Beyond Confinement Exhibition
Nine Painters on Isolation, Connection and means of Escape
Members of the Altogether At Once collective were initially brought together by Artquest London during the Covid lockdowns to foster connections and dialogue between artists. The impact of physical and mental isolation was a major concern for artists at this time and their regular online meetings were a means of combating this. The strong connections they made during this period of constraint helped sustain their individual practices while bonding them together as a group. Their meeting was under conditions of confinement and restraint, so it seems very appropriate for them that their first group show should be in the cells of a former police station.
The work they are showing reflects, in many and various ways, the conditions of restraint and confinement present here in the architecture and history of a former police station. Although they don’t pretend to be speaking through their work for prisoners who were kept in these cells each artist has responded to this environment by inquiring and reflecting on ideas of restriction, constraint, freedom and connectivity. The individual notes in each space reflect their interpretations of this challenge.
Using a variety of styles and techniques, the artists will transform the walls and prison cells into a space of expression. Some will create site-specific installation to respond to the strong architecture and former purpose of the building while others will re-contextualise their work in the light of the history of the building.
Each artist brings their unique experience and artistic practice to bear on these spaces of confinement and considers what brings connection and breaks walls down. From bold abstraction to intricate representational works, each artist invites the viewer to engage in a personal dialogue with the artwork and with the space around them.
Altogether at Once as a Collective they say," We are a multigenerational and diverse group of artists who believe that painting remains a relevant and enduring artistic medium in which the spirit of our times manifests itself. As images continue to be the most feverishly consumed objects of our technological existence, the uniqueness of painting lies in its capacity to oscillate between imagination, memory, reality, and in the possibility it offers to present them all together, at once.”
EXHIBITING ARTISTS
Malca Mizrahi
Paul Allender
Julie Bennett
Andrew McDonald
Amy Robson
Ewelina Skowronska
Lindsey Tyson
Judith Walker
Fernando Holguin Cereceres
LOCATION:
The Koppel Project Station
Rosslyn Hill, Hampstead London, UK
EXHIBITION DATES:
24 Aug 2023 – 3 Sep 2023