Group Exhibition - White Cube Bermondsey
27th September - 12th November 2017
Price: FREE
Three free exhibitions from Cerith Wyn Evans, Ann Veronica Janssens and Damián Ortega provide a range of work from the conceptual to the sculptural within their own respective spaces at White Cube in north Bermondsey.
Welsh artist Cerith Wyn Evans’ work is 9x9x9. This piece follows on from a recent large-scale commission at the Tate Britain and continues his desire to materialise energy and consciousness into sculptural form. These neon blue phosphorescent tubes that float on the ends of wires are described by Evans as providing a “zone for meditation and a place for reverie” — and they do so effectively. The figure is suspended in the air and drawn, as if, from a single instance in time along one continuous line. Alluding to an explosive fireworks display, it flows down from the ceiling, its tail curling close to the ground, yet allowing the viewer to look up into the cascade of lights. The piece manages to maintain a perfect balance of intensity and calm meditation, making you wish there was a chair to sit on as you meditate on its variety of form, style and evocations.
Moving to the middle section is a collection of work by Ann Veronica Janssens — a space which White Cube boasts as being the first extensive solo exhibition by the artist in the UK. Janssens intentions in the work provide a multitude of interpretation. She chooses to explore the ‘spatio-temporal experience and limits of perception’ in her work. From cracked rainbow tinted glass to golden blinds to a dusty-glitter-like spill across the room, Janssens plays with light, colour, tone, structure and perception in every piece. This collection of abstract sculptures provides a range of masterclasses in substance, form and tone.
Damián Ortega’s work has previously ranged from a deconstructed car held in mid-air to sharp tools in an explosive view to abstract clay sculptures that litter the gallery. This room is not only the largest, but also that which holds the largest quantity and variety of work. This exhibition, named Play Time, contains a variety of multifaceted works playing, at points, with perceptions of our new ‘post-truth’ world. The space is filled with deconstructions of packaged materials displayed in terms of abstract sculptures and graphic media posters, all surrounded by industrialised abstract sculptures. Politically charged, meditative, sometimes abstract and at other times bluntly poignant, it encompasses contemporary opinions, perspectives and understanding of the last couple years, brilliantly.
This group exhibition contains a variety of powerfully meditative work in the beautifully open spaces facilitated by White Cube and is, of course, well worth seeing — especially since it’s free!
