Marco Minozzi : East River
More than half the world's population live in cities, with the main attraction of these places being work. City life has reframed what we consider home. In extreme it could be an Internet café where you have access to meals, showers and clothes in addition to your network, for an hourly fee.
With huge numbers of people migrating to the city, carving out personal space can be a challenge. Loneliness is also a huge consideration. As we live longer, across the generations, people are experiencing isolation. The paradox of cities is that, although crowded and busy, it can be difficult to meet and connect with people when everyone stays in their bubble.
Angela Edwards : Our Time
Home can become a transient place, where we live for days weeks, months and not years, only temporary participants in communal living, struggling to reach and connect with the city and its networks. In the face of these challenges, some people are re-imagining their way of living. The Collective, in north-west London, is modelled on the idea of a communal boarding house. It sets out to encourage collaboration and relationships by providing shared facilities within the complex, including kitchens, cinema, laundry, spa and workspaces. By providing these areas, it fosters connectivity between people, which is so often lost with independent living.
How we live and where we live are important topics and naturally, this is reflected in the works of artists.
This exhibition explores how two artists depict urban living. Angela Edwards' paintings deal with people moving through spaces. The main themes in her work are about travel and migration, with the ultimate eventual destination being home. Angela is capturing the transition from the public space to the private, the moment where people are travelling to their place of belonging where they can feel safe in their own space.
Marco Minozzi : Fog
Whereas Italian artist, Marco Minozzi, strives to create a representation of an almost futuristic urban landscape, his palette of monochromatic and earthy tones has an industrial feel and approach. Combining traditional painting techniques, photographic imagery as a starting point, together with some historical contexts, he produces paintings that have unexpected beauty, despite the subject being portrayed.
The work of both artists has a cinematic quality and draw on photography to inspire their works. I invite you to experience the works of Angela Edwards and Marco Minozzi to be seen at the gallery from 21st September until 7th October.
Angela Edwards : Who was it?