GALLERY46 present ‘MONSTER’ a solo show by Joe Hesketh – featuring new and previously unseen works.
Hesketh explores a vivid depiction of the lawless territory that occupies the – often convoluted – reality of what it means to be human, capturing an apocalyptic cynicism that seems to be inextricably bound to life as a woman in the 21st century.
With themes of transgression and the grotesque pervading her work, ‘Monster’ is a search for meaning in
a world full of ‘ism’s’. Hesketh’s work probes and pivots between sex, life and death and humour, tragedy
and beauty that endures amidst the chaos of our world, saturated with a myriad of manmade horrors
and injustices.
Capturing an apocalyptic cynicism that seems to be inextricably bound to life as a woman in the 21st century
Dora Bond, Gallery Manager
‘MONSTER’ Joe Hesketh, Curated by Martin J Tickner, 26TH MAY – 1ST JUNE 2023, Gallery 46
About the artist
Joe Hesketh is an avant-garde British painter known for her semi-abstract paintings which interpret life as a woman in 21st-century Britain. Her ominous portraits veer between humour and tragedy, resulting in a disconcerting and yet entirely unique visual duality. Themes of transgression and the grotesque pervade her work.
Her paintings often feature herself in unflattering and self-critical ways. While on the one hand, there is an undertone of self-doubt and vulnerability, the brazen way in which Joe confronts her inner demons is both subversive and admirable. Joe works with fiercely blended colours, heavy layering and deformed, eerie figures which gaze out from her canvas. For example, in Baby Wipes and Rubber Ring, both in oil, there’s something deceptively uncanny about the jester-like subjects; it’s not clear whether you’re observing them or whether they’re observing you.
