Natural Selection, The Fine Art Society Contemporary, London

Natural Selection is a group show of international contemporary artists and focuses upon the tension between the man-made and nature. The eight artists use a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, photography and installation to explore the relationship between built and natural environments. What results is a diverse study of the two realms and the relationship between them; occasionally they appear in harmony but more frequently, both are presented as sources of decay and ruin.

Janet Laurence’s photographic installations investigate environments under threat from urban activity; compatibility between the two forces are shown in Peter Newman’s cityscapes and Paul Davies’ modernist buildings; Gina Soden captures derelict buildings that have been overtaken by nature in her photographs and similarly Angela Palmer’s installation presents nature as wild and smothering; Stephen Sack looks at the minutiae and workings of the plant eco-system and Mario Rossi’s paintings toy with the notion of the sublime. Finally, Stewert Helm’s ink drawings point to the boundaries – or lack thereof – between the animal and human kingdoms.

Natural Selection, 27 July – 29 August, The Fine Art Society Contemporary, 148 New Bond Street, London, W1S 2JT.

Credits
1. Gina Soden, Church (2013).
2. Peter Newman, Tokyo Shinjuku (2008).