BEERS London presents the return of Canadian-British artist Andrew Salgado for his fourth solo exhibition at the gallery. Entitled Strange Weather, it is his first full-solo with the gallery since 2016*.
Salgado’s paintings have evolved greatly since the large-scale, painterly portraits he became known for almost a decade ago, and though they have become less autobiographical and increasingly stylized, it can be maintained that ultimately, his paintings are about the ‘human condition’. Unfurling over almost 20 pieces, the exuberant body of work continues his development of fantastical narratives, mythology-building, and contemplation of the individual. All of this is exhibited through skillful handling of colour, a knack for powerful (if admittedly ‘off-kilter’) compositions, a laboured surface texture, as well as a wry sense of humour.
Strange Weather leads the viewer through a trail like chapters in a magic-realist novel, allowing them a peek at Salgado’s strange world of allusions, appropriations, nods to art-history, various inspirations, and a host of subtle literary references. Salgado, an avid reader, creates a continuity between paintings, each with its relevant characters and settings, like an act in a greater Quixotic story.
A self-proclaimed ‘maximalist’, leans into his ‘Salgado-esque‘ tendencies with a healthy dose of kitsch: orb-like oranges roll from painting to painting; heavy, low-hanging moons adorn almost every piece; serpentine cat-tails weave through the compositions; curlicues of smoke obscure figures; and Benday-dot style stars float in the night sky. Never one to shy from excess, the artist manages these motifs with effortlessness and energy – resulting in works that while reverberating and chaotic, also at times seem calm, dreamlike, or serene.
Salgado states that occurrences in both his personal life and the world at large have allowed him to become more at ease when creating this body of work.
I have been polemic, subversive, political, and outspoken in the past but I tired of that; I wanted to be Romantic. Playful…But these works also evoke sensations of seduction, mystery, warmth. Given the uncertainty and confusion this year, I just allowed myself to float into something fantastical – a land of make-believe. There’s something reassuring but also disquieting about the works. Esoteric. Codified. Something ‘just a little bit off’. In that sense, they retain mystery for me as well.
| Duration | 17 October 2020 - 19 December 2020 |
| Times | Tues – Fri: 10am – 6pm Saturday: 11am – 5pm |
| Cost | free |
| Venue | Beers London |
| Address | 1 Baldwin Street, London, EC1V 9NU |
| Contact | 020 7502 9078 / info@beerscontemporary.com / www.beerscontemporary.com |