Modern Sculpture

About

Modern Sculpture Project Space 11, Plymouth City Market Wednesday 8th September — Saturday 25th September 2010 Project Space 11 is pleased to present the first solo show of artist Dean Knight: Modern Sculpture. Much of KnightàŠ¼s work centres on notions of construction, exaggeration and authenticity. This is often manifested through the presentation of an open- ended scene, in which signs or symbols offer clues to an unresolved narrative. Modern Sculpture shows newly commissioned work for the context of Project Space 11, in which assumed and recurring formats within contemporary and modern art are examined. At first glance, these works function on an aesthetic level: being recognizable as modern, with their pleasingly subdued palette and slick architectural elements. The basic shapes and motifs present in these works represent an exaggerated level of simplification, and a nod to a rather old-fashioned form of minimalism. This is somewhat disrupted by the presence of gestural finger marks in works such as Sculptural Ball with Ashtray, for example, which along with the inclusion of cigarette-butts, suggest a trace of the artist or creator. This already somewhat clichéd notion is pushed into theatre and parody with the cartoon, considered, and sterile rendering of these usually imperfect remnants. As with KnightàŠ¼s previous works, there is a suggestion of a primitive maker and a subtly violent undertone- the crude handling of the fleshy clay ball, and unimaginative selection and placement of the work Propped Plank. The overt obviousness of the arrangements, along with the stage-like plinths featured in the installation and sketches, effectively place quotation marks around the work and highlight their pretence. The conflicting layers of meaning in the scenes bring a level of ambiguity, and the potential for multiple narratives to be attached.