Sam Knowles’ first solo exhibition, Fearful Sphere opens tonight in London.
Knowles’ (b.1983) practice deals with metaphysical concerns, and the notion that the world – and man’s existence in it – can be explained by the "grand" theories of philosophy, art and science. Fearful Sphere explores and questions the narratives that have become enshrined in our physical libraries and internal consciousness. Presenting new wall based works as well as a group of sculptures, Knowles dissects and splices, sometimes line by line. The "truths" which flow from these carefully selected texts and bindings are interrupted by Knowles’ intricate and graphic gold markings or by the artists’ slicing into and restructuring of these historical tomes.
Knowles’ interventions on bindings and found imagery, tied down by the shape and size of the surfaces on which he is working, transform the pages and create a series of new values and meanings. Black and white images are interrupted to intersect and change the viewer's reading of the originals; imagery emerging from the page with renewed vigour and unbound from their scholarly ties.
Since graduating from Wimbledon College of Art in 2009, Knowles has been awarded the Pienkow International Art Workshop Residency and gained 1st Prize. Recent exhibitions include: Bloomberg New Contemporaries, 2010; Base Metal (group show), Simon Oldfield Gallery, 2010; thecentre:mk Annual Painting Prize, 2009 and Knowles is currently exhibiting in Beyond Ourselves at the Royal Society, London. Knowles’ work can also been seen at the Pollen Street Social, London.
The show continues until 11 June. http://www.simonoldfield.com/
Image:
Orbit (detail)
2011
Gold leaf on found four book pages
63.5cm x 63.5cm
