Perpetual motion is an exhibition featuring figurative artists Jay Pingree (US) and Marta Lafuente (ES). The exhibition launches August 26 with a vernissage held in the first-floor solo exhibition space.
Through the meeting of these new collections of paintings we see two distinct artistic styles come through, each with a unique use of media and way of challenging compositional conventions.
Jay Pingree’s rushing bodies exist on the border between figurative and abstract. The movement in everyday urban settings so expertly captured in paint distort the shapes of the people portrayed. They are recognisable yet anonymous and impossible to fully perceive. The closer you look, the more they seem to dissolve into the textures of colour and brushstroke. Detached from their environment, as if in vacuum, the groups of figures can be appreciated as dynamic compositions in themselves. This lack of circumstance also invites the viewer to fill in the blanks and extend the narrative within themselves. The small amount of information given inspire you to take part in the larger stories.
Marta Lafuente too works with, and not against the vastness that surround her figures. Negative space is used as an opening to infinite interpretations and possible narratives that are allowed to continue beyond the frame. Her motifs, weather they are portraits directly holding our gaze or groups of children immersed in activities, have an undeniable presence. This contrast between the distinct subject and ambiguous space is emphasised by a playfully experimental approach to mixing material. Perpetual Motion will feature a new collection of paintings with winter motifs reminding us of her water and beach scenes where water, now frozen, allows for borders between ground and sky to blur.
Lafuente’s and Pingree’s work will be exhibited alongside each other in the Nordic Art Agency Gallery Solo Exhibition room. A conversation between two bodies of work and unique artistic practices.
The exhibition will be open on the first floor of the gallery from August 25th until October 14th.
Discover more about artists Jay Pingree and Marta Lafuente by visiting their artist pages.