A new joint exhibition from Keith Hopewell and Nikki Goldup at Hoxton Gallery in east London.
At the crux of this new exhibition, is a short process film shot by Nikki Goldup, featuring Keith Hopewell painting a large blank canvas, laid flat on the ground, wearing a mask, gloves & protective clothing. The black paint being applied is unusually transmitted by the rolling of an oversized aerosol moving back & forth. This leaves tracks and over-spray wherever this 'vehicle' traverses. It is an oxymoron of both calculation & unpredictability that allows the composition to fall into place, until the container is left emptied of its contents. This sort of hands-free painting technique, along with the ritualist dance-like quality of his working process, evokes an eerie feeling of absence & presence, reminding us of our experience living in the strange new reality formed by the pandemic.
Over two floors of the recently relocated Hoxton Gallery, (a newly built contemporary building, which almost resembles an outdoor display cabinet), there is a curated selection of monochrome paintings completed by Hopewell over the last few years. A few of the works are from a series created on the grounds of Sir Antony Gormley's house in rural Norfolk, whilst Keith was living there in 2019. The more recent works were painted this summer over the first lockdown period, at a barn in rural Suffolk. No stranger to life in isolated environments, Hopewell operates in liminal time, using his autonomous performative painting practice as part of his socially distanced daily exercise.
Nikki Goldup's contribution to the exhibition space, is a forensic investigation of the traces & artefacts left by Hopewell's practice, including discarded canvas tests, wood off-cuts, horsehair & the empty protective suit worn by Keith during the making of the paintings. Here Nikki explores object-language & hypertextual relationships, responding to Keith's process & methodology, opening new lines of enquiry & interpretation.
The question concerning both artists is, what is art today & how do we approach it in response to the global crisis & the way in which we have been redirected into digital space?'
'It's the very decadence of freedoms attributed to us by our access to the internet, that remove the capability to influence any real change to the dynamics that create the conditions for making the work in the first place.'
Mark Fisher
This exhibition is about working in flux & the democratisation of historically stigmatised mediums. By focusing on the performative elements of painting and art making as a lived experience, the artists believe this is the only real route towards the true essence of why we make art.
To book appointments to view and sales information contact Hoxton Gallery:
Tel: (+44) 7930 940676 | Email: hi@hoxtongallery.co.uk