“Time of the Empress” – Gazelli Art House, 39 Dover Street, Mayfair
17th January – 19th March
“Time of the Empress” is a tale of two halves, two series coming together as one; a notion that is seconded by Aziz + Cucher themselves. The downstairs space is occupied by mesmerising animated drawings of modernist buildings that are suspended in a never ending cycle of construction and reduction. The mediated but organic dissolution of their form is at once beautiful and foreboding; offering reminiscence of both temporality and the destruction and chaos of modern life. The disintegration and multiplicity of the towers in particular offers a more sinister reading, that of the fall and recent rejuvenation of the Twin Towers. Aziz + Cucher’s digital animation continues downstairs with an encompassing video projection of flickering, fluxing, changing shapes and forms that blur your perception of what is digital or organic.
[ Installation shot from Aziz + Cucher’s “Time of the Empress” exhibition last year at the Indianapolis Museum of Art ]
[ Scenapse Field 12, c-print on edura metallic paper with diasec mount, 127 x 127cm, 2013 : Scenapse Wave Copper, c-print on edura metallic paper with diasec mount, 81.2 x 152.4cm, 2013 ]
Previously described as ‘electronic impressionism’ the paintings housed upstairs are again digitally manipulated in order to create a sense of flux, permeability and penetrative depth. These images are aesthetically compelling, inviting the viewer to stare both at the highly pixelated surface of the image and through into the lacy layers of stunning colour, light and intricacies that seem to be captured somewhere within them.
“Time of the Empress” offers a refreshing look at Aziz + Cucher; at their more conventionally aesthetic pieces, and their ability to create images that are both beautiful and provoking. The pieces shown here perhaps represent another side of the artistic duo; a thoughtful, unique appreciation of superficial style, that continue to share the resonating issues of their earlier works, but create a paradox in their more aesthetic appearance. Criticism of the exhibition can only come from its small scale. Viewers are left begging for more, wondering why more has not been crammed into this space and why a retrospective of Aziz + Cucher’s entire collection isn’t pencilled into their diaries!
ABOUT THE ARTIST
AZIZ + CUCHER
Since the beginning of their career together in 1992, Aziz + Cucher have worked in a variety of media including digital imaging, sculpture, animation, and video-installation. They were considered pioneers of digital manipulation in fine art photography in the 1990s and their work features in prominent collections worldwide, including San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art and the Fond National d’Art Contempora in in Paris. The artists also represented Venezuela in the 1995 Venice Biennale.
www.thegazelliarthouse.com / azizcucher.net
– words by Kimberley Brown
