The musical term, Fermata, historically refers to a sustained pause within a creative performance, the lingering on a particular note or phrase. Fermata is a device often used to open up new spaces for reflection, a pause between one gesture concluding and another beginning. Each piece selected for this exhibition can be seen as a punctuation point within an ongoing sequence of production. The word Fermata has its roots in the latin firmare 'to make firm'. It is the decision to stop working in the midst of an evolving idea and suspend a moment of making that enables such dynamic objects to take form and resonate.
In Charles Hadcock's new 'Idiom' series, repeated geometric compositions dance and interlock in a continuously evolving puzzle cast in mid performance. In Neha Vedpathak’s meditative ‘plucked’ Japanese paper works, suggestions of remembered places and moments appear within the material’s intricate webs. As paint binds the paper, the works shift between their ephemeral suggestions and the sculptural fixity that this unique process creates. There is an urgency in the incised lines of Alexi Tsioris's mythological figures. The painting shown is part of the artist's widely acclaimed Sgraffito series in which Tsioris scratches and carves linear constructions and allegorical symbols into the painted surface of the canvas.
Working collaboratively with ink on paper, Whitney McVeigh is guided by medium's fluidity to enable illusive and psychic forms to intuitively emerge. The images exist in a contingent space between the settled and the unsettled, the imagined and remembered. In his ongoing series of wooden wall sculptures, Adam Ball extends his subversion of painterly gesture through his exploration of elemental forces. Water carves the flowing forms of the sculptural reliefs whilst fire chars and burns their wooden edges. In Gerry Judah's painting 'Ark,' a scarred sculptural form rises from the canvas's white ground. Built up and then torn away, this recurring motif appears to be dug out of an archaeological site, the remnants of a past landscape emerging from an emptied flood plain.
Alexis Teplin's ‘untitled’ is a powerful note echoing within a wider performance of making. The artist interrogates the expanded field of painting through an exploration of the medium's wider context of labour, the politics of domesticity and historical quotation. Nicolas Feldmeyer's series of minimal watercolours first appear as a material exploration of light, line and reflection. However, on closer inspection, the artist opens up a window onto an imagined landscape, an atmospheric moment in which mist begins to clear
from the land.
The exhibition private preview will take place on Tuesday, 7 December. If you are interested in attending please be in touch directly with athorold@encountercontemporary.com.
Artist Biographies
Adam Ball (1977) lives and works in London and has exhibited in important institutions and galleries internationally. Since the public installation of a 10 metre high painting in London’s Golden Square in 2002, important solo exhibitions include: ‘Remnants and Realisation’, Encounter, London (2018) ‘Absolute Zero’, Pharos Arts Foundation, Cyprus (2016), ‘Elemental’, Bait Al Zubair Museum, Oman (2015), ‘The Space Between’, Goss-Michael Foundation, Dallas (2014), ‘Resolution’, Centre of Contemporary Art Bahrain (2013), ‘Echo’, Galerie Laurent Mueller, Paris (2010), ‘In the Beginning’, Shirazu Gallery, London (2012), ‘Taman Negara’, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York (2009). Selected group exhibitions include ‘The Summer Exhibition,’ The Royal Academy, London (2021), ‘RWA168’, Royal West of England Academy, Bristol (2021), ‘Shapes in Clouds’, Encounter, London (2020), ‘Re:Define’, Dallas Contemporary Art Museum, Dallas (2017), ‘Clarks: Rebooted’, Shanghai, Milan, NYC (2015), ‘Salle D’Attende’, Galerie Laurent Mueller, Paris (2015), ‘This is London’, Shizaru Gallery, London (2012), ‘Re:Define’, Goss-Michael Foundation, Dallas (2011), ‘Spectra’, London Newcastle Project Space, London (2010), ‘Taman Negara’, Gagosian Gallery, New York (2009), ‘Jerwood Drawing Prize’, Jerwood Space, London (2008), ‘Encounters’, Brighton Museum (2003), ‘Becks Futures’, Institute of Contemporary Art, London (2000).
Recently five of Ball’s works were sold in the George Michael Collection at Christie’s achieving record results. In 2019 Ball permanently installed ‘Until the day you feel good’, a 3mx16m light box on the outside of new Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridge in collaboration with architects HOK International and FutureCity. Important public and private collections include Goss Michael Foundation, Bait Al Zubair Museum, Kasmin Collection, Hinduja Collection, Khalili Foundation, Pharos Arts Foundation, British Land.
Nicolas Feldmeyer (1980) was born in Switzerland and lives and works in London. After completing an MSc in Architecture in Zurich he went on to study Fine Arts at the San Francisco Art Institute on a Fulbright Grant. Feldmeyer received an MFA with distinction from the Slade in 2012. His work has been awarded the Saatchi and Channel 4’s New Sensations First Prize 2012 and the William Coldstream Prize amongst others.
