In 1976, The Pink Floyd hired the innovative Hipgnosis team, Aubrey Powell and Storm Thorgerson, to shoot the ‘Animals’ album cover at Battersea Power Station in London. They organised a giant blow-up pig which was attached to ropes and supposed to float above the Power Station for three consecutive days, but unfortunately on the second day, the pig slipped its moorings. The Floyd had hired an ex-police marksman to shoot it down in such circumstances, but he hadn’t turned up that day. Jumbo jet pilots, flying into London that morning, told their passengers, “on the right of the plane you will see the Houses of Parliament and on the left… a flying pig!”. No one could believe their eyes. Ultimately, chased by police and press, the pig deflated ignominiously in a field in Kent. I shot thirty-six frames in an attempt to tell its story…
Archive for the ‘Exhibition’ Category
The Pig and the Power Station | Nov 21 – Dec 22 2018 | Photographs by Carinthia West
Thursday, November 15th, 2018In A Silent Way | 2018 Battersea
Tuesday, June 5th, 2018Knight Webb Gallery’s opening exhibition at our new space in Battersea is a revival of In a Silent Way with artists Anders Knutsson and Lesley Hilling. The combination of organic wooden structures and gentle monochrome painting demonstrates a natural connection between artistic styles, both visibly and conceptually.
Knutsson’s paintings are a synthesis of Nordic and American culture, combining Minimalism, Abstract Expressionism, and Northern Romanticism. Equilibrium and understatement are the foundation of everything Knutsson creates.
Hilling’s wall sculptures instantly recognisable for their organic, architectural forms and understated elegance. In her practice there is a system of scouring the streets for materials, and sometimes destroying them before their transformation into sculpture. Lesley values nostalgia. Her house and her sculpture practice are testament to a strong attachment to the past. The recycling of materials has grown out of her core values.
Beyond The Blue Horizon 2017, 70 cm x 75 cm x 19 cm, Antique wood and piano parts
Anders Knutsson
Red Hot 2015, 148 cm x 105 cm, Wax Oil on Linen
Art of the Machine Age (Modern British Abstraction 1956 – 2017)
Thursday, September 28th, 2017The taste for Modern British Art has grown considerably over the past decade. There are certain forms and characteristics which place this genre firmly in the British landscape, however artists of the late 1940’s and 1950’s bridge a cultural division between two distinct periods of art history.
In the pre war era compositions remain predominantly classical, referring to the figure, the landscape, and other Victorian themes; even Picasso with his experimental lust chose subjects which were more or less classical.
The post war era brings a noticeable change. Artists seem to awaken from a pastoral sleep, into the fuel consuming world of the machine age, the monstrous hardware of WW2 wiping Victorian sentiment from their memories. Abstract Expressionism appears to be an authentic response to the realities of a new, noisier, and perhaps more unkind world.
Knight Webb Gallery presents Art of the Machine Age as an extension of our contemporary art program. Early paintings by Alan Davie, Adrian Heath, and William Gear hang alongside recent abstract works by contemporary artists, whose visions resonate with the melancholic optimism of post war Britain.
This is Knight Webb Gallery’s first exhibition of period artworks; however, we have been building modern collections behind the scenes for many years. Our relationships with collectors around the world allow us to locate outstanding artworks, which have not yet circulated through the secondary market and auction houses.
Lesley Hilling – On Longing
Thursday, April 27th, 2017‘There is an unseen hand in my work and I am simply its caretaker. I work with the hues of the wood as if I’m a painter.’ – Lesley Hilling
Knight Webb Gallery will present a solo exhibition of several new sculptures by Brixton’s best known resident artist, Lesley Hilling. The exhibition will feature floor standing and wall sculptures made in found antique materials.
Both challenging and innovative, Lesley’s work is instantly recognizable for its organic, architectural forms and its understated elegance. Her background as a graphic designer has influenced these carefully considered compositions. All the works are made from salvaged antique furniture and found objects, many of which relate personally to the artist.
Hidden between the multi-faceted layers of each piece are old pianos, watches and family heirlooms. Her intricate works can take up to a year to assemble and complete.
