Goodman Gallery is pleased to present The same space three times, a group exhibition that considers the presence of cycles in our natural and constructed environment.
The same space three times borrows its title from a sculpture by Gerhard Marx. Appearing as an enclosed object, the work forms part of 'a series of sculptural and propositional cartographies that engages physical depictions of space,' according to the artist. The work’s structure creates a sort of optical illusion in which three near identical overlapping viewpoints can be seen from different angles. The addition of collaged map fragments, taken from standard educational world atlases, prompts a reconsideration of our perspective on cartographic depictions of the planet. By creating this view, Marx offers us a 'more complicated spatial experience of overlap, intersection, simultaneity, relationality and overlay.'
Applying this notion to his material references, Remy Jungerman finds connections between various artistic traditions throughout history. Specifically, Jungerman explores the intersection of pattern and symbol in Surinamese Maroon culture, the larger African Diaspora, and 20th Century 'Modernism.' In bringing seemingly disparate visual languages into conversation, Jungerman’s work challenges the established art historical canon.
For Hlobo, the image of the work is often sketched and pierced directly onto the canvas. By working directly on the canvas, there is a sense of immediacy and freedom that allows the work to reveal itself more slowly and more fluidly. The act of piercing and stitching reflects on healing processes necessary within the South African context, he explains; 'There is a sense of violence in mark-making. By making any mark you’re disturbing the balance that is already there and beginning to create chaos,' elaborating; 'As South Africans, we are constantly looking at ourselves. The piercing and stitching do the same as the work of a surgeon, looking within so that you can begin to remove ailments and attempting to propose a process of healing.'
Chiurai’s work recalls the manner in which history and memory are intertwined. Deeply influenced by historical narrative, Chiurai layers his own interpretations onto the canvas, subtly gesturing at different meanings through a combination of symbols and text.
Neshat’s portraits from ‘The Book of Kings’ series depict Iranian and Arab youth with meticulously executed calligraphic texts and drawings inscribed over each subject’s face and body. These texts and illustrations—drawn from the Shahnameh as well as from contemporary poetry by Iranian writers and prisoners—both obscure and illuminate the subjects’ facial expressions and emotive intensity, intimately linking the current energy of contemporary Iran with its mythical and historical past.
Masamvu uses painting and drawing as a way in which to investigate human existence and our relationship to the natural world. For the artist, his paintings are understood as marks of existence, pointing not only to the realities of his lived experience but also to mental and psychological space, where each layer of paint or brushstroke on the canvas proposes a search to resolve conflicted experiences or decisions.
Cycles appear in William Kentridge’s work through the symbolic presence of the tree. Rendered in Indian ink on the pages of old encyclopedias, Kentridge’s drawings attempt to capture the forms of trees indigenous to the area around Johannesburg. One reading of this association for Kentridge relates to a childhood memory of the trees at the bottom of his family garden, which represented for his younger self the place where his father went to when he departed for work each morning.
Reflecting on the recurring presence of these objects in his work, Kentridge told Artnet, 'It is about allowing things to take their shape—I’m not quite sure why all these trees are being drawn. In one sense, they’re long-term self-portraits. I read somewhere a description of death that said we all grow our tree of death inside us. It starts growing when we’re born, and we have to hope that we’ll live long enough for this tree to be a great, beautiful, strong tree before it comes through us.'
Press release courtesy Goodman Gallery.
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De Waterkant
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South Africa
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