A multivalent word, Iris lends itself to associations with sight and perception (the eye, iridescence), with the natural world, with the fluidity of language and with mythology.
In astronomy, the Iris nebula is a cloud of interstellar dust particles, reflecting the light of nearby stars; in mythology, Iris is messenger (eiris) for the Gods, riding down to Earth on a rainbow (iris); in botany, the Iris genus spans a spectrum of colours and blooms at this time; in anatomy, the iris is the coloured part of the eye that controls how much light enters in.
Each of the assembled artworks allows light to flow through their surfaces, processes and materials, affording glimpses beneath the picture plane into a multitude of significations. Spanning painting, printing, video, weaving, pleating and watercolour, there is a shared delight in process, whether by hand, by brush, digitally or mechanically. Perceptual tricks recur as images are pushed and stretched to their very edge, gesturing to a field of meaning and matter beyond our measure – at once cosmic and crystalline.
Caline Aoun, Anna Barham, Alice Channer, Melissa Gordon, Adia Wahid, Andrea Zittel.
Curated by Edward Ball.
Caline Aoun (b. 1983, Beirut, Lebanon, lives and works in Beirut). Aoun’s work involves reduced experimental correctives, inversions, and resting places in a historical moment of peaking digital noise. Selected recent solo and group exhibitions include: Villa Empain Boghossian Foundation, Brussels, B; Greynoise, Dubai, UAE; Palais Populaire, Berlin, DE; Sharjah Biennial 14, Sharjah, UAE; MAXXI, Rome, IT; Marfa’, Beirut, LEB; Mosaic Rooms, London, UK. She was Deutsche Bank’s Artist of the Year 2018.
Anna Barham (b. 1974, England, lives and works in London) is an artist working across video, sound, print, installation and performance. Selected recent solo and group exhibitions include: Flat Time House, London, UK; Chelsea Space, London, UK; Index, Stockholm, SE; Quote/Unquote, Bucharest, RO; Site Gallery, Sheffield, UK; MIMA, Middlesbrough, UK; Playground Festival, Museum M, Leuven, BE; Wellcome Collection, London, UK; K-W, Berlin, DE.
Alice Channer (b. 1977, Oxford, lives and works in London) uses sculpture to s t r e t c h out, slow down and speed up industrial and post-industrial production processes. Selected recent solo and group exhibitions include: Yorkshire Sculpture Park, UK; Tate Britain, London, UK; Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK; Aspen Art Museum, Colorado, USA; Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, UK; Public Art Fund, New York, USA; The 55th Venice Biennale, IT; South London Gallery, UK.
Melissa Gordon (b. 1981, Boston, America, lives and works in Brussels) is a painter and writer. Selected recent solo and group exhibitions include: Towner Eastbourne, UK; Marianne Boesky, New York, USA; Vleeshal, Middelburg, NL; Spike Island, Bristol, UK; Eastside Projects, Birmingham, UK; WIELS, Brussels, BE; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, NL.
Adia Wahid (b. 1971, Karachi, Pakistan, lives and works in London) explores the interaction between the technological mechanised world with which the human body and mind are faced.
Selected recent solo and group exhibitions include: Freelands Foundation, London, UK; Abstract Project, Paris, FR; Second Floor Studios, London, UK; Turps Gallery, London, UK; Rye Creative, Rye, UK; The Artworks, Halifax, UK.
Andrea Zittel (b. 1965, Escondido, USA, lives and works in Joshua Tree, CA) is an installation artist and sculptor. Selected recent solo and group exhibitions include: Kunstmuseen Krefeld, DE; Regen Projects, Los Angeles, USA; Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA; Kunshall Stavanger, N; Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, USA; Middleheim Museum, Antwerp, BE; BALTIC, Gateshead, UK; Palazzo Pitti, Florence, IT.
Edward Ball (b. 1991, Ipswich, lives and works in London) is a curator and writer. Alongside his work with Large Glass, he is Director of Devonshire Collective, Eastbourne. His book Old Land New Waters (2021) is published by Freelands Foundation.
With thanks to Arcade, London (Anna Barham), Marfa' Gallery, Beirut (Caline Aoun), Sadie Coles HQ, London (Andrea Zittel).
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