HOT GIN Exhibition

HOT GIN

24^th January – 3rd February 2019

Preview: Wednesday 23rd January, 18:00 – 20:30

The Brick Lane Gallery, 216 Brick Lane, E1 6SA 

SWEET TOOF | ROWDY | PHILIP REEVES | SIMON FREEBOROUGH | MIKE NEWTON | ANYA KUVARZINA | MICK START | BON MZENDA | ENZO MARRA | HOLLY FROY | ALICE KIRKHAM | RONAN MCGEOUGH | DAVID O’SHAUGHNESSY | TORIE HILLEY | JULIA MARCO CAMPMANY

 The Brick Lane Gallery is proud to present HOT GIN, a group exhibition showcasing an alchemic assemblage of artists. The exhibition aims to provide a reaction to the high-speed, information-centric concerns of our times whilst simultaneously taking heed of the trail of antiquity we leave in our paths.

Multi-disciplinary artists draw from their respective backgrounds of street art and contemporary art to present an informed response to the ubiquitous question: How can we preserve ancient methods of artistry in a culture which compels the individual to advance and transform ceaselessly and when our environments are overwritten by this influx of novelty?

This exhibition will be sponsored with award-winning cocktails by Artisan Drinks http://www.artisandrinks.co.uk

ALICE KIRKHAM has been working as a professional Artist and Designer for over 4 years. Creating her own work and working at the studios of artist Damien Hirst, Tatty Devine, Rob Ryan and Cass Art. At the core of Alice’s practice is the process of abstraction, a way of refining complex imagery into coded shapes and structures, echoing that of the data compression process minification, which minimizes data whilst keeping the original source of the meaning. The work embodies, in its simplest essence, the act of creating something from nothing, the everyday passing of pointless information is gathered, transformed, and given a higher status than was ever intended, or deserved, through its progression and ascension in to Art.

Website: https://alicekirkham.weebly.com/
Instagram: @alicekirkham

RONAN MCGEOUGH graduated from Limerick School of Art and Design in 2011. Following residencies in Dublin and Limerick he has exhibited internationally in Berlin, Florence and New York and now lives and works in London. His work aims to question the curious fast paced world transformed through rich, gestural paintings. McGeough want to lead the audience on a journey across multiple views of narrative scenes, combining action painting with objective subject matter. His scenes comment on the socio-political issues of today, exploring urban influenced forms of expressionism, constructing landscapes with an embedded connection between street art and contemporary art disciplines. In his work, McGeough conveys a deeply rooted spirituality that is made prominent by a willingness to explore the unknown, bringing the onlookers’ attention to the things we may overlook, reminding the viewer that within our own struggle resides a beauty.

Website: www.ronanmcgeough.com

Instagram: @ronanmcgeough

Bon-M-Art is a contemporary British artist who explores themes that uplift the human consciousness, which raise awareness of social situations. In this series Bon-M-Art’s work explores the connectedness of humanity, as well as the desire to break free from the chains of this world.

Instagram: @ bonmart

MICK START is a self-taught artist from Hertfordshire, England. This particular project dates back to ten years, and includes four of the first artworks that he completed using different mediums. Since then he has also created an Illusory Visual Spread and Collage collection.

Instagram: @m.startcontemporaryart

SIMON FREEBOROUGH is a contemporary artist and printmaker, living and working in London. Simon studied art, illustration and photography, before embarking on a career as a leading Creative Director.His work explores the short-lived treasures of our society, which are cherished and sometimes rooted in sentiment, but nearly always replaceable. Freeborough’s aesthetic questions the fine line between artistic practice and consumer branding, blazing the trail of the pop-art torch into the twenty-first century. His work is about our fraught relationship with luxury and indulgence.

Website: WWW.SIMONFREEBOROUGH.COM

Instagram: @SIMONFREEBOROUGH

ENZO MARRA is occupied by a pictorial analysis of the art world. In his practice, he explores the art world as seen from the insiders and the outsiders point of view, the valuing of artworks and their auctioning, the processes and activities that occur behind the privacy of studio doors, the hanging and display of works animated by the commodified space of the gallery, the milling of observers in gallery spaces, the way their presence then gives life and purpose to the works on display.In his recent work, Marra has further reduced the detail within the finished images. He prefers to work from instinctive sketches and not found photographic imagery as source material, to give a more immediate appearance and to challenge himself in his practice. The trueness of inspiration, application and result becomes more relevant, allowing Marra to reassess what he feels to be invigorating and explorable.The image of the finger which originated in the idea of finger painting, has developed into an almost sentient presence which reappears and takes on different resonances depending on where and how it is placed. The fuck you series of works are concurrently being executed and are a response to the irritations and perceived rejections within the artists striving mind. The seclusion of the studio, connects the artist with their works in an almost symbiotic manner.

