Overview
Stephen Friedman Gallery presents a group exhibition focused on painting for West Bund Art & Design 2022. Artists include Mamma Andersson and Andreas Eriksson (Swedish); Juan Araujo (Venezuelan); Deborah Roberts (American); Sarah Ball, Anne Rothenstein and Caroline Walker (British); Denzil Forrester (British-Grenadian) and Yinka Shonibare CBE RA (British-Nigerian).
The exhibition explores how each artist interprets the medium – from the precise, observational quality of Ball and Walker’s paintings to Forrester’s energetic brushstrokes, Shonibare’s exuberant hand-painted ‘batik’ patterns and the imaginary narratives created by Andersson and Rothenstein.
Sarah Ball’s sensitive paintings often portray individuals who contest binary notions of gender. In her recent work, Ball’s use of soft brushstrokes, a muted colour palette and monochromatic background contrast with the confrontational gaze of her subjects. Her work is included in a group exhibition at Xiao Museum of Contemporary Art, Rizhao, China this autumn. Like Ball, Caroline Walker focuses on depicting people living in contemporary society. Her cinematic paintings frequently examine the overlooked jobs performed by women and the spaces they inhabit. Through setting her figures within everyday scenes, Walker highlights their diverse social, cultural and economic experiences. The artist’s first institutional solo exhibition in Asia opens at K11 in Shanghai, China in November 2022.
Stephen Friedman Gallery presents a group exhibition focused on painting for West Bund Art & Design 2022. Artists include Mamma Andersson and Andreas Eriksson (Swedish); Juan Araujo (Venezuelan); Deborah Roberts (American); Sarah Ball, Anne Rothenstein and Caroline Walker (British); Denzil Forrester (British-Grenadian) and Yinka Shonibare CBE RA (British-Nigerian).
The exhibition explores how each artist interprets the medium – from the precise, observational quality of Ball and Walker’s paintings to Forrester’s energetic brushstrokes, Shonibare’s exuberant hand-painted ‘batik’ patterns and the imaginary narratives created by Andersson and Rothenstein.
Sarah Ball’s sensitive paintings often portray individuals who contest binary notions of gender. In her recent work, Ball’s use of soft brushstrokes, a muted colour palette and monochromatic background contrast with the confrontational gaze of her subjects. Her work is included in a group exhibition at Xiao Museum of Contemporary Art, Rizhao, China this autumn. Like Ball, Caroline Walker focuses on depicting people living in contemporary society. Her cinematic paintings frequently examine the overlooked jobs performed by women and the spaces they inhabit. Through setting her figures within everyday scenes, Walker highlights their diverse social, cultural and economic experiences. The artist’s first institutional solo exhibition in Asia opens at K11 in Shanghai, China in November 2022.
Anne Rothenstein’s enigmatic paintings depict mysterious figures that populate flattened landscapes and interiors. The artist works instinctively to communicate atmosphere and psychological tension. Rothenstein’s first solo show with Stephen Friedman Gallery opened in September 2022, following the announcement of her representation this year. Like Rothenstein, Mamma Andersson’s compositions are dreamlike and expressive. Inspired by filmic imagery, theatre sets and period interiors, Andersson’s subjects revolve around melancholic landscapes and domestic scenes. Stylistic references include turn-of-the-century Nordic figurative painting, folk art, and local or contemporary vernacular. A two-person touring exhibition of Andersson and Tal R’s work opened at Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg, Denmark this October.
Fellow Swedish artist Andreas Eriksson is known for his meditative paintings that draw on the landscape surrounding his home in rural Medelplana. Hovering between abstraction and figuration, Eriksson’s works can be interpreted as patchwork topographies or details of organic forms such as trees, earth and rock formations.
Cultural identity is explored by several artists in the presentation, including Yinka Shonibare CBA RA. The artist initiated his series of reconceived classical sculptures after reading Joachim Johann Winckelmann’s theories of ancient art. By painting Apollo’s form with batik designs, Shonibare alludes to the forgotten decoration of ancient sculptures as a metaphor for historical whitewashing. Shonibare replaces the figures’ head with a bespoke hand- painted globe, suggesting universal identity. A major exhibition of the artist’s work opened at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, in March 2022.
Denzil Forrester has long been inspired by dub and reggae music. His paintings and drawings of dance halls and clubs are characterised by flashes of colour, frenetic brushstrokes and rhythmic movement. The artist’s work is included in the 58th Carnegie International in Pittsburgh this year. He will have solo exhibitions at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri and ICA Institute of Contemporary Art Miami, Florida in 2023.
West Bund Art Center 2555
Long Teng Avenue
Xuhui District
Shanghai
China
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