We live in an era of globalisation and interconnectivity, with an ever-growing amount of information and images easily available at our fingertips.
Painting, once the dominant medium in western visual culture, is now just one in a range of contemporary art genres. It is clear painting will not return to the pre-eminent position it once had, but will any other visual medium achieve the status painting held?
All Men By Nature Desire To Know brings together four invited artists who see painting as a significant part of their practice. The history of painting is continuously being overlaid and re-written by artists for whom the act of painting is both an accumulative and contentious process – influences are being absorbed and rejected.
The artists within this exhibition produce work that broadens and challenges the traditional form of painting, bringing their personal histories to their practice as well as traversing what has gone before. Each painting is self-contained as well as being part of a continuum; painting practice is opening out into other spaces, creating dialogues and furthering debate.
All images courtesy of Julian Lister and the artists.
Stefania Batoeva, Never Sleep Never Die II, 2016 (left) & Never Sleep Never Die III, 2016 (right). Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Flora Klein, EF, 2014. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Audrey Reynolds, A Sitting, 2016. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Image has no captionInstallation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Audrey Reynolds, Curbelow, 2016 (detail). Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Audrey Reynolds, 1458, 2013-2016. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Audrey Reynolds, 1458, 2013-2016. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Flora Klein, Untitled (blue). Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Alan Michael, Today is, 2017. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Alan Michael, This City Is, 2016. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.
Stefania Batoeva, Never Sleep Never Die II, 2016 (left) & Never Sleep Never Die III, 2016 (right). Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Flora Klein, EF, 2014. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Audrey Reynolds, A Sitting, 2016. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Image has no captionInstallation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Audrey Reynolds, Curbelow, 2016 (detail). Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Installation view. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Audrey Reynolds, 1458, 2013-2016. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Audrey Reynolds, 1458, 2013-2016. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Flora Klein, Untitled (blue). Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Alan Michael, Today is, 2017. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.Alan Michael, This City Is, 2016. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julian Lister.
Featured Artists
Stefania Batoeva (b. 1981 Sofia, Bulgaria) lives and works in London. Graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2014. Stefania has produced works specifically for All Men By Nature Desire To Know.
Flora Klein (*1988 Bern, Switzerland) lives and works in Berlin. Graduated with a BA in Fine Arts at ECAL, Lausanne in 2013. Flora is showing new works which have not been seen in the UK before.
Recent solo exhibition:
Flora Klein, Galerie Max Mayer, Düsseldorf and Oracle, Berlin, 2016.
Attachments and Assignations, Cubitt, London, 2014
Audrey Reynolds lives and works in London and Folkestone. Studied at Bath College of Art and at Chelsea College of Art, London. Audrey has produced new works specifically for All Men By Nature Desire To Know.
Solo exhibitions include:
Thirteenth and Third Girl, Ancient & Modern, London, 2014 and 2012
A collection of her writing will be published by AkermanDaly in Spring 2017.
Accompanying Text
Rachal Bradley (b Blackpool, 1979) currently lives and works in Nottingham where she is a lecturer in the Fine Art department of Nottingham Trent University. An ongoing archive of Bradley’s writing is to be found at www.rachalbradley.eu.
Curator
Joshua Lockwood (b. 1991) lives and works in Nottingham. Joshua is an artist based at One Thoresby Street, he is also a curator and co-director of TG Gallery. Joshua was also in residence at Lincoln University & The Collection, Lincoln from 2014-2015
Join us at Bonington Gallery for the Saturday preview of Andrew Logan The Joy of Sculpture – a solo exhibition spanning 50 years of practice from one of Britain’s most iconic artists. Open to all, reserve your free place and come and explore Andrew's spectacular work.
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is delighted to invite Audrey Reynolds to speak as part of the 2017 Fine Art Live Lecture Series. Audrey is an artist and writer, her work […]
Bonington Film Night #5: Jaakko Pallasvuo, Jon Rafman, Peter Wächtler
Thu 19 May 2016
Bonington Gallery was pleased to present the fifth in the series of Bonington Film Nights. This screening was the last in the season curated by Joshua Lockwood. This film screening took place amidst […]
