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Desire! Desire!(a solo show by Ross Head)
Looking At You:A show of contemporary painting
22 February–30 April
2–14 April 2019
Gedney Common is a collective of artists, designers, curators, writers and researchers. Drawing on the social and cultural traditions of UK commons, the group produces projects which range from solo shows to community archives, through collaborative support, communication and experimentation.
Our work meets at the intersection of creative and social projects, encouraging a plurality of voices with an emphasis on equality, diversity and inclusion.
Gedney Common was formed in 2019 by Georgia Cherry, Arthur Carey, Charlotte Flint and Ross Head.
Using human sexuality as a starting point, this exhibition includes a new body of works on paper that have evolved from a personal archive of collected imagery. Depicting male figures either alone or in groups, these bodies are playfully folded, abstracted and interlocked, appearing to melt and merge with one another.
Often conveying masculine softness and sensuality, these drawings are combinations of direct observation and spontaneous expression. Repeated gestures create associations of excess and desire – themes which have fascinated artists for centuries. Seeking to subvert established notions of sexuality and the body through playful exploration, this multi-disciplinary exhibition is inspired by way that the male figure is viewed in art, mainstream media and queer culture.
The first in a series of exhibitions which interrogate established modes of practice, Gedney Common presents Looking At You. Using traditional notions of portraiture as a starting point, the exhibition includes works by Rebecca Harper, Ross Head, Anna Ilsley, Igor Moritz and Janet Sainsbury.
Portraits have served a key purpose in constructing, projecting and policing identity, and were frequently used as social and political tools to demonstrate a sitter’s power, status and beauty.
Collapsing historic preconceptions of portraiture, these artists present bodies which are shrouded in raucous colour, abstracted, amorphous, playful and lifelike, exploring the portrait and the figure through a contemporary lens.
Kindly supported by Pressision printers, Leeds
22 February–30 AprilMon–Fri 11.00-19.00Sat/Sun 11.00–18.00
Pages of Hackney70 Lower Clapton Rd.London E5 0RN
2–14 April 2019Mon–Fri 08.00–16.00Sat 10.00–18.00
Rose Lipman Building43 De Beauvoir Rd.London N1 5SQ