BETWEEN BODY AND GESTURE

About

There is always something spiritual in the representation of human body; it's either the way in which an artist bewitches a body in a painting or sculpture, or the uncanny moment in which a living body becomes an inert artistic subject. Regardless of who made it (a contemporary or prehistoric artist) and regardless of the medium used (a canvas or a stone) it always oscillates between myths, conceptual philosophy and carnal reality of gesture. The exhibition ‘Between Body and Gesture' explores the spiritual moment of creation of a body's image. The show, comprising works by three young artists, illustrates a relation between body, gesture and an artistic thought, which leads to creation. Diversity of mediums used by Juliana Cerqueira Leite, Matthew Musgrave and Sarah Lederman allows the viewer to explore this interrelationship thoroughly and from many diverse angles. Sarah Lederman's paintings are populated by adolescent girls, represented in a moment when their bodies are entering into the world of adults. Inexplicit shapes, the lack of precise background and juxtaposition of delicate and aggressive colours make the figures deeply emotive and provocative. Lederman's figures exist in a fairytale dimension, in which physical desires coexist with childish fantasies. In her sculptures and photos the Brazilian artist Juliana Cerqueira Leite analyses the human body not only as a subject, but also as an artistic device. Her works state questions of a creative gesture's power, of a form and a process in which a body of art emerges. With great enthusiasm and dedication Cerqueira Leite works with many diverse mediums, from photography, drawing and prints to sculptures made from terracotta, resin or plaster. The abstract works by Matthew Musgrave constitute a bridge between two-dimensional paintings and photos and three-dimensional sculptures. The way in which Matthew executes his works, with meticulous precision, results in intricate gems which lure the viewer to study the works from angles and distances not traditionally associated with paintings. Indeed, these unique works force the viewer to reconsider their own relationship to paintings — where do we best discover the gesture? From the intimate proximity or the distant removed observation?