About
Irrationality, fantasy and wit appear alongside serious art historical engagement in a show of work by five London-based painters. The artists share an unashamed fascination for paint, and its ability to balance links to imaginary, interior worlds and external culture, from art to pop. The Fort Painting Show presents an optimistic contemporary sensibility that has no time for pastiche.
Chris Baker offers a multitude of references to the history of representation through paint, via optical puns, nods to popular culture and pleasure in the power of the simple motif. Baker graduated in 2010 from the Royal Academy of Art. Shows in 2010 included âNew Contemporary Art: Part 1', George and Jorgen, London, âModern Love', Simon Oldfield Gallery, London and âWife Drawing', 38b Peckham Rye, London. www.chrisbakerart.com
In Guy Bourner's work, big themes like death and breathing are cased in plastic boxes of perfect paint, like models of paintings. The works change as the paint dries, drawing on a genuine sense of loss over time, while a glossy immediacy characterises his images. Guy Bourner graduated from Bath Spa University in 2005. He has recently shown at Crate Gallery, London, 2010, and featured in âThe Painting Room', Transition Gallery, London, 2008. www.guybourner.com
Benjamin Senior's wry paintings draw on 1920s and 30s stylization and explore the human form; often figures involved in exercise. A perverse tone explores nature vs artificiality, while his imagery is always put under pressure by the weight he gives to pattern. Senior graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2010. Exhibitions in 2010 include âThe Future Can Wait', Shoreditch Town Hall, London, âPolemically Small', Charlie Smith London, and the 2010 Studio Voltaire Members Exhibition, selected by Jennifer Higgie and Rebecca Warren, London. www.benjaminsenior.com
William Stein expresses the desire to find somewhere through his paintings where rationality has been overwhelmed", that is more touching. His quiet, intense works echo early abstraction with a real elevation of the paintings' materiality. Stein graduated in 2009 with an MFA from the Slade School of Fine Art. He was selected to appear in the Marmite painting prize in 2010 and 2011. He has had solo exhibitions at Studio 1.1, London, and Crimes Town, London, and recent group shows include âState of the Newly Incarnate Soul', Hidde van Seggelen Gallery, London, 2010 and âNo Soul For Sale', Tate Modern, London, 2010. www.wmstein.com