The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Show reviews
  • Music
    • Live music
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Literature
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureArt

Joanna Kirk at Blain Southern

Joanna Kirk at Blain Southern | Exhibition review
14 September 2015
Lyubomira Kirilova
Avatar
Lyubomira Kirilova
14 September 2015

Exhibition and art

Lyubomira Kirilova

Joanna Kirk at Blain Southern

★★★★★

Dates

9th September 2015 - 3rd October 2015

Links & directions

WebsiteMap

An exhibition of new large-scale works in pastel by London-based artist Joanna Kirk is the latest show that Soho’s Blain Southern has on offer. So, what’s so different about it? Large-scale works boasting vibrant colours is something that, arguably, dominates the London art scene – starting from small contemporary galleries to bigger and louder arts venues. There is one word, however, that you do not run into often these days: pastels. There is a reason for that, as Kirk is only one of very few contemporary artists who work in pastel. However, as she says: “Working with pastels feels timeless – it is instinctual, almost primal.” In order to create these lively works, Kirk gradually builds the surface of each piece, adding different layers on top of each other to achieve the richness of the final landscape.

The themes explored here range from motherhood and isolation to humans’ relationship with nature. Motherships is a gorgeous piece of bright pink skies and blue rocky grounds, depicting a girl’s awakening with bursts of energy and femininity. The subject is positioned between the two elements, on the border between the sky and the rock formations, yet somehow within them both, embracing the ongoing transformation that takes her away from childhood and into womanhood. Each of the 12 pieces on show has these dynamics – they represent unaltered emotion with the means of physical natural objects.

While different colours dance together in untameable, tangled mixtures, there is often a human figure or two, maybe invisible at first sight, but always there. There is the young boy, staring at the viewer with eyes full of wonder and isolation, in the stunningly blue The Battle of Nant y Coed. He is almost hidden in the endless branches yet also defines them. Then there is the striking Perfect World, which sees a boy and girl in the middle of a lush forest. Somehow, they look lost, away from the composition, but they also appear to be part of it at the same time.

This is what makes Kirk’s new works exciting: they go beyond the beauty of their splendid colours and into the darkness of the mind. It seems like the use of raw pigments truly is the only way to explore these themes. The layered pastels create magical tales, bursting with emotion and inviting the viewer to get lost within them.

★★★★★

Lyubomira Kirilova
Photos: Adrian Dusman

Joanna Kirk is at Blain Southern from 9th September until 3rd October 2015, for further information visit here.

Related ItemsartBlain SouthernfeaturedJoanna Kirkreview

More in Art

Milton Avery: American Colourist at the Royal Academy

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More

Africa Fashion at the V&A

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More

Edvard Munch: Masterpieces from Bergen

★★★★★
James White
Read More

Summer Exhibition 2022 at the Royal Academy of Arts

★★★★★
Mersa Auda
Read More

Penny Goring: Penny World at ICA

★★★★★
Mersa Auda
Read More

Metamorphosis and flow: Orlanda Broom debuts powerful abstract show Shapeshifters at Grove Square Galleries

The editorial unit
Read More

Feminine Power: The Divine to the Demonic at the British Museum

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More

Cornelia Parker at Tate Britain

★★★★★
James White
Read More

Our Time on Earth at the Barbican

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Exhibition and art

Lyubomira Kirilova

Joanna Kirk at Blain Southern

★★★★★

Dates

9th September 2015 - 3rd October 2015

Links & directions

WebsiteMap

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Ed Fringe 2022: Hungry
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Kasabian – The Alchemist’s Euphoria
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Tips for creating a peaceful home
    Feature of the week
  • Royal Ballet School students return to the stage for post-Covid performances
    Theatre
  • Kasabian – The Alchemist’s Euphoria
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Rita at Charing Cross Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Ed Fringe 2022: Hungry
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • “Even people who’ve been through adversity might say ‘Well, I wouldn’t change anything because I wouldn’t be who I am'”: Eva Noblezada and Flula Borg on Luck
    Cinema & Tv
  • “Film offers a way of looking at the past, the present and the future simultaneously. That’s its wonder”: Sarah Beddington on Fadia’s Tree
    Cinema & Tv
  • Kasabian – The Alchemist’s Euphoria
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Rita at Charing Cross Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • “Even people who’ve been through adversity might say ‘Well, I wouldn’t change anything because I wouldn’t be who I am'”: Eva Noblezada and Flula Borg on Luck
    Cinema & Tv
  • Nope
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Five Days at Memorial
    ★★★★★
    apple
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

William Kentridge: More Sweetly Play the Dance at the Marian Goodman Gallery | Exhibition review
Misery Loves Comedy | Movie review