Absorption

About

After a challenging few months, the gallery is looking forward to welcoming back visitors and relaunching an ambitious programme of contemporary art in Kendal.

The gallery will reopen its doors with a solo exhibition by Mark Woods (b. 1961, Surrey) entitled ‘Absorption’.  Launching on Friday 23 July, the exhibition features objects, vignettes & photographs of elaborate artefacts housed in a purposely designed environment that aims to enhance viewers’ disorientation and surprise.

Visitors are invited to peer through small openings to view Wood’s evocative work. Blurring the boundaries between fine art, fetish objects, and items from a cabinet of curiosities, Woods’ art compels viewers to confront their inner feelings and desires.

Woods was recently selected as a highlight of London Art Fair: Edit 2021 by CEO & Editor in Chief of Artlyst, Paul Carter Robinson FRSA.

Curated by Vanya Balogh, ‘Absorption’ takes inspiration from the renowned ‘International Surrealist Exhibition’ held at Galérie Beaux-Arts, Paris, in 1938.  The exhibition featured leading surrealist artists including André Breton, Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, Man Ray, Leonora Carrington, and challenged existing conventions of exhibitions viewing.

This ground breaking exhibition placed paintings and objects as elements within a surrealist environment. Visitors were encouraged to follow a dreamlike path almost entirely in darkness.

Mark Woods (b. 1961, Surrey)is a British artist with a background in contemporary jewellery production and boat building. Woods is best known for his highly elaborate artefacts that blur the boundaries between fine art, fetish objects and items from a cabinet of curiosities. Through the use of mirrors, kaleidoscopes, and peepholes that manipulate perspective, Woods explores places of uncanny fantasy and takes viewers on journeys of discovery. Recent photography work, referencing fashion shoots and the seduction of consumerism, sees the artist physically transform himself and become part of his complex installations. Woods was recently selected as a highlight of London Art Fair: Edit 2021 by CEO & Editor in Chief of Artlyst, Paul Carter Robinson FRSA.