The Hunt Through New Eyes: Hugo Wilson at Shapero Modern

Shapero Modern is delighted to present their upcoming exhibition, Chroma hunt, a collection of hand-coloured etchings by renowned British artist, Hugo Wilson.

A portfolio of nine etchings will be on view at the Mayfair gallery, all of which are related to the artist’s most recent painting series portraying the most primal of all human rituals, the hunt.

It is important to recognise the history of hunting paintings when considering this work; hunting scenes were popular with wealthy collectors in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They represented a sort of ‘trophyism’ as well as a physical way of displaying man’s mastery over the natural world.

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Hunt IV, 2016, hand-coloured etching and aquatint on Velin Arches Blanc 400gsm. Courtesy of the Artist and Shapero Modern.

Wilson’s etchings for this exhibition are based on, or inspired by, famous hunting paintings by old masters including Rubens and Stubbs, but instead of the typical narrative of man vs. beast, they illustrate strange and unlikely events where lions, crocodiles and other fierce creatures have been trained to hunt other animals. The human hunter remains entirely unseen.

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An Artist With No Labels: Gee Vaucher at Firstsite

Firstsite, Colchester is presenting the first ever survey show of work by renowned British artist, Gee Vaucher to be mounted in the UK. Gee Vaucher: Introspective brings together over 200 works by Vaucher, some of which have never been seen publicly before, and will present a truly comprehensive overview of her 50-year artistic career (running from 12 November, 2016 – 19 February, 2017).

Whilst Vaucher’s oeuvre is no doubt politically charged, the artist rejects any form of label to be placed on her views or her work. This non-conformist mentality is one of the aspects we feel makes Vaucher’s artwork all the more interesting and powerful. Whilst we don’t want to name any names, her aesthetic feels to be informed by Surrealism, Pop Art and Dada, blended with the DIY immediacy of punk.

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Inside Poster for Crass single, Bloody Revolutions, 1980, gouache c. Gee Vaucher, Courtesy Firstsite

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INTERVIEW: Maryam Eisler at Tristan Hoare

In anticipation of the opening of Searching for Eve in the American West at Tristan Hoare,  ArtAttack had the chance to speak with photographer Maryam Eisler about her collection of work on view and general artistic practise.

Inspiration for the exhibition comes from Eisler’s visit to Ghost Ranch in Abiquiú, New Mexico, former home and studio of renowned American Modernist Georgia O’Keefe. Eisler spent time in the desert on her trip, working day and night as she traveled further and further into the nature of the area.

She recalls, ‘The search for Eve, my muse, somewhere between the majestic heavens and Mother Earth, standing atop the rocky inclines, as sensual and as powerful as the monumental nature that had surrounded her.’

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We spoke to Maryam to delve deeper into her experience, the specifics of this show and also to hear about her beginnings as an artist.

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A Language All Her Own: Franciszka Themerson at l’etrangere

It seemed to me that the interrelation between these two sides: order in nature on the one side, and the human condition on the other, was the undefinable drama to be grasped, dealt with and communicated by me. – Franciszka Themerson, Bi-abstract Pictures, 1957

One of our favourite London gallery’s, l’étrangère, is coming to us November 4 with a brand new solo exhibition of paintings drawings and calligrammes by Franciszka Themerson, a seminal figure in the Polish pre-war avant-garde.

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Calligramme XXIII (fossil); Black, gold and red paint on paper, 1961

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CULTURAL TRAFFIC debuts at London Art Week!

Just in case you thought Frieze week was going to be same-old-same-old, we couldn’t be more excited to announce the upcoming first annual CULTURAL TRAFFIC, the fair for dealers in counter culture and independent producers of zines, prints, catalogues, vinyls and tapes!

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Images left to right: Jill no.10, July 2985; Jamie Reid Anarchy in the U.K. poster; Martin Sharp Exploding Hendrix poster

Presented by Juju’s, the event will take place on Friday 7th and Saturday 8th October at Juju’s Bar & Stage in Shoreditch, East London.

Of CULTURAL TRAFFIC itself, organiser Toby Mott explains, ‘CULTURAL TRAFFIC is a fascinating window into the flourishing post-digital zine scene and is inspired by my visits to the L.A. and New York Art Book Fairs, where I found an exciting dynamic marketplace for the global resurgence in self-publishing. I connected with the eclectic mix of material I found there, driven by the punk ethic of self-publishing, and reflecting both a pre- and post-digital aesthetic. DIY vintage counter-culture meets radical sexual politics and activism – it all comes together within an arts context.’

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Never-before-seen Paintings by Keith Cunningham Come to Hoxton Gallery in Exciting Exhibition

Coming soon to Hoxton Gallery is Unseen Paintings, 1954-1960, a thrilling survey of works in oil by the late British artist Keith Cunningham.  

This will be one those exhibitions where perhaps the story is just as fascinating as the works themselves. Keith Cunningham was one of the most promising artists of the 1950’s, graduating from the Royal College of Art, studying alongside Frank Auerbach and Leon Kossoff, even being approached by Beaux Arts Gallery and showing work with the prestigious London Group. For all intensive purposes, Cunningham was going to “make it.”

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Selection of works by Keith Cunningham. Courtesy of Bobby Hilson and Hoxton Gallery.

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