Material Syntax at Kearsey & Gold, Cork Street, London, December 2024 – A second rather strong show at Cork Street’s Kearsey & Gold, a beautifully curated (by Roxane Hemard) instantly likeable rather golden group show over the two floors of space that follows the recent rather rewarding Dillwyn Smith exhibition.

Material Syntax focuses, so we are told, on “materiality as a fundamental aspect of artistic expression. Artists have continuously expanded the boundaries of painting, a medium traditionally constrained by the limitations of canvas and paint. Here, an eclectic array of materials are portrayed as a powerful catalyst in creative practices, shown in works spanning across decades, from the innovations of twentieth-century works by Pierre Cardin and Verner Panton, to the contemporary contributions of artists including Dillwyn Smith and Kevin Rouillard”.

The exhibition that is as much about colour as it is about materials, the exhibition itself that is, the pieces within the exhibition are very much about material amongst other things, the hang  and the look of the exhibition as one whole thing really is beautifully coloured though, the conversations between pieces subtle, considered, almost restrained – a rewarding visual and tactile experience. Pieces of art, paintings, mostly wall based paintings alive with no so conventional materials such as felt, velvet, polyester, wool tapestry, burlap and metal, the unique physicality of these materials becomes essential to the viewer’s interpretation and understanding of the work. And that one distressed side room upstairs is used so well, it has been in both shows we’ve seen at the relatively new space, 

“Material Syntax beckons us to reconsider painting as not just a finished surface, but as a perpetually evolving dialogue between material, method and meaning. By weaving this rich, multi-faceted narrative, the result is a body of work which questions the boundaries of surface, form and production. In their pursuit of material explorations”

A show that brings together ten artists whose work, together as one whole or as individual pieces, reveals rather a lot about the practice of art, the conversation with art, the role of both material and materiality in terms of the notions of contemporary art, a show to like for many reasons, a show that is just a pleasure to look at, and a second rather recommended show in the new Cork Street space (you do know we only write about the the shows we think worth hecking out don’t you?), recommended. (sw)

is at Kearsey & Gold, 19 Cork Street, London, W1S 3LP, until 22nd December 2024. The gallery is open Tuesday through to Saturday,11am until 6pm (5pm on Saturdays) 

More about the show here

Previously – ORGAN THING: Three London art shows to catch while you can, Kehinde Wiley’s Fragments from the treasure house of darkness is currently at Cork Street’s Stephen Friedman Gallery, that rather intriguing Dillwyn Smith exhibition at Kearsey & Gold and Alejandro Ospina at Upsilon Gallery…