SHOT, ARTECO Gallery

SHOT, ARTECO Gallery

Showcasing the work of five new artists, SHOT is a collection of contemporary painting, reflecting on the place the form holds in the modern world. Running until 31 August at ARTECO Gallery, London, the exhibition features Haroun Haward, ingri Haraldsen, Merlin Ramos, Fred Sorrell and Louise Thomas. In the past painting, and before the advent of photography, painting was the most accurate way to capture life and depict the surrounding world. Today painting has moved away from the traditional position it once held and is now a more abstract reflection of the human condition.

The chosen artists all have an interest in examining the transformation of the human being within a modern context. Together the works present the questions: “How are we, as artists, psychologically affected by the changing cultural landscape and what is our response to this”? SHOT also explores the break between humanity and landscape and how this has impacted upon the medium. The five different artists each offer a slightly different perspective on the subject and yet still interrelate to fully unpack the effects of modern society upon art.

Haroun Haward’s presentation makes up part of an ongoing series he is working on this year, the diptych comprising oil on wooden panels considers museum culture and archiving. Ingri Haraldsen exhibits a collage constructed using pencil rather than glue, producing a striking image of craggy mountains and rock formations. Meanwhile, Fred Sorrell uses torn posters from underground Tube platforms as the influence for his layered paintings, using found materials to create a unique and previously unheard narrative. Merlin Ramos combines clean, geometric shapes in his work, splashing paint across his work that is almost Cubist. The final artist, Louise Thomas, showcases The Artifice of Paradise, a sequence of paintings from her Resort Series to examine the joining point of landscape, memory and architecture.

SHOT, until 31 August, ARTECO Gallery, 533 Old York Road, London, SW18 1TG.

Credits
1. Merlin Ramos, courtesy of the artist and ARTECO Gallery.