LONDON.- 43 Inverness Street announces [K-reɪ-t], an exhibition of new works by Ben Nathan. These works were created during his period as artist-in-residence at the SeMA Nanji Residency run by the Seoul Museum of Art in Korea. This is the artists second solo exhibition with the gallery.
The work in [K-reɪ-t] continues Nathans examination of city infrastructure and explores the symbols, objects and viewpoints discovered in the urban landscape of Seoul. The collection of drawings, photographs, paintings, and film are based on observations recorded at specific points during trips cycling in and around the South Korean capital.
The 3-part Seoul Triptych, 2014 is central to the exhibition and showcases Nathans even-handed analysis of architectural shapes and symbols of the metropolis, isolating the forms, changing their scale and removing them from their original narrative. The triptych is composed of a bi-chromatic painting of a flattened image of an unfinished flyover, a photograph of his art intervention under the Seogang Bridge, and a stainless steel relief of what could simultaneously be viewed as the Hebrew letter Shin and as the Jjimjilbang public bath symbol in Korea.
The ground floor features an installation of drawings and his film Brick Day, 2014 which chronicles the installation of the situated work Brick, 2014, beneath Seogang Bridge. The crate, which was used to ship home his work from overseas, makes an appearance as the screen onto which his film is projected and forms a connection between South Korea and London.
Ben Nathan lives and works in London. He studied at The Slade School of Fine Art, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem and The Princes Drawing School. Recently he completed the SeMA Nanji Residency programme, which is hosted by the Seoul Museum of Art, South Korea. In 2014 he was shortlisted for the East London Painting Prize. In 2012, he won the International Jewish Artist of the Year Award, The Ben Uri Gallery. Later this year Ben Nathan will exhibit new work at the PyeongChang Biennale in Gangwon province, South Korea.