exhibition

Jerwood Contemporary Painters

Artists William Daniels, Robin Dixon, Luke Dowd, Noa Edwards, Frank Fischer, David Fletcher, Nick Fox, Maria Glyka, Todd Kelly, Alec Kronacker, Adam Latham, Ursula Llewellyn, Sara MacKillop, Marisol Malatesta, Lisa McKendrick, Lucy Pawlak, Claire Pestaille, Thomas Raat, Sheila Rennick, Damien Roach, Neal Rock, Melanie Russell, Duncan Swann, Mia Taylor, Gabriel Tejada, Will Turner, Camilla Wilson, Emily Wolfe, Vicky Wright, Isabel Young

15.Feb.07 - 31.Mar.07
Mon-Sat 10-5

Private View, 15.Feb.07, Mon-Sat 10-5
Curator Talk, 05.Mar.07, 6pm

Jerwood Space
171 Union St
London SE1 0LN
020 8408 5533
sarah.williams@jerwoodspace.co.uk
www.jerwoodspace.co.uk
Tube Southwark, London Bridge, Lambeth / Southwark

Thirty artists with great futures in one exhibition

Jerwood Contemporary Painters is an exhibition of works by thirty emerging artists. Created by the Jerwood Charitable Foundation, this exhibition promotes the work of those who have moved on from student status but have not yet attained recognition as artists. It also presents a perspective on the concerns and debates in contemporary painting, particularly among artists in the early stages of their careers.

Jerwood has long been committed to painting, and to intelligent and imaginative structures to support young artists in the UK.

The thirty works on show are wide ranging in their approach. There is no theme, idea, tradition, or technique shared by all. However, they are united by the particular interests of the selectors: Graham Crowley; David Rayson; and Elizabeth Magill who have selected the artists on the grounds of innovation, critical content, and skill. The selectors themselves are respected artists who work within painting and who spent months pulling together a long list of artists who interest them and who represent some of the debates within the subject.

Most of the artists the majority of people will not have heard of … yet. From Duncan Swann’s challenging and controversial Storyteller to the awesome and terrifying creature depicted in Ursula Llewellyn’s Light; from the creamy confection of Adam Latham’s Desserted hut to Claire Pestaille’s dark fairytale triptych The soldier boys, the thirty works on exhibition reflect the vigorous health of painting in the UK today.

Five artists in particular challenge our perceptions of what constitutes a painting. They do not paint in the traditional sense. Each of the artists approach their work in a painterly fashion, each is concerned with the discourse of painting. For example, Damien Roach’s River, trees, cloud, sky is essentially a pile of books. Standing back from this arrangement, you can see a very definite landscape in the colours on the spines. Roach is appropriating a different media for his work, but he treats these books like paint.

All the 30 selected artists will receive £1,000, not as a ‘prize’ but as a participation fee. This fee is unusual for any group show or prize in rewarding all the artists showing in the exhibition and is an important part of nurturing serious support for artists at an important point in their careers.

Graham Crowley, chairman of the board of selectors, writes ‘we were delighted with the eventual range of the work assembled for this exhibition. We hope you share that delight.’