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until 06.08. | #3505ARTatBerlin | Galerie Max Hetzler shows from 24. June 2022 in the Goethestraße 2/3 the exhibition with paintings by the artist Robert Holyhead.
British painter Robert Holyhead is known for his abstract paintings in semi-translucent colours, that actively engage with how to paint in the present moment. Having previously worked on delicate, small-size formats, the artist has, in recent years, changed his approach towards painting on a larger scale. His original enquiry remains the same, but the diferent format allows him to innovate and to develop the vocabulary of his work in a new context.
Holyhead spends many months preparing for the works. During this time, his studio practice transforms from the treatment and priming of the canvas surfaces, to drawing or painting in watercolours on paper, until he arrives at the point at which the paintings are ready to be made. During this lead-up, spatial decisions are rigorously tested, and ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ visual components meticulously balanced. The paintings are created in long single sessions, not unlike durational performances. Each work is produced in a specifc selection of slightly transparent colours, showing visible traces of brushstrokes that operate around precisely located shapes of immaculate white ground. While earlier paintings tended towards single colours, this is less controlled and more complex in the new set of works. There is now a base colour which undergoes subtle adjustment, producing a range of up to four diferent shades in a painting moving out from a central hue.
Robert Holyhead, Untitled, 2021, © Jonathan Bassett
Within this more intuitive gesture, the clearly defned white shapes are a call to order. They rationalise the work and bring the viewer back into a more logical space. But they also act as a gateway, an entry point into the painting or indeed an exit from the painted space. Asides from the white shapes, the colours of the works remain transparent, drying quickly and so forcing Holyhead to work against time. The consistency of the format within the group of works is another self-imposed limitation, providing a level playing feld for the artist to explore the ideas expressed in the space between the gestural and the conceptual.
Robert Holyhead (*1974, Trowbridge, UK) lives and works in London. His work has been presented in several international solo exhibitions including at Galerie Max Hetzler, London (2019), Paris (2016), and Berlin (2014); Parts Project, The Hague (2016); PEER, London (2012); Gibraltar Walk Studio, London (2008); and Kontainer Gallery, Los Angeles (2006). Selected group exhibitions include Freelands Foundation, London (2019); Tannery Arts, London (2017 and 2015); Ulster Museum, Belfast (2013); Tate Britain, London (2012); and Whitechapel Gallery, London (2009).
Holyhead’s works are part of several public collections including Arts Council Collection of Great Britain, London; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Government Art Collection, London; YUZ Museum, Shanghai; and Tate, London.
Opening: Friday, 24. June 2022 – 6:00 bis 8:00 pm
Exhibition dates: Friday, 24. June – Saturday, 6. August 2022
To the Gallery
Further exhibitions and events:
Günther Förg
28. April – 6. August 2022
EXPOSITION COLLECTIVE 1974 – 2007
Potsdamer Straße 77-87, 10785 Berlin
Günther Förg
28. April – 6. August 2022
Window Gallery, Goethestraße 2/3, 10623 Berlin
Tursic & Mille
3. June – 6. August 2022
The Thing / Four Studies for a Mound
Bleibtreustraße 45 und Bleibtreustraße 15/16, 10623 Berlin
Exhibition Robert Holyhead – Galerie Max Hetzler | Contemporary Art – Zeitgenössische Kunst in Berlin – Exhibition Berlin Galleries – ART at Berlin
