Opened this week at Simon Lee Gallery in London, 'Faux Amis' is anew exhibition that sees 18 artists exhibit alongside, and in dialogue with, the work of an inspirational artist of their choice – the only stipulation being that the chosen artist must forge a relationship with their own practice.
'The idea for this exhibition came to me when I encountered Joseph Beuys’ Torso (1951) and thought of its similarities to a Louise Bourgeois,' says the exhibition's curator Stephanie Schleiffer. 'It’s interesting how artists can produce visually similar works while the thought processes behind them can come from different places entirely.'
Both varied and revealing, the results highlight the discourses that can exist between artists of divergent practices and generations.
'I have been interested in Schiele's work for such a long time, and only now I realise that it's not because of his subject matter, or anything to do with the female nude, but a certain attitude I am attracted to,' says American painter Sarah Crowner of her chosen 'fake friend', Egon Schiele, whose reclining pencil and charcoal nude from 1918 sits in contrast to the angular lines and vibrant blue hues of her abstract acrylic piece. 'His work is obviously about desire, and I read this in his lines and paint application, as well as saturated colour and absence of colour. In my own work, I think about the sensual, about pleasure, and what attracts a viewer to move closer to a painting.'
Elsewhere, the visual connection is more obvious: stacked rows of colour in English op artist Bridget Riley’s 1973 painting Sound echo the perfect geometry of Angela Bulloch's Stack of Five Pixels installation, while Mel Bochner and Matias Faldbakken's pairing prompts comparisons between their differing use of text and image.
'What’s interesting about this exhibition is that it’s a show by our artists, for our artists,' explains Schleiffer. 'Not only displaying their work, but also asking them to participate in the curatorial process by selecting a conversation piece – a ‘Faux Amis’. In many ways, it’s a show of 21 mini shows and the outcome for each has been both exciting and revealing.'
Each artist was invited to choose an artist whose work has a relationship with their own practice. Pictured from left: The Jefferson Memorial, by Jim Shaw 2013 and Metamorpho, by Ramona Fradon, 2015; Abstraktes Bild (675-5), by Gerhard Richter, 1988, 3 Star Promotion, by Gary Simmons, 2015 and Chicago Fisticuffs, by Gary Simmons, 2015; Lavoro - muratore, by Michelangelo Pistoletto, 2008–2011 and Superficie 624, by Giuseppe Capogrossi, 1962–68
'It’s interesting how artists can produce visually similar works while the thought processes behind them can come from different places entirely,' says the exhibition's curator Stephanie Schleiffer. Pictured left: Himbeer mit Schlagsahne, by Sigmar Polke, 1996
American painter Sarah Crowner chose early twentieth century painter Egon Schiele as her 'Faux Amis'. Pictured from left: Reclining Nude, by Egon Schiele, 1918 and Untitled, by Sarah Crowner, 2015; G.L. Chair (1), G.L. Chair (2), G.L. Chair (3), G.L. Chair (4), by João Penalva, 2010 and NATIONAL HIGHWAY 1 AT DAWN (Asahi-cho, Kuwana City, Mie Prefecture), by Daido Moriyama, 1968/1980
Although on the face of it Schiele's reclining pencil and charcoal nude from 1918 (centre left) sits in contrast to the angular lines and vibrant blue hues of Crowner's abstract acrylic piece, Crowner draws parallels between the common theme of desire and sensuality in their work
Elsewhere the visual connection is more obvious: stacked rows of colour in English op artist Bridget Riley’s 1973 painting Sound echo the perfect geometry of Angela Bulloch's Stack of Five Pixels installation. Pictured from left: Stack of Five Pixels, by Angela Bulloch, 2015 and Sound, by Bridget Riley, 1973; The Jefferson Memorial (large cut-out), by Jim Shaw, 2013 and Metamorpho, by Ramona Fradon, 2015
Bridget Riley has been an important source of inspiration for Angela Bulloch from the start of her career, with Riley's 1964 painting White Discs providing a formal template for a whole body of the younger artist's light based works in the early 2000s
Mel Bochner and Matias Faldbakken's pairing prompts comparisons between their differing use of text and image. Pictured from left: Untitled (Garbage Bag #12), by Matias Faldbakken, 2010 and Blah, Blah, Blah, by Mel Bochner, 2008
Pictured left: Beware, by Dexter Dalwood, 2015; right: Vkhoda Net, by Erik Bulatov, 1975/2005
Pictured from left: Two Annes, by Valerie Snobeck, 2014 and Becoming a Landscape (4), by Roni Horn, 1999
Both varied and revealing, the results highlight the discourses that can exist between artists of divergent practices and generation. Pictured from left: Untitled, by Martin Kippenberger, 1994–1995 and An (Effervescent) Self-Portrait, by Ran Huang, 2015
INFORMATION
Simon Lee Gallery. ’Faux Amis’ is on show until 7 October
ADDRESS
Simon Lee Gallery
12 Berkeley St
London W1J 8DT
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