January 2009

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At the opening of Philip Gurrey's first UK solo show at Madder 139 last night, he told me that the impressive collection of 20 paintings had been put together in just six months, with this gallery space in mind. Asked if there were any surplus paintings to allow for curatorial selection, the prolific 24 year-old said that he had painted an additional six that weren't on show. Three were in storage with the gallery, but the others had already been sold in America at NEXT, Chicago's art fair in April, and at PULSE art fair in New York in March.

Born into a creative family (his father is a highly-skilled craftsman, his siblings
variously, artists and musicians), he had anticipated the life of a frugal artist. Acutely aware of his still struggling peers, he says he's particularly conscious of his good
fortune.

The Summer after graduating from Glasgow, Gurrey fully expected to be
working on a building site in York but instead made £11,000 from his final
show. As if confirming the demand for his work, one of his paintings was
stolen!

In March Gurrey won the PULSE Prize in New York, a cash prize for emerging
artists of distinction, selected by a panel of international curators, gallerists and dealers. Gurrey's success is representative of the continuing revival of figurative traditions that, over the last seven years, are once again acceptable in the
most prominent art-schools.

I overheard Gurrey talking to someone about one particular painting. He
was passionately explaining the paint itself; why he had used certain
techniques; the relationship to the historical sources and the underlying political messages that he is keen to convey. His paintings appear to follow the formal portraiture of the 16th – early 19th century established by artists from Goya to Reynolds. His simply structured compositions contain single figures, often head and shoulders facing forward, addressing their audience.

However, this familiar format isn’t quite what it seems. There appears to be an unwillingness to flatter his sitters who, sometimes subtly but occasionally dramatically, appear deformed and distorted. This unsettling impression is confirmed as you step closer to the canvases. These paintings are not in fact portraits of individuals but an amalgam.

Gurreys references sections of portraits of the great and the good, particularly from the Enlightenment. Reminding one of Mary Shelley’s gothic monster, there is something powerful and strangely fascinatingly about these Frankinsteinish creations. Gurrey draws parallels with more contemporary issues of surgery and self-image, but once again, aware of historic origins, he also references Hennell’s extraordinary frank and poignant photographs of reconstructive surgery to WWI soldiers.

Gurrey’s clearly articulated intentions and references are evident in his confident technique. He is excited about the possibilities of paint, the actual surface, how this allows him to take directions he hadn’t anticipated providing he can see how this will enrich the meaning of the final piece. Without a doubt, this new talent is someone to watch.

Philip Gurrey, Madder 139 Gallery, London, 15 May-21 June

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