Feldmeyer has regularly exhibited at important galleries and institutions internationally. Recent solo exhibitions include; ‘Fading Light’, Encounter, Online (2020), ‘Beacon’, Hammersmith and Fulham Townhall, London (2018), ‘Towards the Horizon’, Fano Island, Denmark (2016), ‘Lacunae’, Lacuna Project Space, London (2015), ‘Subliminal Spaces’, Maddox Arts, London (2015), ‘Nicolas Feldmeyer’, MC2 Gallery, Milan (2014), ‘Untitled (Crypt)’, Christchurch Spitalfields London (2011). Selected group exhibitions include; ‘Photo London’, Encounter, Online (2020), ‘Shapes in Clouds’, Encounter, London (2020), ‘Everything Must Go’, Assembly Point, London (2019), ‘Photographs’, Sotheby’s, London (2019), ‘Border Lines’, Maddox Arts, London (2019), ‘5 Trillion Times’, China Academy of Art, Hangzhou (2018), ‘Aesthetica Art Prize’, York Art Museum, York (2018), ‘Art of the Postcard’, Handel Street Projects, London (2017), ‘No Lemon, No Melon’ Flowers Gallery, New York (2017), Artist Rooms, Encounter, London (2017), ‘Right Through You’, Koppel Project, London (2017), ‘Perfectionism’, Griffin Gallery, London (2015), ‘Lumen Prize’, New York Institute of Technology, New York (2014), ‘Hacking Spaces’, Bosse and Baum, London (2014), ‘Fresh Faced and Wild Eyed’, The Photographers Gallery, London (2013), ‘Saatchi Gallery and Channel 4 New Sensations’, Victoria House, London (2012). Feldmeyer is a guest lecturer at the AA School of Architecture, The CASS, Metropolitan University, and is Associate Lecturer at Camberwell College, University of the Arts London. His work is included in numerous public and private collections worldwide including The British Museum, UCL Art Museum and British Land.
Charles Hadcock (1965) studied fine art at the Royal College of Art, London (1987-89), specialising in sculpture. Over 30 of Hadcock’s monumental sculptures are on permanent public view throughout the UK and Europe most notably at Brighton Beach, Jubilee Park (Canary Wharf), and Holland Park. Hadcock’s sculptures reflect his interest in geology, engineering and mathematics and are enriched by references to music and poetry. Recent exhibitions include ‘Shapes in Clouds’, Encounter, London (2020), ‘New Sculptures’, Stow Art House, UK (2020), ‘Fusion’, Encounter, London (2016), ‘Elements’, Encounter, London (2014), ‘Charles Hadcock’, Jubilee Park, London (2011). His work has been featured in important institutional exhibitions including, ‘If in Doubt Ask’ Imperial College, London (1999), ’Shape of the Century’, Canary Wharf and Salisbury Cathedral (1999), ‘Bronze: Contemporary British Sculpture’, Holland Park (2000), ‘There is one in all of us’, Attenborough Centre of Visual Arts, University of Sussex (2000), ‘Thinking Big: Concepts for Twenty-First Century British Sculpture’, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice (2002),‘Sesqui’, Lancaster University, Lancaster (2006), ‘Sculpture Promenade’, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (2009), ‘Abstract & Nature’, Hatfield House (2010). Hadcock repeatedly has been invited to exhibit at Sotheby’s ‘Beyond Limits’ at Chatsworth House (2011, 2016). Both exhibitions resulted in acquisitions by important European and American sculpture parks.
Hadcock’s work is held in the collections of Artemis Investment, Cass Sculpture Foundation, Château Smith Haut Lafitte, Canary Wharf Group PLC, Lancaster University, Clyde and Co., Scottish Widows, Delancey, British Land, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Platinum Equity, and St James Homes Ltd. His work is included in prominent private collections throughout the world.
Gerry Judah (1951) was born in Calcutta and lives and works in London. Judah studied Foundation Art and Design at Barnet College of Art, before completing a BA Fine Art at Goldsmiths College, University of London and Postgraduate Sculpture at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London. He then set up his studio in Shaftesbury Avenue, in London’s West End and collaborated with the Royal Opera House, English National Opera, Royal Festival Ballet, London Contemporary Dance, Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet, Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. Taken with the public nature of this work Judah decided to find settings for his own art in more public arenas than just the rarefied spaces of conventional galleries. He created settings for the BBC, British Museum, Museum of Mankind, Natural History Museum, Imperial War Museum, Museum of Tolerance and musicians including Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, Robert Plant & Jimmy Page and The Who. Judah was commissioned by the Imperial War Museum in London to create a large model of the selection ramp in Auschwitz-Birkenau for the Holocaust Exhibition opened by Queen Elizabeth II. In 2011, Judah went on to install ‘The Crusader’ at Imperial War Museum, Manchester and in 2014 he exhibited two monumental ‘Great War’ sculptures at St Paul’s Cathedral. He has also created important largescale works for the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed, bridges in London and Cambridge and monumental sculptures for institutions in Texas, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates.
