Friday 26 August 2011

Exhibition News: Drawing Connections

Charley Peters, Sliver (2011), Ink on Paper

The drawing Sliver (above) can be seen in the forthcoming exhibition Drawing Connections at the Siena Art Institute, Italy, from 24th September 2011. After the exhibition closes Sliver will remain in the permanent collection of the Siena Art Institute library.

Studio Views: Developing the Somnolence Series

Charley Peters, Somnolence (2011), Graphite on Paper

Thursday 25 August 2011

Studio Views: Work in Progress, Praxis Series

Charley Peters, from Praxis series (2011), Ink on Paper















(Above) Recent drawings from the Praxis series of systematic repetitive line works, drawn on a smaller scale than other work in the series and exploring shifts in line direction, bleed between masked areas and visual movement created through line positioning. These finished drawings are developed from initial diagnostic works in my sketchbook, which can be seen in an earlier blog post.

Somnolence: Lines in Space

Charley Peters, from Somnolence series (2011), Graphite on Black Paper

The Somnolence series of drawings based on intersecting lines is continuing to be developed in the studio. The example above shows the recent exploration of graphite on black paper to create a somewhat ghostly, semi-lustrous image, with asymmetric masking of the left and right sides of the drawing. Quick drawings in sketchbooks (below) suggest depth and viewing position through the proximity and position of the lines on the page, and illustrate the removal of tight masking from the upper and lower limits of the drawings present in earlier drawings in the series.

Charley Peters, sketches for Somnolence (2011), Ink and Marker Pen on Paper

Grids and Non-Grids

Charley Peters, Untitled (2011), Ink on Paper

Recent work in the studio has been exploring grids and the repetitive application of lines on and across such rigid structures. One example of these gridded drawings can be seen above, in this case successive straight lines are drawn in ink onto white paper. These drawings are still in development, but have led to further sketches where the grid is removed altogether (see below).

Charley Peters, Untitled Sketches (2011), Ink on Paper

In these works the formal composition of the lines on the paper becomes important to suggest movement and harmony between the elements in the drawing - especially in the later exploration of materials where the lines are applied in a variety of media. The final examples shown here employ graphite, ink and paint in the same drawing, on both mid-tone grey papers (below) and semi-transparent paper (not shown).

Charley Peters, Untitled Sketches (2011), Graphite, Ink and Paint on Paper


Sunday 21 August 2011

Drawing is the New Painting

'Drawing is closest to the original kernel of an idea. Drawing is private. Drawing is the trace of a unique human subjectivity. Drawing returns us to narrative but without objectivity. Drawing always connects to writing. It links directly to literature, it is always a fiction. Drawing is irrational and rational, done on both sides of the brain. Drawing uses the newest digital technologies. It creates a virtual reality. Drawing is the foundation of all art departments, so important that it does not even need a concentration of its own. Drawing is very valuable, and must be shown only rarely, protected by glass. The more minimal, delicate, and ephemeral, the more poetic and evocative it is. The more obsessive, the more expressive it is. The more monumental, the more paradoxical and contemporary it is.

Drawing is the newest oldest medium. Drawing is impossible to define.'

from Kurczynski, K. Drawing is the New Painting. Published in Art Journal, April 2011

Read the entire essay here.

Sketches: Praxis

Charley Peters, Sketches for Praxis Series (2011), Ink on Paper










The above exploratory drawings from sketchbooks illustrate some recent developments in the Praxis series of systematic drawings, using masking and angled lines to interrupt the drawn surface.

Tuesday 16 August 2011

Sketches: Opposing Lines

Charley Peters, Sketches (2011), Ink on Paper

Sketches: Somnolence

Charley Peters, Sketches for Somnolence (2011), Pencil Crayon on Paper

Exhibition News: Slice

TBC Artists' Collective, Still from Khoros (2011)

TBC have a newly commissioned piece of work in Slice, opening at Rich Mix, London E1 6LA on 1 September 2011. Appropriating the various and undulating spaces of Catherine Wheel Alley, E1, as a live studio, TBC applied the ideas of dance theorist Rudolf von Laban and the novelist Italo Calvino to a performative ‘drawing’, exploring and mapping the environment through a combination of lines and motion. White boiler suits homogenised the performers with the space and its architectural features, drawing attention to the symbolic red elastic lines and shapes generated as they moved together topologically. The resultant ‘drawing in space’, Khoros, plots the relationship between the artists’ physical encounters of the location and their shared experience of collaborative movement.

Slice is open 1-22 September at Rich Mix, London, and the National College of Arts, Lahore.
http://www.richmix.org.uk

More information about the Slice project and TBC's film, Khoros, can be seen on the Slice website:
www.london-lahore.com

Sunday 14 August 2011

Sketches: Rupture

Charley Peters, Sketches for Rupture (2011), Ink on Paper














The images above illustrate the continuing development of the Rupture series of drawings, which explore the relationship between intersecting lines through monochrome and colour studies. These drawings display a closer positioning of lines than in previous Rupture sketches, each drawn systematically below the previous line in both horizontal and diagonal directions in a manner similar to an inkjet printer generating an image. The pressure and proximity of the lines is not pre-determined, but rather instinctively or randomnly drawn by hand, which suggests movement and depth in the picture plane.

Sketch for Rupture (2011), Ink on Paper (detail)









Tuesday 2 August 2011

A Message To... Houston

As part of TBC Artists' Collective, I will be taking part in the A Message To... Houston project during August. My piece of work is inspired by the legendary firefighter 'Red' Adair, who, during his career extinguished and capped oil well blowouts, both on land and offshore. The project will involve a collaboration between myself and TBC's Laura Davidson, based on Laura's interpretation of a set of instructions I supplied her with relating to a series of my drawings made for the project. The instructions and my drawings - made from folded paper, reminiscent of flame forms - are below. The second part of the project will be documented on the TBC Online Project Space, 12-Pages, at the end of August.

--

A Message to... Paul Neal 'Red' Adair

I have made six drawings out of folded paper.

The drawings are now on the wall of my studio in London.

On sheets of white paper I have recorded each fold as a line, thereby producing six new line drawings.

I have given these line drawings to you and they are to be taken to Houston, Texas.

In Houston the lines should be turned into folds and the original drawings recreated.

The six recreated drawings should be burned and their ashes scattered in Houston Heights, the area where Red Adair spent his childhood, to commemorate his career extinguishing hazardous oil well fires until his retirement at the age of 77.


Charley Peters, A Message to Red Adair (2011), Folded paper on wall

Project News: A Message To... Houston




During August TBC Artists' Collective will be taking part in a project in Houston, Texas. A Message To... Houston will involve TBC members - Beverley Bennett, Charley Peters, Laura Davidson, Paul Mendez and intern James Tuitt - researching notable residents of Houston and creating a new piece of interventionist work inspired by their findings. The final works will be installed in locations around the city. The works and their placement in sites in Houston will be recorded and can be seen on the TBC Online Project Space at the end of August.