Isis Gallery

Triple Major Nomad Store

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:07:31 +0000

Isis Gallery and Triple-Major of Beijing are very pleased and excited to present Nomad Store in London during London Fashion Week February 16th to 23rd, 2012. Triple-Major is a Beijing based multi-disciplinary project helmed by Ritchie Chan that beautifully encapsulates the exciting global worldview of young Chinese people today. Although essentially a fashion collective producing their own collections and presenting them internationally, Triple-Major is very concept driven and invites international artists to install work in their three story space in the old hutong district of this most exciting of 21st Century cities. Additionally they helm the Nomad Store, which appears in different cities across the world. Previous emergings have included Los Angeles (Jul 29th-Aug 14th 2011), Shanghai (Jan 11th-Jan 22nd 2010) and Hong Kong (Nov 24th-Nov 30th 2010). This is the first time that Nomad Store has come to London, in a perfect clash with London Fashion Week. Please read more about this exciting project here.

Triple-Major Nomad Store

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 20:46:38 +0000

Jamie Reid 'Out Of The Dross - Liberty' 8th Dec-14th Jan

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:38:10 +0000

Out Of The Dross, 2011
Unique screenprint on Somerset Radiant White Velvet 330 GSM paper
112 x 72cm

Please note: This exhibition will take place at Paul Stolper Gallery, 31 Museum St, London WC1A 1LH We are extremely pleased to announce the forthcoming collaboration with Paul Stolper Gallery, London - Jamie Reidʼs exhibition ʻOut Of The Dross - Libertyʼ. The show is made up of unique works on paper together with sequences of hand-screened works that are perfectly in time with the energetic cacophony of now. In an increasingly visual world the power of the graphic image to define a moment is clear. As political and social reform movements undermine and confront moribund systems of fiscal and cultural entrapment it seems the time is now for artists to step forward. Indeed there has been precious little response from the art community to the crises that surround us... You can read the full press release here.

Jamie Reid 'Out Of The Dross - Liberty' 8th Dec-14th Jan

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:11:37 +0000

Peace Is Tough by Jamie Reid at Bear Pit London 2011

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:40:38 +0000

Here follow a sequence of appropriately rough installation shots of Jamie Reid's Peace Is Tough installation at London's Bear Pit October 27th - November 20th 2011. Read the press release here.

Jamie Reid - Peace is Tough, London 27th Oct - 20th Nov

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 10:52:02 +0000

Jamie Reid - Peace is Tough, London 27th Oct - 20th Nov

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 10:05:59 +0000

Last Days (1972)
Print on gummed paper
10cm x 17.4cm

27th October – 20th November 2011, Bear Pit, Park St, London SE1 Private View 26th October 6pm-9pm Isis Gallery and Merge Festival are extremely pleased to announce the opening of Jamie Reid – ‘Peace Is Tough’. Hot on the heels of Reid’s wonderful Ragged Kingdom installation for Isis Gallery at Londonewcastle Depot in June, Peace Is Tough revolves around two polarities – one being principal elements of the Jamie Reid Archive which has recently been exhibited at the CCBB in Rio and MoCA in Los Angeles. The second being a presentation of the 365 paintings that comprise the core of Reid expansive and delightful Eightfold Year project. Read more here. You can also see a sequence of installation images here.

The Bear Pit 13th-16th Oct

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:56:11 +0000

Isis at Bear Pit, London 14-16 Oct and Cutlog, Paris 20-23 Oct

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:45:31 +0000

Isis will be at two events over the coming two weeks - please do try to join us for at least one of them! The first is a group show at a wonderful, raw venue called The Bear Pit just behind Tate Modern on the South Bank in London. This event will run concurrently with Frieze and is very close for those visiting the Gerhard Richter show. This event is organised in association with L-13 and Carter Presents. We will be showing work by Ruth Marten, Martin Erik Andersen, Alice O'Malley and Martin Griffiths. Further details here. The second is the third edition of the Cutlog art fair in Paris. A great variety of galleries from all over the world, including China, Japan, USA, Germany, Italy and France will be exhibiting at the Bourse in Paris during FIAC. Isis will be showing in association with L-13. Artists include Alice O'Malley, Fabrice Cazenave and Ruth Marten. Further details here.

