Piers Gibson’s collection of new works is made from a variety of different fabrics stretched under tension across a uniform square board. After much experimentation a rigid framework was chosen, using a square beech and ply board covered with a padded backing to give a soft tactile quality. The uniformity of format and scale enables the modular arrangement of multiple pieces, and imposes a consistent grid within which the vagaries of the imagination can roam freely within a visual armature. This body of work explores the dynamic interplay of juxtaposition and connections, creating a rich, haptic narrative.
One important focus of the work is the impact of symmetry on perception. To what extent does the use of a symmetrical pattern or grid lend harmony to what might otherwise be a disquieting juxtaposition of colours? And how does a repeating pattern impart balance, and give a sense of rhythm? Or can it irritate the eye through predictability?
The component textiles include recycled sari silks, millinery fabrics, haberdashery borders and a miscellany of materials, each with different cultural associations. The diversity of texture and polychromy itself gives context, as with the interplay between velvet, with its multiple European associations and sari silk, a vibrant material intimately tied to the traditions of South Asia.
The choices of textures and colours create myriad cultural cross references and by virtue of these associations the mingling and combination of colours takes on political and social implications.
On another level: a mossy velvet competes with a vibrant saffron evoking a weathered, lichen covered, Cumbrian rock deposited in Rajasthan. In this exhibition Gibson examines the beauty in the attraction of opposites. This push and pull is explored further in the edging of a fabric. The sari silks are frayed, exposing their component threads. Vulnerable. Other borders are tightly woven, self-contained and inviolate. Some evoke uniforms, even medals. A tension in the work is made by contrasting the formal and the rough and ready. Gibson takes advantage of the way in which the various textures reflect light in a multitude of different ways and so through combining very similar colours in differing fabrics, a greater depth of colour is produced.
The Green Room at Messums London
In theatrical circles, the ‘green room’ is the place where artists prepare to go on stage, traditionally painted green with low lighting to encourage an environment of relaxed contemplation. Inspired by this concept, The Green Room at Messums London is an unique space in the Cork Street gallery dedicated to showcasing innovative new and emerging contemporary art from around the world; a place to find exciting world-class talent before it takes centre stage.
The intimate solo and mixed exhibitions in The Green Room will operate separately from the main programme in the gallery, rotating regularly, creating a dynamic centre for emerging contemporary art at the heart of the London art world’s most prestigious street.
