Summer Show 2016 at Plus One Gallery

Plus One Gallery’s summer show is an exploration of three major themes within hyperrealism: still life, urban landscapes and portraiture. The intriguing collaboration of paintings and sculptures is the first collection to grace the gallery’s new premises at Battersea Reach. The new location complements the incredibly detailed works and offers a great opportunity to view some of the best examples of hyperrealism.

The exhibition celebrates the summer by introducing vibrant new still lives from the likes of Javier Banegas, Francesco Stile and Cynthia Poole. Banegas, renowned for his monumental paintings of everyday objects, continues his exploration of beauty in the mundane. Two of his most recent works are on show, both arrestingly colourful acrylic paintings of half-empty paint pots.

To the naked eye, the Spanish artist’s compositions seem entirely photographic. But Banegas has a subtle way of adding discreet human narrative, examining human interaction with these objects and how they are affected by touch. Whether it is the shaving from a pencil or, in this case, paint pots left without lids, the impression is given that someone somewhere is not quite finished.

The gallery will also transport the viewer around the world with a series of urban landscapes. David Wheeler takes us to Pisa in Field of Miracles, where the Leaning Tower basks in the glorious Italian sunshine. Andres Castellanos, on the other hand, offers a much bleaker scene – be it a rainy day in central Zurich in Bahnhof Strasse, or a wintery New York in Shopping Centre NY.

Simon Hennessey takes a completely different approach to painting urban landscapes, incorporating imagined worlds into the reflections of irises and glasses lenses. This gives the viewer a chance to see a scene through somebody else’s eyes, for instance in Life Through a Lens, we are able to see a reflection of daily life in New York City.

Several of Toby Boothman’s sensual oil on canvas paintings of lustrous females are also on display. His latest collection of works feature nude women draped in red and white material, each with a timelessness that harks back to the techniques of the Renaissance masters.

Other highlights of the exhibition include the illuminated installations of Peter Demetz, Steven Kozar’s watercolours of the countryside at dawn and dusk and Rogerio Timoteo’s bold sculptures that celebrate the beauty of the human body.

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Summer Show 2016 is at Plus One Gallery from 20^th July until 3^rd September 2016. Plus One Gallery is open 10am to 6pm, except Sunday and from 10am to 3pm on Saturdays.