‘The things I make can be separated into two types – the formal constructions made from different salvaged woods, and the more poetic pieces that will additionally feature found objects – things from my collections – cigarette cards, shells, coins, dolls, clock mechanisms, old photos, precariously placed magnifying glasses… I feel these pieces tell a story and the key to the story is with the viewer.’ -Lesley Hilling
Founded on a sense of nostalgia where the emphasis is on the collective and personal memory. Many of her constructions encourage the opening of doors and the pulling out of drawers. There is interplay between what is hidden, revealed and what is yet to be discovered. A walk on the beach or a country lane will produce all number of finds, such as crab bodies, drift wood, sculls, a dried frog; which can all be seamlessly integrated into the artwork.
‘Lesley’s work conveys a powerful sense of longing to preserve the fragments of the past, a desire for order, a passionate and mysterious evocation of lost moments.’ – Jane England, Director of England & Co Gallery
Nadav Drukker – Quantum Ceramics
Wednesday, February 1st, 2017‘From an early age, growing up in Jerusalem I had a strong affinity with ceramics; the Japanese vessels that my grandfather collected and the abundant shards of pots from local archeology. Originally ceramics were a way for me to focus on something other than research, but recently I have felt compelled to combine my two passions. As I started transcribing my calculations onto clay, I realised that the process itself was not a mere reflection of my research, but was influencing it.’
QUANTUM CERAMICS is the first solo exhibition of ceramic works by Theoretical Physicist Nadav Drukker, based at Kings College London, who makes traditional studio pottery as an alternative means to communicate his scientific research.
Drukker’s string theory related ceramics are presented as a series of six projects: Circle, Cusp, Index, Polygons, Cut, and Defect. Each series is based on a research paper by the artist, with the shape and texture of each piece reflecting the research. The works are all traditional glazed stoneware and porcelain vessels.
‘I wanted to share the excitement from both of my passions with the public, so instead of attempting to answer the question of what string theory is, I create objects that represent the beauty I find in string theory. I hope that the viewer will be able to admire the forms and formulas the way that one views hieroglyphs or cuneiform, which we know carry meaning, but most of us cannot read. In particular cuneiforms, one of the earliest forms of writing and normally implemented in clay. So I am bringing back modern mathematical notation to clay.’
The works are presented as a series of six projects: Circle, Cusp, Index, Polygons, Cut, and Defect. Each series is based on a research paper by Drukker.
17th March – 8th April 2017 at Knight Webb Gallery, Brixton.
8th April, 10:30 – 12:00 Breakfast With Artists: Nadav Drukker
Synthesis
Thursday, December 15th, 2016
‘Synthesis was an inspiring event. Around 80 people painted throughout the day, including 20 children and young people. A number of serious artists and many welcome experimenters contributed to create the large scale multi-layered mural
The fluorescent / UV light reaction gradually took full effect as daylight disappeared. By evening the walls looked wild.
Louis, Youth and Mixmaster Morris gave us a thoughtful soundtrack to work to.’
– Rufus Knight-Webb
Press Release – Synthesis – UV Collaboration Event
Dream
Tuesday, November 15th, 2016Juliane Hundertmark – Breakfast
Friday, September 2nd, 2016‘Juliane Hundertmark from Berlin is at the top of her game, effortlessly informal and gently satirical.’
Breakfast is orientated around Hundertmark’s recent series of large scale works on canvas titled ‘Breakfast’. For the past year the artist has been exploring this commonplace ritual and gathering of friends and family in their sleepy, hungover and occasionally dishevelled state.
Since Hundertmark initiated this series in 2015, it has resonated with her audience and inspired associations and memories of scenes from their own lives. These strangely animated characters are not simply stereotypes, they are aspects of real personality types acting crudely, honestly and as themselves. Hundertmark has produced these new paintings in her distinctive, confident style, with her usual balance of satire and fantasy.
Douglas McDougall – Works on Paper / June – July 2016
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016Douglas McDougall – Works on Paper – Press Release
Known for his stark and captivating portraits, this solo show promises to be one of the most comprehensive exhibitions of McDougall’s work for many years.
The exhibition will run from the 1st to the 30th July.
Private View, 30th June, 6 – 9pm.