MEMORY KEEPER

MEMORY KEEPER – Aleksandar Duravcevic, Ordovas, 25 Savile Row London W1, until 29th July 2017

I am grateful to John Kirkwood for visiting and writing about this exhibition:

Memory Keeper installation view,
photography by Mike Bruce

This is the gallery’s second show dedicated to the work of a single living artist and the first major presentation of the work of Aleksander Duravcevic and it is an exquisite gem of an exhibition.

For the two Double Life diptychs, 2017,  depicting a double rainbow above Victoria Falls each panel is scaled and prepared in exactly the same way as a Byzantine icon painting and has the same awe-inspiring effect on the viewer.

Memory Keeper installation view,
photography by Mike Bruce

Also on display is Monument to the unknown hero, 2016, where the glittering purple is in contrast to the black and white Falls and his film Waiting shows an old woman in Montenegrin dress outside her home deep in thought,

His Touch me not, 2017, is a book in stone with no words or pictures except the natural grain of the travertine stone.

Memory Keeper installation view,
photography by Mike Bruce

As you can see, a highly original and complex artist whose work requires detailed attention and whose talent seems to have no limits.

http://www.ordovasart.com

Chillida at Ordovas

Chillida: Rhythm-Time-Silence, Ordovas, 25 Savile Row London W1, until 23rd April 2016

Chillida: Rhythm-Time-Silence installation view, photography by Mike Bruce, Chillida Belzunce Family Collection © Zabalaga-Leku, DACS, London, 2016

Chillida: Rhythm-Time-Silence installation view,
photography by Mike Bruce,
Chillida Belzunce Family Collection © Zabalaga-Leku, DACS, London, 2016

This exhibition comes to London from the gallery’s pop-up space in New York where it formed the inaugural show.  It examines through the three large-scale pieces on show the Chillida’s fascination with the concept of space as material.  The sculptures are made from corten steel – reflecting the blacksmithing heritage of his native Basque country – and granite.

Chillida: Rhythm-Time-Silence installation view, photography by Mike Bruce, Chillida Belzunce Family Collection © Zabalaga-Leku, DACS, London, 2016

Chillida: Rhythm-Time-Silence installation view,
photography by Mike Bruce,
Chillida Belzunce Family Collection © Zabalaga-Leku, DACS, London, 2016

I can only concur with Pilar Ordovas who says “My intention is to continue to increase international awareness of his major innovations in the field of sculpture and serve to introduce his work to new generations of audiences, scholars and collectors.”

Chillida: Rhythm-Time-Silence installation view, photography by Mike Bruce, Chillida Belzunce Family Collection © Zabalaga-Leku, DACS, London, 2016

Chillida: Rhythm-Time-Silence installation view,
photography by Mike Bruce,
Chillida Belzunce Family Collection © Zabalaga-Leku, DACS, London, 2016

 

WWW.ORDOVASART.COM

Ordovas

Self, Ordovas, 25 Savile Row, London W1, until 13 December

 Self installation view, Francis Bacon, Self-Portrait, 1969 / Pablo Picasso, Self-Portrait (Yo Picasso), 1901 Photography by Mike Bruce © The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved, DACS 2014 / © Succession Picasso/DACS, London 2014

Self installation view, Francis Bacon, Self-Portrait, 1969 / Pablo Picasso, Self-Portrait (Yo Picasso), 1901
Photography by Mike Bruce © The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved, DACS 2014 / © Succession Picasso/DACS, London 2014

This is a show that looks at how the self-portrait has been used in the 20th Century whether it be in celebration, communication even a memento mori and uses four great artists to examine this art form which has been expressed since earliest times..

Self installation view, Damien Hirst, Self Portrait R., 2008 / Jeff Koons, Self-Portrait, 1991, Courtesy of Pinchuk Art Centre (Kiev, Ukraine) Photography by Mike Bruce © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd, all rights reserved. DACS 2014 / © Jeff Koons

Self installation view, Damien Hirst, Self Portrait R., 2008 / Jeff Koons, Self-Portrait, 1991, Courtesy of Pinchuk Art Centre (Kiev, Ukraine)
Photography by Mike Bruce © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd, all rights reserved. DACS 2014 / © Jeff Koons

As Pilar Ordovas explains “The idea behind this exhibition grew from a conversation with Damien Hirst and took two initial works as its inspiration – Self-Portrait (Yo Picasso), 1901, and Self-Portrait, 1969 by Francis Bacon. I was intrigued by the idea of exploring the self-portraits of living artists alongside those made by Picasso and Bacon, and I approached Damien to see if he might be interested in participating – he not only was happy to be part of the show, but also suggested the title Self, and that I included Jeff Koons.”

http://www.ordovasart.com