Kate Davis: CONDITION

FRED is delighted to present 'Condition' Kate Davis' first solo exhibition at the gallery. The Condition series which comprises ten ink drawings of a lone figure and a new 'pin hole' drawing, an impressive six-foot rendering of Bernini's sculpture of the Ecstasy of St Teresa, entirely hand made by puncturing the paper's surface make up the exhibition.

The genesis of the Condition series is Condition Blue winner of the 2001 Jerwood Drawing Prize. Each of the completed series of ten drawings depicts a lone figure. The precedent for this subject is the earlier video work Cunning Red Shift (1999). In this video work we see the same figure of the artist in a red coat walking away from the camera through snow. Gradually the figure of the artist disappears and we are left with the white expanse of the snow.

Each of the figures in the Condition series is rendered in a different colour. Thus the drawings relate to the changing moods and sentiments we associate with these colours, however, the differing range of emotions these figures seem to represent remains ambiguous. The viewer is left to wonder if the figure ultimately represents an empowered solitude or an isolated vulnerability.

Davis, through her drawing technique, has further highlighted the ambiguity of this series. On first viewing of these drawings we can see the figure centered on the white paper as free and expressionistic, almost like the Rorschach inkblots used by psychologists. However on closer inspection we notice the tiny repetitive controlled marks that have been made to produce these figures.

The impressive visual impact in Davis' version of the Ecstasy of St Teresa can produce a similar tension for the viewer with the realisation that the work is comprised of thousands of tiny pinholes. The work was made over a period of eight weeks, with Davis working on small sections at a time. Such a labour intensive process employed to produce such a subtly striking image, is common to many of Davis' earlier works. For example in Alone 2 (2001), Davis covered 140 baguettes in layered gesso. In St Teresa Davis has created an image that is physically present yet strangely absent as there are no visible human traces such as pencil or ink marks. In effect it is only the paper itself that creates the impression of an image. Davis has commented on how this technique can be related to the function of memory, we clearly visualise moments of our past yet as they can never be physically present they represent an absence, simply a trace.

The sculpture of St Teresa has long been of interest to the artist. During her fellowship at the British school at Rome, Davis would visit the Sculpture daily. Davis found the idea of a male artist producing such a dramatic depiction of a female in ecstasy compelling. It is important to consider that in Davis' first use of the pinhole technique she depicted Giacometti's sculpture A Woman With Her Throat Cut, and that we can see St Teresa as the counter part yet also as the opposite to this work, and again a key interpretation of depictions of women by male artists. We could consider the pin drawing of St Teresa as Davis reclaiming this iconic female, in a restrained technique that ultimately creates a unique and striking visual experience.

ALISON WILDING: VANISH AND DETAIL

During Kate Davis' solo exhibition "Condition", Fred [London] LTD in association with Karsten Schubert will present a new solo exhibiion by acclaimed British sculptor Alison Wilding entitled VANISH AND DETAIL. This will take place as a special project on the lower ground floor of 45 Vyner Street.

Wilding comments: The Regent's Canal flows past just beneath the windows of the lower space. VANISH AND DETAIL, a grey, bruising sculpture is installed here. I am interested in the confrontational object which discloses its dynamics slowly, here an antithesis to the linear narrative of the canal.

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Kate Davis: CONDITION