Launch of Kelly Richardson print edition, published by Modern Empire

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Modern Empire are pleased to announce publication of two new prints by Kelly Richardson coinciding with the opening of 'Legion', her first major UK solo exhibition, at Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art. Orion Tide (Edition) I & II form a diptych featuring a desert landscape at night with what appears to be numerous spacecraft or vessels leaving planet earth. The landscape is highly detailed, beautifully lit by the rockets' burning thrusters, the heavy smoke plumes slowly falling to earth behind them. The horizon glows, the vast clear sky above shows hundreds of stars. Is this space exploration on a grand scale or is this some kind of mass exodus? Kelly Richardson often creates ambiguous works that provoke a mixture of contrasting emotions in the viewer. Orion Tide (Edition) I & II could present a number of scenarios — a mass departure from earth, war, or an army of space probes — all of which connote a kind of contemporary sublime, beautiful but equally terrifying. ‘Within cinema, the popularity for consuming imagery depicting a catastrophe-ravaged planet has returned, almost certainly reflecting a like, collective anxiety towards a very uncertain future, not dissimilar to the success of 18th century artists associated with the Apocalyptic Sublime.' , Kelly Richardson Orion Tide (Edition) I & II are signed and numbered Giclée prints on Hannemuhle Photo Rag, each 57.55 x 57.55cm. They are each published in an edition of 100 + 3 A/Ps. Numbers 1 - 20 are available only as a pair. A pre-launch offer price is available through www.modernempire.co.uk until Thursday 5th July.