LONDON.- Life and its most trivial particulars by Brian Griffiths and Frank Kent (4 September – 18 December 2021) is the first in a new annual commissioning programme at Van Gogh House, which in 2021 marks 50 years since the building was found to be the London residence of the renowned Dutch artist.

In the form of a photographic installation in every room, Life and its most trivial particulars responds to the accumulated histories and constructed realities of the now restored 3-storey Georgian building. Drawing on themes from Van Gogh’s life and work, the exhibition also reflects Griffiths’ and Kent’s own imaginings of the artist, his myth and legacy, informed by references from Van Gogh’s early works and evolving colour palette, Bob Law’s Vincent and Gaugin chair sculptures and the writings of Charles Dickens; to a Japanese parasol, a drum kit, vegetables and everyday found objects.

Griffiths and Kent met at the Royal Academy Schools where Griffiths is a lecturer and Kent was a student, and soon after began a collaborative artistic practice in a shared studio, culminating in AIR SIGNS, an ongoing series of photographic sculptural installations, first presented at Karsten Schubert in London in 2019.

Brian Griffiths (b. 1968) lives and works in Colchester and London. Solo exhibitions include Self-Conscious, Cricklewood Library, Brent Biennial (2020); AIR SIGNS (with Frank Kent), Karsten Schubert, London, (2020); Taking Sides (with Frank Kent), Galeria Luisa Strina, São Paulo (2019); No No to Knock-Knocks, Blain|Southern, London (2018); and BILL MURRAY: a story of distance, size and sincerity, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead (2015). Selected group exhibitions include; Image Drum, Royal Academy of Arts, London (2019); Voyage, Bergamin & Gomide, São Paulo (2017); Nuit Américaine, Office Baroque, Brussels (2014); and Folk Devil, David Zwirner, New York (2013).

Frank Kent (b. 1982) lives and works in London. He studied at Royal Academy Schools and Nottingham Trent University. Previous shows and commissions include: AIR SIGNS (with Brian Griffiths), Karsten Schubert, London, (2020); New Works at Fold Gallery, London (2017); green backrests for lecture theatre at Royal Academy Schools, London (2015); Site & Situ, a three-month residency at Surface Gallery, Nottingham (2011); and Visual Delusions, Bend In The River, Gainsborough (2011).