Galeria Leme is pleased to present the solo show by English artist Paul Hosking.
Paul Hosking, England – This will be Hosking’s largest and most ambitious show to date , comprised of both laconic free standing sculptures and a series of unusual ” self – illuminating ” engravings. Steel forms strung with hundreds of plastic bones, curious engravings of the sacred and obscene, what appears at first structurally and conceptually robust desintegrates into an absurd world of novelty.
Since being shortlisted for the Becks Futures Prize in 2002, which included an exhibition at the ICA in London, Hosking has exhibited widely internationally , with solo shows in London and Los Angeles and many group shows. Projects in 2005 included a major sculptural commision in the Economist Plaza in London , as well as group shows in Brussels and Tokyo. Hosking’s work has been featured in such prominent publications as Art Review, Modern Painters and The Independent.
” Galeria Leme, designed by Paulo Mendes da Rocha, is not a neutral white cube, but a powerful statement in concrete, space and light. It is tough and uncompromising, not an easy space for an artist.
Paul Hosking’s new work creates a sympathetic resonance in this beautiful and difficult space. It shares and echoes certain aesthetic qualities of the space itself, while reflecting also the concerns and anxieties of his own generation of artists. The work is pure and elegant with references to Modernism and Minimalism, but it is neither utopian nor realistic. The work is humorous ( joke bones ) , raw ( cheap plastic ) , self-deprecating ( about structure while hiding its own ), and unnerving ( bones ). It is simultaneously grand and pathetic, absurd and moving.
In my experience truly new works involves the artist taking something beneath serious consideration and discovering in it unexpected potential. For me this work by Paul Hosking has that quality.”
Michael Craig-Martin
June 2005