Fabrice Cazenave - Drawing under hypnosis

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:26:46 +0000

French artist Fabrice Cazenave (1975) has now undertaken a fascinating project for which he has been searching for a willing accomplice. Parisian hypnotherapist Jean-Francois Hirsch recently agreed to take the artist into a hypnotic trance to open up a new area of exploration. Cazenave has extensively drawn 'blind' with his eyes closed, expressing particular experiences and their relation to the inner body through marks on paper, using his touch to both map the space and chose the hardness or softness of pencil to use. Here Cazenave goes even deeper, removing himself yet further from the controlling influence of both gaze and premeditation. You can find out more about the artist, watch footage from the sessions and see the extraordinary results here.

Ragged Kingdom - Jamie Reid July 1st to July 30th

Wed, 11 May 2011 14:25:15 +0000

Ragged Kingdom - Jamie Reid July 2nd - July 30th

Wed, 11 May 2011 13:57:01 +0000

Isis Gallery at Londonewcastle Depot, 1-3 Wenlock Road, London N1 7SL

July 2nd – July 30th 2011 Gallery open Noon-6pm Tuesday-Saturday Preview: Friday July 1st 6-9pm . Ye of the Plough, Ye of the Bower, Ye of the Mill and Ye of the Tower, Ye of the Way and Ye of the Tree, Ye of the Stars and Ye of the Sea, Rise Up to the Cry of the Commoners Storie, Our Ragged Kingdom - a Kingdom of Glory! Anon (Trad) Jamie Reid is world renowned for his work with the Sex Pistols, but there is so much more than this. Reid’s collaboration on the Suburban Press (1971-1975) was an early coalescing of his political convictions and artistic intuition, and his output after the implosion of the Pistols extended his artistic drive through many genres - music, publishing, performance. After a long creative residency at the Strongroom Studios in Shoreditch and three years as visual art director for Afro Celt Sound System, he has for the last ten years, immersed himself in a daily painting practice to explore and reveal the Aspects of the Eightfold Year (www.eightfoldyear.org).

Ragged Kingdom installation view by Declan O'Neil

Ragged Kingdom will manifest as a Peace Camp in our midst - a place to pow-wow. Eight custom-made tipis with magickal adornments will be drawn up into a protective circle with a ritual space at its axis. Tipis traditionally represent Shelter, Wonderment, Harmony, Peace, Beauty and Community. For Ragged Kingdom, each tipi will be a world in itself, internally representing eight aspects of Reid’s career to date – Suburban Press, The Cat Book, Sex Pistols, How To Become Invisible, Afrocelt/Visual Stress, Strongroom, a Festival of Sleeves and the Eightfold Year. The exterior of Isis Gallery at Londonewcastle Depot will feature a giant montage of selected posters, glyphs and symbols by Jamie Reid.

Ragged Kingdom/Pay No Poll Tax, 2011, 100 x 70 cm on 310 gsm Hahnemuhle Satin Photo Rag with acrylic screen print, Signed, numbered and titled by the artist

Additionally six special editions of unique overscreened prints by Jamie Reid have been co-published with L-13 and are available to view and purchase along with signed poster editions here.

First Light review by John de Wit

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 12:49:41 +0000

“FIRST LIGHT” A Sculptural Installation in the Cloisters of Lincoln Cathedral by Martin Griffiths Artists and musicians well know the risks of performing or exhibiting their own work next to a masterpiece. Amateur harmonica players for instance should think carefully before offering their services to the Berlin Philharmonic, and visual artists need to be very good indeed to compete with the likes of Christopher Wren or the medieval architects of Lincoln Cathedral. So the first question about Martin Griffiths’ new installation called “First Light” is – how well does this new work match up to its magnificent surroundings - namely the cloisters of Lincoln Cathedral?

