“seven” Jonathan Kearney’s solo exhibition
Apr-June. 2006 – this is Jonathan’s largest solo exhibition to date. Held in the vast, old factory space of TCG Nordica Gallery, this exhibition includes some very large work.
4 metres high
7 pieces of work are actually 4 metres high and had to be lowered from Jonathan’s 8th floor studio space with rope as they didn’t fit down the stairs. The exhibition includes 27 paintings, 6 prints, a large installation and glue films projected onto a 3 metre screen, a 3 dimensional screen and the 8 metre high ceiling.
Below is artist statement from this exhibition:
‘Seven’, the title of this exhibition, refers to a reference found in the Bible to the ’seven spirits of God’ (Revelation chapter 4 verse 5). On first reading, the concept of ’seven spirits’ appears to be a strange idea. However, when you consider that white light is made from seven colours, like a rainbow, or a spectrum of refracted light, the image suggests a greater richness and depth. The vision being described is not some future event but a current reality, maybe time, flow and movement are different but none the less it is a reality that intersects our own time and space, as a foretaste of a renewed creation.
Jonathan Kearney is a British artist who lives and works in Kunming. He and his family have been living here for 2 years and are attempting to learn the language.
Jonathan mainly uses white glue and acrylic paint. This is poured over canvas surfaces. Jonathan’s influence over the flow during the long periods of pouring and drying is the area that he has found the most fascinating. Films, canvases and prints are often made, capturing the amazing details and moments in time that Jonathan observes. Bringing these moments ‘into the light’ is part of the motivation for this and his other recent exhibitions.
This exhibition is a development of this work with a Chinese influence being revealed. Large canvases sit alongside prints, films and a large installation, to create ‘another world’. The observation of time and our interaction with it’s flow, are explored in images that speak of joy, improvisation, wonder, contingency and an eternal aspect that provides a different perspective.
Jonathan has exhibited extensively over the past 12 years. This will be his third exhibition in China, after successfully exhibiting in Beijing and Shanghai.
As well as his work in the studio and studying Chinese, Jonathan is also a visiting lecturer at the University of the Arts, London. He uses the internet, chat and video conferencing technologies to teach while living in China. He also lectures at the Central Academy of Fine of Fine Arts, Beijing. Currently Jonathan works as curating consultant for TCG/Nordica and as artistic consultant to a Beijing based art education company. He is also working as a researcher for an art project connecting the twin cities of Liverpool and Shanghai. Previously he helped run the innovative, artist run space, ‘House Gallery’ in London for 6 years.
artist website: http://www.jonathankearney.com
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