- Venue
- Matisson Burgin: Shoreditch Space
- Location
The tourist or walk-in trade will not be drawn to the Matisonn Burgin:Shoreditch Space. Hidden on an out of the way side street, its only identification is the house number scrawled in marker on the gray painted surface of a windowless steel door.
If you are looking for something thought provoking that defies hot trends, this is the exhibit. Christensen’s art does not piggyback on the current glut of pornography based images, participatory art, installations, performance or video. In the cozy gallery is what first appears to be a smattering of fauvist, impasto oils comprising a mix of landscapes, portraits and pop social comment. Closer examination of a russet and orange landscape reveals that it is composed of morsels from printed images of meat. The impressionistic brushstrokes are actually meticulously selected, trimmed and placed pieces of supermarket flyers and junk mail. This "faux oil" is a feat that could only be accomplished by a collagist with a sound awareness of the behavior of oil paint. There is a distinct nod to art brut, partly in the works’ obsessive attention to detail and partly in its “image within an image” consciousness. Missing is more information on the puzzling and unexplained conceptual gap between the landscapes and more symbolic work.
The gallery and the exhibit will be rewarding to those prepared to explore obscure corners and are not for the casual artistic bystander.
