AMSTERDAM.- Reflex Amsterdam presents Fragmented Realities, a summer group exhibition featuring the artists Anna Liber Lewis, Daniel Firman, Gavin Turk, Helen Beard, Harland Miller, Keith Coventry, Marcus Harvey and Michael Craig-Martin. Each artist composes fragments in their work, be that through abstraction or figuration, paintings or sculptures. Dwelling on the artists’ work with fragments, this exhibition offers a kaleidoscopic vision of a whirlwind of bits and pieces that altogether composes reality.
Fragmentation is a working method of each of the artists Reflex invited; they are deeply engaged with the world and visualizing its shards. Daniel Firman conjures up wild sculptures examining human existence as a magnetic force attracting objects, little items stick to a person’s head as a lifesize sculpture of the flux of information we exist in every day. Also fascinated with this, Michael Craig-Martin on highlights items as exhilarating icons of mundanity as he zooms in on bowling balls, phones, and laptops. The artists’ works mirrors and expand one another’s interpretation. Keith Coventry proffers an insight into the recognizability of signs as he showcases parts of the McDonald’s M in his Junk paintings.
Yet, the artists’ works are also abstract when approaching the theme of fragmentation. Gavin Turk playfully stabs his initials into egg paintings, dramatically perforating them with his artist signature. A reference to Lucio Fontana's 'Fine de Dio' (the End of God), this painting gestures at larger discussions of authorship and iconography. Through geometric and organic shapes, Anna Liber Lewis orchestrates a narrative of the conflict and harmony an artist encounters when composing a painting. Triangular shape meets circle meets curve; contrasting colour fields rub shoulders on her canvasses. The fragments are the building blocks of their works created through vandalism, signatures, and brushstrokes. They do not naively approach the world as a united whole but showcase it as beautiful explosion of splinters twirling through the air.
Artists: Anna Liber Lewis, Daniel Firman, Gavin Turk, Helen Beard, Harland Miller, Keith Coventry, Marcus Harvey and Michael Craig-Martin
