArt.com
The Empire Gallery – 30 Vyner Street – London – E2 9DQ
