Exhibition

The Origin of the World

5 Oct 2015 – 17 Oct 2015

Event times

Monday - Friday: 12:00 - 5pm, Saturday: 10:30 - 2:30pm
Sunday: Closed

Cost of entry

Free

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Paul McPherson Gallery

London, United Kingdom

Event map

(LINE, FORM & BODY)
Using line, colour and a bit of mix materials Aleksandar Basic depicted human form. Human body is a part of his interest and sole subject of this investigation for exhibition The Origin of the World.

About

Aleksandar was inspired by artists such as Gustave Courbet and Paul Cezanne. Courbet's nude paintings initiated Aleksandar's research while Cezanne's work continually expands his examination of abstraction. At the same time Courbet marked the beginning of modern/impressionist phase and he also inspired Cezanne, so this was a natural order for Aleksandar to follow - the idea first and then the style. However, Courbet's painting called The Origin of the world (1886) is the main inspiration for the exhibition. This painting, almost 150 years old, remains a huge provocation even in the present day. Aleksandar's exhibition is in a way a homage to the controversial painting and creation of a new contemporary version of the work.

Aleksandar like to base his work on a source, such as direct observation or photography, but he also works from memory and often from preparation studies. "I feel that while I am working in this way I am able to create something "new". The process of observation is an attractive process, but it will not allow me full freedom of creation. Observation would not constrict me but it tends to seduce, where an artist could easily become an eye or just a tool. This is of course my personal observation."

"While I am not concerned in representing reality or the true image I am interested to create a certain level of familiarity and to create compositions which are of interest to me. I actually prefer when represented images are not obvious and viewers take the time to learn to "read" images, rather than instantly recognising meaning of the images. For me abstraction is based on a figurative work, a valid material part, and it is not leading towards immaterialism or conceptual work."

This exhibition presents mix media works created on a large sheets of paper. Aleksandar feels that using familiar techniques (pencil and ink or a mixture of various media and some human material) allowed him to work faster and on a larger scale. He is continually developing and testing new media and materials as a part of his artistic process. For this occasion he used cut-outs, spray paint and human hair.

This is Aleksandar Basic 's second solo exhibition in London at Paul McPherson Gallery (5 - 17 October 2015).

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Aleksandar Basic

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