Cedric Christie – Oblivious To Your Own Career at Rocket, East London, April 2024  – off to Rocket, this particular Rocket is an East London gallery that hosts the intriguing world of its founder Jonathan Stephenson, something that has been nurtured since the last century. Rocket is also a publishing house and a working studio, a ‘laboratory’ if you will, a space where they explore that crossover somewhere between the worlds of art, photography, design and, more recently, fashion. There’s a particular look, a style, a collective identity that appears to unite the exhibitions that happen in the very clean cut very white basement space, the whole place oozes design. 

Cedric Christie is a regular in terms of East London’s art scene, his playful Picasso logos and such, familiar things, this opening tonight is a “survey exhibition”, a collection of work from 25 years from the London-based sculptor/artist who mostly uses found industrial materials to “create sculptures that explore the boundaries of modernism & minimalism”. Christie is a perfect fit for this basement space gallery, his work works in most spaces, it really works in here, these pieces deserve this reverential treatment, this breathable wall space, it is so easy to take those on your own doorstep from granted, East London has never been that great in terms of celebrating East London’s artists. 

“Cedric Christie is a London-based artist who trained originally as a welder. His current studio, housed within a commercial metal fabrication factory, is located in the East London suburb of Dagenham – historically the home of the Ford Motor Factory. Christie uses found industrial materials such as phenolic resin snooker balls, scaffolding pipes, coupler clamps, stainless steel channel, steel U-channel and cellulose automotive paint to make sculptures that mirror daily life while simultaneously exploring the boundaries of modernism and minimalism”.

It is a pleasure to see these bigger pieces of sculpture on the walls and floor, the texture, the colour, the material, the angles, the shapes, the shine, the subtle restraint of it all, the beauty, these are beautiful pieces, they have a poetic flow. Busy opening night as well, lot of familiar faces, feels like quite an event. (sw)

Rocket presented two solo exhibitions by Christie in 2001 and 2003. Now two decades on Jonathan Stephenson and his son Sid have curated the first survey exhibition of Christie‘s sculpture. The show is open now and runs until 21st September 2024. The space opens on Saturdays, 2pm until 6pm. Rocket is found at 4-6 Sheep Lane, Hackney, London E8 4QS – just behind Broadway Market and by the canal, next door to the former home of New Art Projects.

And as we always say, click on an image to see the whole thing or to run the slide show…