David Batchelor
08 Oct 2008
© David Batchelor
Backlight III, 2008
steel and aluminium lightboxes, steel support, fluorescent lights, acrylic sheet, flex, plugboards
234 x 46 x 13 cm
Backlight III, 2008
steel and aluminium lightboxes, steel support, fluorescent lights, acrylic sheet, flex, plugboards
234 x 46 x 13 cm
DAVID BATCHELOR
"The Backlights"
October 8 - November 8, 2008
This group of works is the most recent in aseries of illuminated sculptures begun by Batchelor in 1999. The works,on which Batchelor has been working for the last two years, all appearto face away from the viewer. Placed a few centimetres from the gallerywall, most of these large free-standing structures are made from hischaracteristic materials of found steel supports, commerciallightboxes, coloured acrylic and quantities of electrical cable. Unlikeearlier works, these throw all their light and colour against the wall,while the viewer sees only the backs of the lightboxes and theirsupporting structure. Thus in each work a dark central shape issurrounded by a glowing halo of coloured light.
These workshave their origins in a series of under-lit ‘pimped-up’ dollies, TheSpectrum of Hackney Road, first shown at Wilkinson Gallery, London, in2003, and relate to Ten Silhouettes, a site-specific installationcommissioned by Platform for Art, shown at Gloucester Road UndergroundStation, London, in 2004.
The works represent the culmination ofa large body of work relating to Batchelor’s long-term interest inilluminated colour and how it is experienced in the modern city. TheBacklights in some respects are the darkest and most contradictoryseries. Each work is simultaneously dark and light, it both faces theviewer and faces away, as if in shame, like a work of art pretending itdoesn’t want to be looked at.
About the artist
DavidBatchelor was born in Dundee, Scotland, in 1955. He lives and works inLondon. His work has been featured in numerous exhibitions, includingthe solo shows “Unplugged Remix”, Wilkinson Gallery, London (2007);“Unplugged”, Talbot Rice Gallery, The University of Edinburgh, Scotland(2007) and “Shiny Dirty”, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, United Kingdom(2004); as well as the group shows “Folkestone Triennale”, UnitedKingdom (2008); “The Color Chart”, Museum of Modern Art, New York(2008); “The Final Show”, Wilkinson Gallery, London (2007); “DavidBatchelor e Joao Paulo Feliciano”, Galeria Leme, São Paulo (2005); 26a.Bienal Internacional de São Paulo, São Paulo (2004) and “Days LikeThese”, Tate Triennale, Tate Britain, London (2003). Batchelor alsolectures Critical Theory at the Royal College of Art, London, and haswriten three books: Colour, Whitechapel, London / MIT Press, Boston,2008; Chromophobia, Reaktion Books, London, 2000 and Minimalism, Tate,London, 1997.
"The Backlights"
October 8 - November 8, 2008
This group of works is the most recent in aseries of illuminated sculptures begun by Batchelor in 1999. The works,on which Batchelor has been working for the last two years, all appearto face away from the viewer. Placed a few centimetres from the gallerywall, most of these large free-standing structures are made from hischaracteristic materials of found steel supports, commerciallightboxes, coloured acrylic and quantities of electrical cable. Unlikeearlier works, these throw all their light and colour against the wall,while the viewer sees only the backs of the lightboxes and theirsupporting structure. Thus in each work a dark central shape issurrounded by a glowing halo of coloured light.
These workshave their origins in a series of under-lit ‘pimped-up’ dollies, TheSpectrum of Hackney Road, first shown at Wilkinson Gallery, London, in2003, and relate to Ten Silhouettes, a site-specific installationcommissioned by Platform for Art, shown at Gloucester Road UndergroundStation, London, in 2004.
The works represent the culmination ofa large body of work relating to Batchelor’s long-term interest inilluminated colour and how it is experienced in the modern city. TheBacklights in some respects are the darkest and most contradictoryseries. Each work is simultaneously dark and light, it both faces theviewer and faces away, as if in shame, like a work of art pretending itdoesn’t want to be looked at.
About the artist
DavidBatchelor was born in Dundee, Scotland, in 1955. He lives and works inLondon. His work has been featured in numerous exhibitions, includingthe solo shows “Unplugged Remix”, Wilkinson Gallery, London (2007);“Unplugged”, Talbot Rice Gallery, The University of Edinburgh, Scotland(2007) and “Shiny Dirty”, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, United Kingdom(2004); as well as the group shows “Folkestone Triennale”, UnitedKingdom (2008); “The Color Chart”, Museum of Modern Art, New York(2008); “The Final Show”, Wilkinson Gallery, London (2007); “DavidBatchelor e Joao Paulo Feliciano”, Galeria Leme, São Paulo (2005); 26a.Bienal Internacional de São Paulo, São Paulo (2004) and “Days LikeThese”, Tate Triennale, Tate Britain, London (2003). Batchelor alsolectures Critical Theory at the Royal College of Art, London, and haswriten three books: Colour, Whitechapel, London / MIT Press, Boston,2008; Chromophobia, Reaktion Books, London, 2000 and Minimalism, Tate,London, 1997.