Friday 4 October 2013

Soho Reflections

A sunny day in London and Frieze is around the corner again.

Walking around Soho, pop into Riflemaker and see a new series of works by Josephine King (b.1965) who has just featured on the United Nations latest postage stamp in the US. Her work is extremely powerful, colourful but with a serious note and reflection on life. King suffers from bi-polar mania and uses her painting as self reflection, as well as a form of therapy. The Gustav Klimt or Egon Schiele feel to the compositions and pallet lift the otherwise heaviness of the artist's work.

King's latest body is particularly attractive. 

Josephine King, In Persuit of Beauty, 2013

Each work is based on masterpieces in the National Gallery, London, and will be exhibited at Christie's Multiplied fair from 18-21 October. Of 'The Paintress' series the artist describes,

I am in the continuing pursuit of the inspiration from the ancient painters. 
I feel their living power operating through my brush. 
I feel compelled to follow the way that they are showing me. 
I feel close to the things that they were close to: nature, required solitude, fervour, the power of colour to evoke feeling. 
The words I use enhance the moment of intensity. 
There is the poetry of words and the poetry of painting. 


Juan Fontanive, Ornithology, 2013

My favourite work at the gallery is a Juan Fontanive (1977), revolving 'paper film'. Made up of 90 hand painted drawings of humming birds, a mechanical flip-book effect is created. Each image is delicate and the bird dances around the box in a light and playful manner. Fontanive works with 19th Century ornithology manuals, and with each of his stills being a work of art in itself, Fontanive creates his own moving book of birds. The artist composes everything, from the motor to the metal casing, to the hand finished drawings. He says, I like to make things that dance. The gentle noise that the motor creates doesn't sound dissimilar to a flutter of wings and adds a musical dimension to the work. I've never seen anything like these.