The newly opened group show at Maximillian Wöfgang Gallery in Shoreditch walks the proverbial line between abstraction and photo realism, including artists Imogen Marsteller, Guta Galli, Kacy Jung, Cristina Starr, and Alba Urquia.
We attended the opening on 18 November and asked the audience, “what’s your hot take?”
HOT TAKE 1: They work well, the [Jung] faces. She has a good measure of the destructive and the abstract. It is neither too much, nor too little.
HOT TAKE 2: The overall space is really good, and some of the work is very strong. I feel like it’s a mix. For instance with the [Alba Urquia] print; it’s very difficult to achieve that texture with the toner. The whole thing feels effortless. It has an amazing feel to it.
HOT TAKE 3: The feeling it gives me is…something creepy, but in a good way. There’s a word — eerie.
HOT TAKE 4: The way the photographs are cut, that’s quite special. There’s something free about it, it’s not like these basic shapes, and the organic edges. Like what is that piece of belly button over there, right? So random, but at the same time it’s playful and cosmic. I like that!
HOT TAKE 5: I don’t think everything works together. A lot of it does, but not everything.
HOT TAKE 6: I think the connection comes from the people that are here, there are a lot of women. That’s the connection, but in terms of topic or the approach, I feel like there’s a bit of a mix. But you know, a lot of galleries do that — instead of going with a profound direction, like putting all your eggs in one basket, you just sort of spread it out.
HOT TAKE 7: Colourful, I would say. It feels very colourful and facial. I feel like there’s a lot of faces. It feels like the different parts of it are sort of analysing the structure of a face. It’s like looking into someone’s life. Your face tells a lot about how you live. I don’t know if a face is identity, it is definitely related.
HOT TAKE 8: It’s kind of demonic. It pulls you in, right? I found that very interesting. It’s also kind of playful. It makes me feel curious. I think in general there’s so many different ways you could look at it, like the mere appearance versus what is the whole background of the piece, what is the process of making it.
There’s a lot of, kind of, snobbism around art as well. It’s kind of difficult to dissect that sometimes; like to decipher what is speaking to you and what is something that you just feel you should appreciate because it feels like “high art” or whatever.
HOT TAKE 9: It looks like rain to me, or like bleeding. Not like blood, but like bleeding as a verb. Only parts though, because there are these very consistent parts as well. I have extra background with this piece though, because I know the artist. So having that extra background always changes your perception — you just can’t help that.
Like, you can no longer decide for yourself how is that piece intended, because you already know. Is it meant to be seen completely independently, or with the background of the artist? That’s kind of my reoccurring question when I see a work of art.
HOT TAKE 10: I do feel biased in some way as well, from being familiar with the work. It’s interesting when people talk about being biased. The thing about bias is, you don’t have to be the gallery manager or the curator or the assistant or the artist to be biased. We are all biased. We are already biased. To a certain degree, right.
If you just look at it at face value though, versus understanding the process, then I suppose it is more subjective, but of course all of your experiences bring their own bias. I think you just alert to different things depending on your training and preference.
Figuratively Speaking is on view through 6 January, 2024 at Maximillian Wölfgang Gallery
17 Cleeve Workshops
Boundary Street, London, E2 7JD
more info here
