Jonathan Darby’s Favelas

Maxi — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 09:00:22 +0000

Jonathan Darby‘s second solo show Favela at Signal Gallery in London will take him deep into the areas of concern he has touched on successfully before, the overwhelming and acute social problems in the slums of Brazil. The favelas have been abandoned by national and local government and have been taken over by drug dealers and their gangs. A culture of lawlessness and violence exists unchecked, creating a level of poverty that gives Brazil the dubious accolade of nurturing the biggest gap between rich and poor in the world.

Signal Gallery says: “Since the day we first saw Jonathan’s work in 2008 we have been amazed at how much it has blossomed and how many people have responded positively to his distinct and developing style. Since then several shows at Signal and exhibitions in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Denver have confirmed his international appeal.

“Jonathan has achieved that rare thing of combining socio-political subject matter, with a real sense of beauty and truth. Despite the evils in the world he depicts, you come away from a Darby piece feeling refreshed.”

Jonathan Darby ‘FAVELA’ Teaser from Jonathan Darby on Vimeo.

Some of the most vulnerable victims of this sorry state of affairs are the countless number of street children orphaned or abandoned by their parents. Jonathan’s show focuses on them and their plight. The show will be supported by the charity CARF (Children At Risk Foundation) that was founded by Englishman Gregory J Smith. Giving up a lucrative business career Smith set up and ran a home for street children called The Hummingford Project in Sao Paolo. Also a passionate photographer he has brilliantly documented this entire experience. Many of Jonathan’s works for the show will use these photographs as source material, creating a direct link to the abandoned children of the Favelas. Some of the proceeds of the show will be donated to CARF.

Mixed Doubles

Maxi — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 09:00:17 +0000

In Signal Gallery‘s first group show in the new Paul Street space, they are presenting four very interesting artists whose work links and entwines in very winning ways Andrew McAttee, Dan Baldwin, John Squire and Joram Roukes. It’s a fine match between the abstract and figurative ends of the painting spectrum. However, this is not a one sided game, but an exploration of overlapping skills and techniques, that will make excellent viewing, if not producing any obvious winners.

Dan Baldwin
Of the two strongly figurative artists in the show, Dan Baldwin is best known to the UK. His dynamic and intricately subtle paintings are a familiar and respected part of the contemporary/urban art scene. More recently, a new paired-down style has proved to be a very successful development. He has shown all over the UK, Europe and the US. His 2010 solo show at Signal Gallery and shows in Los Angeles, Tokyo and Denver have been recent highlights of a very busy career.

Joram Roukes
Joram Roukes is a new name to the UK. A young artist, who has lived, trained and worked in The Netherlands. He has shown extensively across his home country and has developed a very good profile there. Roukes large-scale oil paintings have a sense of fantasy and humor that is superficially akin to Baldwin’s work. However, there is a more robust and serious purpose to these works, which gives them a powerful and dark effect. His randomly layered figures appear to be grotesque one minute and humorous the next.

Andrew McAttee
At first glance Andrew McAttee’s work is overflowing with optimism and light. It almost seems too good to be true. However, on closer inspection these colorful images consist only of bubbles, clouds and swirls. There is a notable absence of more representational imagery and a reassuring grinning Mickey Mouse fails to appear. The absence of any familiar figurative imagery seems to create an unnerving sense of emptiness. Andrew’s work has been shown all over the UK and the US. He has had considerable success with a number of London galleries, having a string of highly successful solo shows at Elm Lester Painting Rooms and at the Forster Gallery. This will be the first time Andrew has shown at Signal.

John Squire
Finally, John Squire is a dedicated artist with a very interesting history. Originally, he received considerable acclaim as part of the rock band ‘The Stone Roses’. More recently, he has concentrated on developing his visual art career. His varied and unfailingly rich output of work has consisted mainly of paintings. His artwork first came to public notice with the very popular Pollockesque album cover designs for his band. Since then, his work has been paired down and has become generally abstract in form. A major retrospective exhibition of his work at the ICA in 2004 launched him onto the London art scene. Since then he has had a series of important solo shows in London (one at Signal), across the UK and globally.

Who: Andrew McAttee, Dan Baldwin, John Squire and Joram Roukes

Where: Signal Gallery / 32 Paul Street / Hoxton / London, EC2A 4LB

When: February 10 – March 5

Modart » Signal Gallery

Jonathan Darby’s Favelas

Mixed Doubles