Venue
The Muse Gallery | Studio
Starts
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Ends
Sunday, July 23, 2017
Address
269 Portobello Road
Location
London
Organiser
The Muse at 269 Gallery | Studio

The Muse Gallery proudly presents

AiR 2017 final group show

Diego Brambilla

Lawrence Calver

Yole Quintero

6.07-23.07.2017

Opening Night 6.07.2017, 6.30-9.00pm

 

From January to June, London based artists Diego Brambilla, Lawrence Calver and Yole Quintero are working on site at ‘The Muse Gallery/Studio, as part of the 2017 residency program.

Diego Brambilla is an Italian artist, based in London, who graduated from the London College of Communications with an MA photography in 2015.

Often combining photography and sculpture, he explores contemporary approaches to concepts such as science or nature challenging them as cultural products. Organic and artificial, scientific and fictional, forged and authentic are, in his practice, only apparently contradictory. Brambilla’s work twists and reconfigures those oppositions, blurring and switching their boundaries. He stages post-romantic constructions of nature by representing elusive and colored plants, faking scientific explorations or assembling imaginary geological discoveries.

Lawrence Calver ’s practice involves the use of textiles to explore themes and aesthetics of contemporary fine art. An array of textiles and re-purposed domestic fabrics are exposed to a range of rigorous processes such as bleaching, dying, painting and staining, as well as a process of embroidery, stitching and sewing.

Lawrence’s role resembles that of an art director; rather than creating something new, there is deliberate action to celebrate what is already there. The search for materials is an active part of his practice which leads to investigations into the functional and aesthetic traits of the materials he uses.
Each piece is approached with no specific conceptual intention. Instead, it is the exploration of the material and the processes it can endure that characterize the practice.

With the sum of these unorthodox approaches to the medium Lawrence is beginning to create his own language of communication, and each piece is an open letter of dialogue between the artist and the material.

During the 6 month residency at the Muse Gallery, Lawrence has turned his attention to materials found specifically in the area of Portabello. The collection of works on display are both material and metaphor; they are used, found, transformed, and preserved, celebrating and accentuating each material substance outside of its original context.

 

Yole Quintero

Silenced views’ is a series of installations that reflects my perspective on anxiety, exploring subjects of personal anxiety, technology, society and culture.

The pieces are called:

  • I am (pretending that I am) Okay
  • Ritual Virtuality
  • 40 Months
  • Bright Scapes

“I am (pretending that I am) Okay” Is an installation that addresses the subject of anxiety caused by media, especially digital media such as YouTube. The installation is made of golden balloons with the message “I am Okay” while a video plays. The video is a character that performs a ‘dance’ responding to different youtube videos. The full installation will recall a girl’s party just about to happen. The idea behind this installation is “fake it until you make it” converted into a staged anxiety of life and our interaction with technology.

Along this installation, I’m also presenting “Ritual Virtuality”. This installation is a series of at least 5 pieces in which I’m recreating an abstract human body made out of empty cosmetic jars, old clothing and things that I’ve discarded as a woman but collecting as an artist.

The photo series ‘Bright Scapes’ is a series of images that I’ve transformed using software and code. The original image is often a ‘selfie’ (sometimes objects or situations of everyday life), that I’ve taken while having a panic attack. I’ve been suffering from anxiety and panic attacks since I was 16 years old and with this series I want to use those moments and transform them into something visually pleasant. I’ve been researching into colour and how colour affects our mood.

Additionally to these installations, I’m presenting the book “40 Months” that I’ve produced as the first project at The Muse. This book is really personal and although is about family and distance, it’s connected to these works as a way to express the nostalgia and anxiety of separation and being an immigrant.