Important solo exhibitions include ‘Bengal : The Four Elements’, Grizedale Forest Gallery, UK (2020), ‘Bengal’, The High Commission of India, London, (2019), ‘Fragile Lands’, Encounter, London (2015-16), ‘Great War Sculptures’, St Paul’s Cathedral, London (2014), ‘The Crusader’, Imperial War Museum, Manchester (2010), ‘Country’, Fitzroy Gallery, New York (2010), ‘Babylon’, Flowers East Gallery, London (2009), ‘Country’, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Wolverhampton (2009), ‘Motherlands’, Louis T Blouin Foundation, London (2007), ‘Angels’, British High Commission, Delhi (2007), ‘Angels’, Royal Institute of British Architects, London (2006), ‘Frontiers’, Timber Yard, London (2005). Selected group exhibitions include ‘Shapes in Clouds’, Encounter, London (2020), ‘Inspired by Nature’, Grizedale Forest Gallery, Grizedale (2018), ‘Dead : A Celebration of Mortality’, Saatchi Gallery, London (2015), ‘Tipping Point’, Wolverhampton Art Gallery’, Wolverhampton (2013), ‘Art and Architecture’ Belgravia Gallery, London (2008), ‘Mediteraneo’, Italian Cultural Institute, London (2007), ‘Works from the David Roberts Foundation’, David Roberts Foundation, London (2007).
Judah’s work is held in important public and private collections internationally including; Saatchi Collection, Gibbs Farm Sculpture Park, Imperial War Museum, Museum of Old and New Art, Arts Council Collection, Zabludowicz Collection, Mittal Collection, David Roberts Foundation, Cass Sculpture Foundation, Arts Council Collection, Centre for Arts Tel Aviv, House of Wisdom.
Whitney McVeigh (born 1968) is an American visual artist, best known for her paintings and installation art. She has travelled extensively to carry out her practice and held residencies in Mexico, India, China and South Africa. Her work investigates personal and collective memory and alludes to the layering of time.
Upcoming exhibitions include; Photo London, Somerset House, London (2021) with Encounter. Recent solo exhibitions include; ‘Temporality, Cardi Projects, Cardi Gallery (2020), What is Worthwhile Doing in this World, Mount Stuart Visual Arts, Scotland (2019), Elegy to Nature, Eykyn Maclean, New York (2018), Language of Memory, Summerhall Arts, Edinburgh (2016), Inventory: Invisible Companion, Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge (2015) and presentation of the film ‘Birth’: Origins at the end of life at the Royal Academy, London (2015). Recent group exhibitions include Artist Rooms, Encounter, London (2020), ‘Shapes in Clouds’ Encounter, London (2019), Plato in LA: Contemporary Artists’ Visions, Getty Villa, Los Angeles (2018), Not a Single Story, The Wanas Foundation, Sweden and Nirox Foundation, South Africa (2018), Culture Lines: Sans Frontieres, Metamatic-Taf Foundation, Athens (2016), Unlocking the Diary, The Archiving of Nameless Memories, Folkestone Triennial, Kent (2014) and Glass Stress, White Light/White
Heat, 55th Venice Biennale, Venice (2013).
Whitney McVeigh was featured in the BBC4 television documentary, Where is Modern Art Now (2009) alongside Sir Anthony Caro, Michael Landy, Grayson Perry and Cornelia Parker. Simon Schama’s recent essay on McVeigh’s practice ‘The Happenstance of Illumination’(2018) was included in his book Wordy (Simon & Schuster), published in June 2019. Her work was recently included in ‘Imagined Spaces’ edited by Kirsty Gunn & Gail Low with Voyage Out Press & Saraband Books, an anthology that creates a “space” between understanding and the imagination.
Alexis Teplin lives and works in London. Teplin’s work begins within the history of two-dimensional painting and expands to include performance, video and sculpture. Her work explores the nature of painting through its relationship to historical quotation, labour, cultural politics and positions of decadence. She received her M.F.A. from Art Centre College of Design, Los Angeles in 2001 and was the Starr Fellow at the Royal Academy Schools in 2002.
