Jamie Shovlin’s latest exhibition at Haunch is based around the cover designs of the Fontana Modern Master series – pocket guides from 1970-95 on eminent writers, scientists and philosophers. The covers are iconic, instantly recognisable with their bright colours and abstract geometric shapes.
Shovlin has painted a series of works that represent titles scheduled to be published that, for reasons unknown, never appeared on the market.
Jamie Shovlin’s Fontana Modern Master covers. Own photograph.
The actual cover designs, of course, remain unknown but Shovlin has used a process of deduction to imagine the designs, assuming the cover would reflect attributes of the subject. Although his criteria are somewhat spurious, Shovlin stuck to his guns and his methodology is seen in the works in the first gallery where Colour Wheel illustrates the determining factors of his formula and Colour Reference shows the process of colour matching to the original inner pages of the Fontana Modern Masters.
The first gallery with Jamie Shovlin’s works at Haunch of Venison. Own photograph.
These works recall Harland Miller’s paintings based on the dust jackets of Penguin books. Although Miller uses the book covers as an often humorous method to include his own comments, they marry Pop Art with abstraction and figurative painting.
The series reflects Shovlin’s on-going interest in typography and graphic design. The works are a commercial gallery’s dream – a coherent solid idea that has resulted in a large-scale series. The system of creating the works and Shovlin’s Fontana formula is clever but the resulting canvases lack any excitement or dynamism. The idea and the practice are more energising than the works.
Jamie Shovlin’s Fontana Modern Master covers. Own photograph.
The same day I headed over to Hauser for the opening night of their Ron Mueck show in their South Gallery. It has been a while since there was a solo Mueck show in London – the press release reliably informed me that it has, in fact, been over a decade. The precision and detail of his works has always amazed and startled visitors and these are no exception.
Ron Mueck, Youth, 2009. Own photograph.
The exhibition only includes four of Mueck’s contemporary sculptures, exploring traditional themes. It is a staged exhibition where the works are shown individually, taking visitors on a journey of exploration.
Ron Mueck, Woman with sticks, 2008. Own photograph.
Youth shows a young boy in jeans and a blood-stained t-shirt that he lifts to reveal an open stab wound, reminiscent of St Thomas inspecting Christ’s wound. It is here that we begin to see the themes that Mueck is playing with and images from the Stations of the Cross come to mind. Woman with sticks recalls the carrying of the cross while Drift, positioned high on the gallery wall, shows a tanned man in swimming trunks on a lilo with his arms outstretched in cruciform fashion, questioning the brevity of life – the work references Christ on the crucifix.
Ron Mueck, Drift, 2009. Own photograph.
Finally, Still Life, a work with which most of us are already familiar, shows a dead chicken, plucked and hung by its bound feet from the ceiling, again recalling Christ’s bondage.
These themes of religion, piety and death are not new to Mueck but his works still generate strong reactions, making many feel uncomfortable and uneasy. The messages are discreet and leave you pondering while the pieces are beautifully crafted showing sensitivity and skill. But, as with so many artists, we’ve seen this before and while the works may conceptually be strong they didn’t move me in the way I hoped they would, in the way his earlier works have done.
Ron Mueck, Still Life, 2009. Own photograph.
Further down the street in the North Gallery is Medley Tour London. Since 2010, artist Andreas Hofer has used the name Andy Hope 1930 and this is a display of his latest work, merging the worlds of comic books, science fiction and mythology with history, pop culture and literature.
Medley Tour London by Andy Hope 1930. Own photograph.
I fear I’m sounding like a broken record but yet again the concepts are more interesting than the works themselves. Conceptually all these exhibitions were very good but in actuality they just weren’t great shows…again!
Jamie Shovlin: Various Arrangements is at Haunch of Venison until 26th May 2012, www.haunchofvenison.com. Ron Mueck and Medley Tour London by Andy Hope 1930 is at Hauser & Wirth until 26th May 2012, www.hauserwirth.com.
chloenelkin 