Kashya Hildebrand is pleased to present Max Gimblett’s first solo exhibition with the gallery and first presentation of his work in the UK. For the last several years, the New Zealand-born, New York-based artist has attempted the paradoxical task of creating unity and balance between form and the extreme gesturalism of a dynamic single swirling brushstroke. He employs a rich variety of materials: oil or acrylics are combined with clay, wax and vinyl polymers. These are melded with water-gilded silver, moon gold, Japanese leaf, mica and metallic pigment. The final effect is an initial attraction to abstract forms and shining surfaces. It is the artist’s technique, however, which takes centre stage, for a burst of quick action that seems to arise from the depths of the painting. The brush gesture asserts itself as primordial energy; it is the infinite within the finite. Gimblett presents us with these two forces held together within the totality of a pictorial surface. For Gimblett, colour is expression and allows for the free flow of emotions. In this light, Love Conquers All (28 November 2014 – 24 January 2015) reflects the artist’s expression of the experience of creating art.
Within Gimblett’s oeuvre, there is an overlap of meaning and intention between the New York School tradition and that of Zen painting. Like American action painters, for Gimblett, the painterly act involves an immediate bodily movement of which the brush mark on the canvas is only a residue. Simultaneously, he has developed an interest in the Japanese flung-ink style of calligraphy, as practiced by the Zen Masters of the Edo period. This actionist way of applying paint has moved increasingly toward the centre of his work, as Gimblett sees spontaneity as part of this tradition. He will repeat a basic brushstroke over and over – such as the one-stroke circular mu. Indeed, the influence of Zen painting can be seen most clearly where Gimblett has used ragged-edge brushstrokes, implying an impulsive and instantaneous event.
In this exhibition, the ancient quatrefoil shape (four circles intersecting at the same point) dominates Gimblett’s paintings. It has become an important component of his practice over the last two decades and an attempt to break away from the traditional picture plane. This combination of line and form becomes an abstract tool of emotion. Similarly, in his works on paper, one sees this same shape pushing new boundaries as the works have increased immediacy, partially due to their fresh approach to colour and geometry. In Gimblett’s work, meaning is generated within the viewer’s mind and imagination, reaching outside of the two-dimensional boundaries of image to allow for the purity of shape and energy to permeate.
PRESS RELEASE: PDF
IMAGE SHEET: PDF
PRESS:
|
|
About Max Gimblett
Born in Auckland, New Zealand (1935), New York-based Max Gimblett studied painting at the San Francisco Art Institute in California in 1965, followed by studies in psychology at the CG Jung Foundation in New York (1983-2011). Recent solo exhibitions include Gow Langsford Gallery, Auckland and Nadene Milne Gallery, Arrowtown (both 2014, New Zealand). His work can be found in the collections of the British Library, London, UK, The Getty Research Institute for the History of Art & the Humanities, Los Angeles, CA, USA, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, USA, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, USA, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, USA, among others.
About Kashya Hildebrand
Founded in 2001, the gallery's artists challenge pre-conceived notions of nationality and cultural identity, creating an environment in which established norms become blurred and characterisations from seemingly contrasting cultures occupy the same visual space. This juxtaposition leads to a simultaneous renunciation and acceptance of the traditional and the contemporary, creating an environment that is in constant flux. Religion, politics, nationality and culture are treated as the foundation of identity, depicted and disseminated to varying degrees. Through painting, collage, sculpture, photography and installation work the artists convey the contestations of the contemporary political landscape.
Exhibition:
Max Gimblett: Love Conquers All
Location:
Kashya Hildebrand, 22 Eastcastle Street London W1W 8DE, UK Telephone: +44 (0)20 3588 1195
Dates:
28 November, 2014 — 25 January, 2015 at Kashya Hildebrand Gallery, London, UK
Private Preview in the presence of the artist: Thursday, 27 November, 2014 — 6-9 pm
Hours:
Monday – Friday 11am – 6pm, Saturday 12 – 6 pm
Admission is free
For press information and images, please contact:
Anna Wallace-Thompson
+44 (0)20 3588 1195
anna@kashyahildebrand.org
|