Recent solo exhibitions include; ‘It’s My Pleasure to Participate,’ Bluecoat, Liverpool (2019), Painted Costumes, New Art Centre, Roche Court, East Winterslow (2019), ‘Keats Favorite,’ Aqubar, London (2018), ‘Drag, Push HOOT,’ Mary Mary, Glasgow (2016), HE and HO for O,’ Rise Projects, Silvie Fleming Collection, London (2016), ‘La Grotto Rosa,’ Cardrde, Bologna (2014), ‘San Marino Calling,’ Museo D’Arte Modena e Contemporanea, San Marino (2014), ‘He, Ho, HA, hmmm.,’ Mary Mary, Glasgow (2013) and ‘sss T !!,’ Hayward Project Space, London (2013). Recent Group Exhibitions include; ‘Nasturtiums and Hollyhocks’ mural, Summer Exhibition, The Royal Academy, London (2021), Drawing Biennale, Drawing Room London (2021); Artist Rooms, Encounter Contemporary, London (2020), ‘Bauhaus 100,’ Camberwell School of the Arts (2019), ‘The Most Real Thing, contemporary textiles and sculpture,’ New Art Centre, Roche Court, East Winterslow (2018), ‘Arch (The Politics of Fragmentation),’ Whitechapel Open, Whitechapel Gallery, London (2018), ‘Bedswerver,’ Flat Two, London (2018), ‘Stretch Release,’ Durst Brit and Mayhew, The Hague (2017), ‘Arch (The Politics of Fragmentation),’ Sydney Biennale, Sydney (2016), ‘20th Anniversary Exhibition,’ Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich (2016). Teplin’s work has been featured in notable publications such as Frieze Magazine, Artforum and The New York Times. Teplin currently teaches painting at RCA London and Fine Art at Kingston University. Her work can be found in important institutional and private collections internationally.
Alexi Tsioris, (1982) Athens, lives and works in Munich. In his artistic work, Alexi Tsioris concentrates on the mediums of drawing, painting, monotype, and sculpture. Through these, the artist pursues one idea in particular: he layers bodies and figures, thus reproducing what is individual in the corporeal and symbolically turning the human being inside out. In his painting, engravings in layers of oil paint expose colors and forms, supplemented with an abundance of ornamentation. After the artist had already been awarded the Art Prize of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts in Munich in 2011, he also received the Bavarian Art Promotion Prize for Fine Arts last year. Recent solo exhibitions include; ‘Alexi Tsioris,’ Livie Fine Art, Zurich (2020), ‘Cosmic Fruits,’ Jahn und Jahn, Munich (2020), ‘Fluss ohne Ufer,’Kunstpavillon Alter Botanischer Garten, Munich (2018), ‘Belladonna,’ Artothek & Bildersaal, Munich (2017), ‘Flaum & Splitter,’ GalerieJahn Baaderstrasse, Munich (2015) and ‘Attic Studio,’ Galerie Christine Mayer, Munich (2015). In Autumn 2020 Tsioris participated in ‘Artist Rooms’ at Encounter Contemporary marking his first project in London.
Neha Vedpathak (1982) lives and maintains a studio in Detroit, Michigan. In her widely acclaimed works on Japanese paper Vedpathak employs a ‘plucking’ technique, a rigorous self-invented process to create works that aim to broaden the dialog and understanding of issues related to identity, spirituality, social and gender politics. Vedpathak has been an artist-in-residence at Anderson Ranch Art Center, Fountainhead Residency, Skopelos Foundation for the Arts, Greece, Bharat Bhavan Graphic Studio, India & CAMAC, France. Recent solo exhibitions include; ‘Neha Vedpathak’, Flint Art Museum, Michigan (2021 forthcoming), ‘Surface Rhythms’, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York (2020), ‘Into the Woods’, Simone De Sousa Gallery, Detroit (2020), ‘Many Moons, Same Sky’, Simone De Sousa Gallery, Detroit (2019), ‘Of the Land’, N'Namdi Center for Contemporary, Detroit (2018), ‘Bhabha’, The Poetry Foundation, Chicago (2016), ‘The Space Between’, N’Namdi Contemporary, Miami (2013), ‘Neha Vedpathak’, One Prudential Plaza, Chicago (2012). Recent group exhibitions include; Indian Heritage Museum, Lombard (2021 forthcoming), ‘Alterations, Activation, Abstraction’, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York (2019), ‘Edition 18’, Simone De Sousa Gallery, Detroit (2018), ‘Art on Paper’, Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro (2017), ‘Transformation’ (performance), Arizona State UniversityMuseum, Arizona (2016). Vedpathak’s work can be found in important public and private collections internationally including Detroit Institute of Art, Camac Art Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Bharat Bhavan Arts Center, Madhya Pradesh State Art Museum, Anderson Ranch Arts Centre.
Image:
1. Alexi Tsioris, Untitled, (2019).
