The current exhibition of Gary Hume’s newest works is, upon first glance, a little disappointing simply because of the small amount shown. Each work is given sample space to be viewed without any peripheral interruptions, which is important, however to show 3 medium sized works on one wall is perhaps too minimalistic. For all the hype surrounding the exhibition, I expected to see more.
The first painting one sees when entering the ground floor room is the circular painting entitled “Migration.” It is seemingly naive, with a limited color palette and simple contour lines delineating a floating bird – perhaps the indifferent owl? Yet upon further inspection, Humes’ skills become apparent; the colors are all the same value which creates harmony, the surface is rich, smooth and glossy and the composition is tightly arranged. To quote Hume, “take your time with my work, and you’ll get more from it” and to this effect, all of the paintings are hung very low down for the viewer to get an intimate look at them.
The visible common threads in the works are the very limited color palette, the high gloss and the frequent use of pale pastel tones. The painting “London Fields” is more subtly striking than “Six Poles,” and is one of the few figurative works in this collection. The figure’s vest is dragged to the top right edge of the composition, creating a fascinating “pull” tension in this beautifully composed work, held together by the diagonal movement. The other works in the room all possess the same quality of being seemingly basic, but upon further inspection, revealing of complexities.
Upstairs is a wall with cut up arcs in Humes signature glossy paint. It is reminiscent of Frank Stella’s attempt to push the boundary between sculpture and painting, however it is poorly constructed. There is no interaction between each piece and seen individually, they are hardly impressive or interesting.
It is an engaging show and Gary Hume certainly possesses prowess easily discernible in his paintings, however I am not convinced that it is memorable. Whilst he has a style that is recognizable, it is not unique and his underlying messages have been repeatedly questioned, even criticized as being superficial. As Hume himself
said, “[I] had to realise the intellectual side of art was not my place.”
By : Karen Shidlo [ Jester Jacques Gallery ]
