BIG CIRCLE: Exposition #4

(Українська)

Saturation Point, London, United Kingdom

IMMEDIATE EFFECT

The first experience of seeing a work, and its immediate impact on the viewer, has always been a specific consideration
in the practice of Morrissey and Hancock, who work collaboratively, both as practising systems-leaning artists and as
artist-curators.

Geometric form is a language that elicits an immediate response, whether in relation to work on paper, interior design,
design used in furnishing, sculpture or the wider architectural environment. Repetition, pattern and structure are
recognisable and identifiable cultural signifiers that are universally accessible and familiar across political and social
divides.

The artists’ works chosen for this exhibition reflect these considerations and are, by the artists’ own definition,
contemplative. Each iteration represents a constant, process-led exploration of conceptual space within the developing
post-minimalist canon.

Saturation Point is a London-based online editorial and curatorial project that promotes reductive, geometric and
systems art in the UK. It was founded by artists Patrick Morrissey and Hanz Hancock in 2014.

Morrissey and Hancock’s curated exhibition of the same name in 2011 subtitled An International Survey of Reductive
Art presented the work of 16 internationally selected artists. Morrissey and Hancock extended this investigation into the
general legacy of non-objective abstraction and its current manifestation in the UK.

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t e k s a s, Græsted, Danmark

DEEP AND WIDE

When I was given the chance to do a second curation in Kyiv, in collaboration with KNO, this time at The M17
Contemporary Arts Center, as Co-founder of t e k s a s, I did not hesitate and knew immediately the direction my
curatorial ideas would take me: to go deeper and wider into the matter.

My first show, NONOBJECT at the Bulgakov Museum, showed an international response, mainly of painters working
quite directly with painting as object, showing a historical relation to Malevich, Suprematism and the continued
international dialogue of artists in this particular field. The works juxtaposed in this exhibition are of very different
character. I have chosen these particular works to create a moment of mystery, a dialogue in the language of art. The
works seem to create their own sphere, a sphere which can lead our minds in various directions and in a way go
“behind the scenes” of the non-objective studio, touching maybe the moment of (a) creation.

It is like a river, deep and wide, where currents from different streams form a force going in different directions, but
all were offspring from the same source and hence, maybe deeply rooted in the thought of “the non-objective” – it is
evident with evolution that, when you look back at the wave catching up on you, several waves will already have
passed you. As we look back at historical milestones, it is today possible for us to analyze and draw conclusions on
movements like Suprematism, Non-Objective Art, Bauhaus, Futurism etc. We like to categorize and set up systems, so
that we may find peace of mind in something that may disturb us.

No doubt, public felt disturbed by The Black Square (K. Malevich 1915) as was public when hearing the Second-String
Quartet (A. Schoenberg 1911) introducing 12-tone composition. Industrial indentation, revolutions, and wars
coloured the development of the art decisively in the beginning of the 20th century, a period many today regard as a
base to study and to develop from. In the day the struggle was different, the world was changing and clearly the
radical changes came first from art and science, to be absorbed slowly by the public. The artists assembled here at
M17, from all corners of the world, are scholars, constructors, researchers and, what I find, artists developing
language and wonders, maybe even magic, in their endeavours to create. Each of the artists are highly respected in
their separate fields and are widely exhibited internationally.

These artists cover a wide field, some seeking occult corners, some renewing ancient traditions, others again
questioning their own medium or researching new materials and mathematics. Uniting these artworks is the
apparent wish to make daring constellations and to take chances on the definition of art.

In presenting these works, I ask the public to take the same steps and choose an open mind to sense the magic of
human invention and freedom of expression – art is a natural part of human expression.

Peter Holm

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divisible, Dayton, Ohio, USA

FRONT STREET

Front Street is the largest community of artists and artisans in Dayton, Ohio.

The Front Street Buildings are home to over 100 art creators and a dozen independent companies, making us the largest art colony in the Midwest. Our 66 artists and galleries, 30 photographers, 10 woodworkers, three filmmakers, and locally owned businesses are home to several of the most respected creative forces in the tri-state region.

Divisible is a creative collaboration between Mike Elsass, Jeffrey Cortland Jones, and Front Street. Divisible’s mission is to showcase innovative and intelligent work by innovative and intelligent people.