Before Break The Glass last Thursday, there was a need to go West, more of the constant search for whatever is next, well no, not really, you don’t expect to find the next in and around Cork Street, you kind of expect conservative (small c) contemporary art, you may not expect to be challenged, you do expect depth, a certain quality, you expect a reward for making the effort, not that it is too much effort these days what with the speed of the Lizzy Line from East London. Pace is right by the Hanover Square exit of Bond Street thus it is once  the starting point for this latest West End art adventure and a reasonably quick (but not too quick, art can never be rushed) flight around a gallery or two before a rush back East for the opening night of Break The Glass at Yorkton Workshop just off the Hackney Road.

Pace have an exhibition called Negative Space, an exhibition of new paintings and works on paper by London-based artist Tim Stoner, it has been on since early March, it is in the final throws now, better late than never and we’re told “this exhibition marks a significant evolution in Stoner’s exploration of the archaeology of the image. Developed over several years, these works reveal the complex layering and deliberate deconstruction central to his practice”. Can’t say I’m not that familiar with the Artist’s work, can’t say it massively engaged or excited, there is something to it, to those rather big, rather colourful pieces, the gallery talks of “Stoner’s latest body of work deeply engages with the layering and removal of meaning, both within the paintings themselves and through the lens of art history. His approach draws on diverse historical precedents, from the meticulous restoration techniques of Old Masters to the expressive gestures of 1980s New York graffiti and the intricate beauty of Persian calligraphy. In Negative Space, Stoner’s paintings trace the passage of time and process, creating an intersection between the ancient and the contemporary, the additive and the subtractive”. If all of those things are in there, then it has been blended so finely that most of it is lost in some kind of tropically coloured stew of almost Pollockish movement that, if truth be told, kind of underwhelms. “Using unconventional methods, Stoner submerges canvases in swimming pools, pours dissolving chemicals over them, and utilises tools like scalpels, sanding discs, and palette knives to distress the surfaces. These acts of erasure destabilise the identity of the paintings, allowing them to oscillate between unfinished states and final compositions. The result is a dynamic visual language that speaks to the temporality and fragility of the image”.  We do tend to try to focus on the art and the exhibitions that we find positives in, it is a policy we are questioned about now and again, not sure anything in this rather big West End gallery is doing much for me.    

The notion of that negative space is an obviously intriguing one, it is of course something that has been played with many times by others, no great revolution here, those areas of marks erased and removed are obviously as important as the marks that remain, we’ve all done it. “By removing parts of the painting, you expose a part of yourself, a hidden layer of history, and the process becomes a conversation between the present and the past. The negative is not simply a void; it becomes an active part of the image, reshaping its meaning” offers the artist and well the idea and the theory and indeed the explanation is maybe a little more interesting than the actual result. 

No time for the glossy shiny floor sports car sales room of an art gallery over the road from Pace, a space that mostly disappoints, no time this evening, need to get to Cork Street. There’s a couple of reasons for wanting to be in the Street this evening, the first is the opening of Black Star at Kearsey and Gold and the second is the need to catch the latest Anne Rothenstein exhibition at Stephen Friedman Gallery, her last one in the Gallery’s old West End space was rather stylish, her muted colour, her lines. A solo exhibition of new paintings by British artist Anne Rothenstein, following her solo presentation in New York last spring. And as we said of her 2022 show, there’s a calming beauty to Anna Rothenstein’s work, there are subtle undercurrents though, subtle suggestions, quietly powerful pieces…. To be continued… 

Pace Gallery is at 5 Hanover Square London W1S 1HQ

Previously – ORGAN THING: Break The Glass with Jemima Burrill, Charles Emerson and Julia Maddison, three intriguing artists sharing more than just an art space…