Ryan Mosley, Cave Inn, 2011
Oil on linen
214 x 180 cm, 84 1/4 x 70 7/8 ins
Courtesy of Alison Jacques Gallery, London
RYAN MOSLEY
15 July - 13 August 2011
Opening Thursday 14 July, 6-8pm
Ryan Mosley's distinctive visual language is rooted in its timeless qualities; archaic skulls, top hats and fig leaves collide with anthropomorphic limbs and futuristic, shamanic figures that create a bewildering backdrop in which anything is possible.
For this solo show Mosley has delved further into this landscape by offering his protagonists a stage on which to play out their ambiguous narratives. The world of performance he conjures allows variegated images and motifs to become characters in a stage-play realm, uprooted from specific ties of time and location and given the chance to create new meanings and narrative opportunities. Despite the undeniable presence of art historical references in Mosley's practice, the stage provides a setting free of signifiers on which seemingly disparate figures can perform. Disembodied heads floating around each periphery invite us to become part of an extended audience. Mosley's scenes are framed by botanical bunting, which morph between menacing truncheons and mysterious fauna. These devices act as figurative stand-ins and provincial props, anchoring the characters in space and preventing them from drifting away.
Mosley's canvases are infused with the ebullient energy of the theatre, carnival and cabaret, yet the artist's highly singular and distinctive visual lexicon makes possible a wider range of thematic textures and moods. Mortality and the transient nature of time are never far from the surface from his otherworldly scenarios, as the cavernous eye sockets of a colossal skull survey the action centre stage, transforming the performative narrative into a gargantuan vanitas.
Oil on linen
214 x 180 cm, 84 1/4 x 70 7/8 ins
Courtesy of Alison Jacques Gallery, London
RYAN MOSLEY
15 July - 13 August 2011
Opening Thursday 14 July, 6-8pm
Ryan Mosley's distinctive visual language is rooted in its timeless qualities; archaic skulls, top hats and fig leaves collide with anthropomorphic limbs and futuristic, shamanic figures that create a bewildering backdrop in which anything is possible.
For this solo show Mosley has delved further into this landscape by offering his protagonists a stage on which to play out their ambiguous narratives. The world of performance he conjures allows variegated images and motifs to become characters in a stage-play realm, uprooted from specific ties of time and location and given the chance to create new meanings and narrative opportunities. Despite the undeniable presence of art historical references in Mosley's practice, the stage provides a setting free of signifiers on which seemingly disparate figures can perform. Disembodied heads floating around each periphery invite us to become part of an extended audience. Mosley's scenes are framed by botanical bunting, which morph between menacing truncheons and mysterious fauna. These devices act as figurative stand-ins and provincial props, anchoring the characters in space and preventing them from drifting away.
Mosley's canvases are infused with the ebullient energy of the theatre, carnival and cabaret, yet the artist's highly singular and distinctive visual lexicon makes possible a wider range of thematic textures and moods. Mortality and the transient nature of time are never far from the surface from his otherworldly scenarios, as the cavernous eye sockets of a colossal skull survey the action centre stage, transforming the performative narrative into a gargantuan vanitas.
ALISON JACQUES GALLERY
16 - 18 Berners Street
London W1T 3LN
T: +44 (0) 20 7631 4720
ALISON JACQUES GALLERY
Read On... ALISON JACQUES GALLERY, London