First Light by Martin Griffiths at Lincoln Cathedral. Installation image by Richard Deveraux

As soon as I walked into the cloisters the colour of the seven doorway type structures which fill the delicate sandstone arches of the Wren building took my breath away. A deep resonant blue captures your attention and perfectly complements the warmer and cooler colours of the surrounding stone buildings. The experience of such concentrated and beautiful colour is very reminiscent of the kind of sensation that Anish Kapoor’s work inspires. Of course colour alone won’t turn a work into a masterpiece, but meticulous attention to the proportioning of each doorway within the setting of a colonnade of Wren arches, creates a conversation between the installation and its setting which is irresistible. Where Wren gave us a stately but simple procession of dark and light shapes and spaces, Griffiths has added a kind of counterpoint in a contemporary idiom which perfectly harmonises with the architectural setting. This is modern sculpture at its very best – truly original and contemporary, and at the same time in perfect harmony with some of the great works of the past. But the best is still to come! What makes this work truly original and special is the technique of “reflected lighting” which Griffiths has pioneered. By using highly reflective pigments and perspex layers the artist has created the illusion of light captured on the top of the lintel of each doorway so that the lintels shine and hover and reflect sunlight onto their surroundings. The effect is quite magical, and only adds to the counterpoint harmony that the artist is playing with the architecture. Add to all this a contrasting white single plinth with a panel of “reflected lighting” in the centre of the cloister garden, harmonising with all the verticals and horizontals of the architecture and the rest of the installation, and the work is complete.

First Light by Martin Griffiths at Lincoln Cathedral. Installation image by Richard Deveraux

The whole installation is technically beautifully crafted and highly original, and uses colour and above all light itself to create a deeply spiritual song that harmonises with the spirituality of its setting. As with all the best art, this work first catches your attention, and then works its magic of colour, form and rhythm on you, and even catches the light for you! What more do you need to give you an excitingly new starting point for the rhythms of prayer that cathedrals have inspired for centuries? John de Wit Archdeacon of North West Europe April 2011

Trajector Art Fair, Brussels April 30th/May 1st

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 10:52:00 +0000

Tabboo! NYC, (2008), Silver gelatin print, Alice O'Malley

Isis will participate in the Trajector Art Fair in Brussels over the weekend April 30th/May 1st during the forthcoming Brussels Art Fair. This satellite event takes place at the Hotel Bloom. "In part a celebration and playful game with the role of non-profit organisations, project spaces and independent curators within the art commerce systems, Trajector takes the original concept and reconfigures it as a hotel art fair in Brussels' top design hotel. Tongue-in-cheek, critique or hardcore commercial? That's largely up to the participants and audience to determine." Trajector 2011 Isis will present work by Alice O'Malley, Jamie Reid, Fabrice Cazenave, Martin Erik Andersen, Hans de Wit, Ruth Marten and Martin Griffiths in a freeform presentation entitled Confessions Of A Radical Traditionalist. We were also extremely interested to read the response of Archedeacon of North West Europe John de Wit (no relation but also art historian and former Ashmolean curator) to Martin Griffiths' First Light installation, which you can read here, accompanied by some installation images by Richard Deveraux.

Jamie Reid - Art In The Streets MoCA Los Angeles

Sat, 09 Apr 2011 22:29:38 +0000

God Save The Queen - Swastika Eyes (1977), Newsprint collage with ink on paper, 420mm x 297mm, Jamie Reid (Private collection Houston, TX)

We are very pleased to announce Jamie Reid's participation in the forthcoming Art In The Streets extravaganza at the newly Jeffrey Deitch'ed Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles 17th April - 8th August 2011. Over a dozen extremely important original works will be on show - including the Ransom Note and Swastika Eyes (above) God Save The Queen collages. Other artists include Charlie Ahearn, Futura, Gordon Matta-Clark and Jean-Michel Basquiat. There is an extensive interview with Jamie in a special issue of Juxtapoz Magazine. Further items from the Jamie Reid Archive will also be on view at the forthcoming exhibition Live! Art & Rock That Changed History at the Centro per l'Arte Contemporanea Pecci in Prato, Italy 22nd May - 7th August 2011.