Instagram: @ enzomarraart

HOLLY FROY is an artist based in London. Froy studied at Camberwell and University of Brighton Fine Art: Painting, followed by a postgraduate diploma at the Royal Drawing School where she was awarded the Sir Denis Mahon award. Afterwards, Froy which went to Mexico to join the first food residency but now lives and work in London.Exhibtions: ‘Fasting and Feasting’ (Sir Denis Mahon Exhibition) Solo at The Royal Drawing School – April 2018 Upcoming : ‘A Fish Wives’ Tale’ No 11 Studios Opening 7th February

Instagram: @ holly_froy

DAVID O’SHAUGHNESSY is a photographer, born and raised in Ireland. After having trained and worked as an electrician, David returned to studying photography. This led him to relocate and complete his studies in England at the Surrey Institute of Art and Design in Farnham where he graduated in 1999.On leaving Farnham, David moved to London and started working and travelling extensively as a photographer’s assistant for some very successful and influential photographers whilst nurturing his own photography discipline. David’s photography embraces subject matters that include landscape, still live and portraiture. His portrait work has been published internationally and David has exhibited numerous times in London. He is constantly engaging himself with image-based projects.In 2009 David’s Exhibition Zoo Logical, was a festival highlight at East London’s Photomonth festival when it was exhibited on the perimeter of the then disused Ocean music venue.

Instagram: @daveshocko

 TORIE HILLEY is a photographer and artist exploring nature through the eyes of a conservationist.

 Instagram @torie_hilley_fineart

PHILLIP REEVES works amongst stories and narratives. Reeves has become increasingly interested in how clothing can become a costume for a character to be recognised in, and reacted to according to predetermined behavioural tropes within a live scenario. He likes to feature people and objects in his work multiple times, seeing them as reoccurring characters on different stage sets, perhaps akin to a time traveling soap opera.Phillip Reeves likes making work about things he hears or reads, especially stories. If the stories have been falsely elaborated – then he likes them even more. The idea of making a record of history, a third hand account, perhaps wayward from the truth, interests him, but not with all of his works. Some of his works are private jokes.

Instagram: @phillipreeves_

ROWDY continues to be an integral part of the city’s graffiti scene, his work can be found in the most unlikely places, from rural settings to the city skyline. His trademark crocodiles are often huge in scale and are indicative of the playful nature of the imagery in his work. In his own words, he says – “My work appears in the traditional gallery sphere as well as in many outdoor spaces throughout the UK and beyond. What started out as vandalism in the 80s, has now reached a mainstream status. It used to be a scene run by us for us.”

Instagram: @rowdyunofficial

 SweetToof’s work starts with and evolves out of his street art, whether as a solo graffiti artist or in collaboration with others. Like the streets of 1980s New York, Britain’s streets today are being reclaimed by an ever-increasing army of street artists of which Sweet Toof is one of the most prolific and artful.  Typical tags, throw-ups, and more elaborate street pieces become a whole language that informs his studio works.Equally disciplined in traditional painting and printmaking techniques, Sweet Toof masterfully blends urban detritus with bygone decadence. Fusing ancient methods with modern materials, Sweet Toof’s imagery combines layers of historical and current cultural references to create unconventional, iconoclastic art that is at once both traditional and contemporary.

Instagram: @thesweettoof

 MIKE NEWTON After reading an article posted by The Guardian last year suggesting that Brexit would be the biggest cultural step backwards since the Enlightenment, Mike Newton intended to monumentalise this disaster in his project ‘A Modern Prometheus’. The series of paintings depict portraits of late distressed European philosophers, hoping to bring these subjects back to life in an altered, but more appropriate reality. Featuring a blend of contemporary marks combined with traditional methods, Newton has experimented with a variety of approaches for the series – ranging from a classical “atelier” style to quicker sketch expressions aiming to add intertextuality and breadths to his project. Newton, like many figurative painters uses mixed paint as a human paste to manipulate the language of brush marks, whilst creating a likeness of his chosen subjects. There is a moment when these paintings, despite the abstraction, begins to ‘breathe’.

Instagram: @blackdog54

ANYA KUVARZINA is a printmaker and illustrator based in London. Anya is from Russia originally and is inspired by her native country’s rich cultural heritage. She is also influenced by the natural world, ancient mysteries and folk stories. Shop her limited edition screen prints online and in our gallery.

Instagram: @treesforanya

If you wish to know more about our programme of exhibitions or if you want to become a future exhibitor email us at info@thebricklanegallery.com