John Copeland "Times of grace"
American
artist John Copeland's work deals with the complexity and ambiguity of
human behaviour. Social situations, passing moments of interaction.
These are uneasy scenes in which there's a palpable tension beneath the
surface, or a hidden joke.
People pass in and out of his
paintings as if the canvas were a view-finder, capturing moments that
are awkward, fleeting, edgy or disturbing.
Men and women
come and go across that space - looking at art, taking photographs,
reflected in mirrors, joking around, clothed, naked or often a mixture
of both.
They watch each other, and we watch them. And like in
life, nothing is explained. This is simply humanity in flux.
The new work explores these themes through cross-sections of society.
The high and the low. The public and the private. Bikers at a wild
party. A bunch of paparazzi
snapping a half-naked woman. A couple
confront each other by a bed; he has written on her in paint. Two
couples sit around a coffee table: what is being said, or what isn't?
The narrative is in the subtext - a puzzle offered to the viewer
to unravel.
The canvases, thick with acrylic paint, have a
surface tension of their own. His brushwork is fluid and energetic. A
war zone of dripping paint, thick strokes and overlapping
layers.
In his studio in Brooklyn, he paints quickly, working on multiple
canvases at the same time.
Copeland's subject matter is
composite, assembled from old photos, snapshots he has gathered and
scraps from magazines.
The exhibition brings together a mix of
paintings and graphic work. His drawings of objects and figures in
costume hang in space on the picture plane, suspended in their
white background. They have a sharp-eyed precision, and a language of
their own.
Copeland's isn't art that necessarily wants to
make you feel warm inside. But to challenge, question and feel alive.
John Copeland's exhibitions include Whitney Museum New York
A
book of John Copeland's paintings a will be published by Reflex
Editions Amsterdam as well as a special limited edition of 2 colour
lithographs and one etch.
