Raising Boys

About

Black White Gallery are pleased to present their first show Raising Boys, a group exhibition exploring multiple visions of men’s mental health captured in painting, sculpture, photography and film. The exhibition considers how notions of masculinity during our formative years and adolescence may influence mental health. Raising Boys supports the charity Step Forward, which provides free and confidential services for young people aged 11-25 living in the East London area.

ARTISTS INCLUDE:

Benjamin Murphy is an artist and writer based in London. Born in West Yorkshire in the late 1980s, he now exhibits globally. Benjamin began his artistic career creating elaborate artworks made entirely out of black electrical tape. His most recent work explores themes of polarity, time, memory, and contrast – often rendered in charcoal

on raw canvas. Benjamin is the co-founder and co-director of Delphian Gallery, and an associate lecturer at the University of the Arts London.

Zoe Forster lives and works in North West Cumbria, the people and the landscape of the area are imperative to her work. The North West suffers from some of the highest suicide rates in all of the UK, the Merseyside town St Helens having been dubbed England’s ‘Suicide Capital’. Working with 16mm film Zoe creates ‘moving portraits’ that celebrate the those living and working in her rural hometown of Silloth and the surrounding industrial areas.

London-based artist Conor Murgatroyd has established himself as one of the UK’s leading emerging artists. Originally from Bradford, he is inspired by his working-class roots, multiculturalism, and the people and places he has encountered since moving to the capital. Conor is known for his colourful and structured paintings with their distinctively British aura. His works bring together relatable characters and banal objects to capture the raw beauty of the everyday.

Lou Bennett is a non-binary artist who uses painting to trace a thread of British history from the distant past to the present day. Lou’s work explores autobiography and mental health within shifting historical contexts, exposing layers of identity: personal; regional; national.

Glasgow based artist Leon Scott-Engel uses painting, sculpture and video to study the body as a metaphysical entity. His multimedia works evoke visual and spatial representations of memory and nostalgia. In works such as Embrace and Wrestlers, Leon explores masculine archetypes and the performative nature of masculinity.

William Harman is a Brtish Phillapeno painter whose large scale oil paintings draw from his personal history and cultural heritage. William fills his canvases with stiff and awkward characters, including individuals stumbling home from a night out, football teams and disorderly schoolboys. Composed with a painterly crudeness for the viewer to confront and enjoy, William’s paintings navigate the margin between realism and the surreal.

Irish artist Peter Doyle’s colourful cinematic paintings have caught the attention of several leading galleries over recent years. The self-taught painter, who lives and works in East London, employs a bold palette to create eye-catching works in acrylic on canvas. Peter’s time spent graffitiing has informed his practice today. He approaches the canvas with authority and speed, working any flaws into the final composition.

VISITOR INFORMATION:

Black White Gallery advocates a contemporary approach that challenges the traditional institutionalised art market. Established in 2022 by Charles Leffler and Henrietta Scrine, Black White Gallery champions contemporary visual art, captivating ways of exhibiting and strives to build genuine relationships with both emerging and established artists, providing a safe space that promotes constructive and empowering dialogue.

Exhibition runs: 17th June - 3rd July
Private view: 16th June 6 - 9pm
Address: 458 - 460 Hackney Road, London E2 9EG
Opening times: Tuesday - Saturday 11am - 7pm, Sunday 11am - 4pm

www.blackwhitegallery.co.uk @blackwhitegallery__

Press enquiries: henrietta@blackwhitegallery.co.uk