| David
Breuer-Weil |
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Previous
Exhibitions
Parallel
Worlds
Paintings, drawings and Sculpture 2001-2005
4 March - 26 March 2005
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News
III
oil on
canvas
28 x 35.5 cm
2004 |
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The
Clock
oil on
canvas
40.5 x 40.5 cm
2004 |
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News
I
oil
on canvas
30.5 x 30.5 cm
2004
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Tony's
Holiday
polystyrene
cups
2004
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George
Amno Bush
polystyrene
cups
2004
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Blunkett
and Son
polystyrene
cups
2004
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Tony
Taxman Blair
polystyrene
cups
2004
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BLUNKETT
AND BLAIR INSPIRE ARTIST TO PRODUCE NEW BODY OF WORK
"Most
public figures, like Blair and Blunkett, will soon be forgotten when the art
remains. But the human weaknesses that they represent are eternal."Breuer-Weil
Widely
known for his engaging critique of the human condition, he presents new works
that provide a biting satire of the most current issues in the recent sculptures
Blunkett & Son (showing the blind and disgraced minister failing to placate
a screaming child). Two sculptures of Tony Blair explore the idea of authenticity
and betrayal. Tony's Holiday shows the PM, with two faces, dancing on an Egyptian
pyramid sticking up two fingers to the world, surrounded by Tsunami waves whilst
Tony Taxman shows the leader as a devil with two horns made of pound signs,
a reflection of recent tax rises. Whilst Breuer-Weil's earlier sculptures (also
on view) were made out of extremely heavy smashed and re-assembled rocks, timeless
images of pre-historic man, these new more overtly political works are made
of almost weightless polystyrene, mirroring the fleeting and insignificant nature
of scandal. This theme is further explored in a series of fifteen paintings
titled News which show figures obsessively surrounded by the tools of modern
media: newspapers, magazines and televisions.
Breuer-Weil
unsettles our expectations: Known chiefly for his monumental canvases, he fills
the gallery with an installation of over 60 paintings starting as small as two
by two inches and gradually increasing in scale to almost 12 foot. The paintings
and drawings provide a tragic and moving comment on such issues as homelessness,
asylum seeking and natural catastrophes. The viewer is unsettled by the constant
dialogue between tragedy and comedy, weight and weightlessness, large and small
scales. However, the themes are secondary to the formal qualities of the works
which have become increasingly textured, raw and painterly.
"Art
has many functions. But for me the main thing is that it allows a private individual
the ability to provide an ongoing critique of life. For this I use many different
materials, scales and moods. The materials that you use can demonstrate whether
you believe something to be of merely temporary significance or lasting value.
In the small paintings I wanted to condense the compositional ambition of my
mural sized paintings into small objects of contemplation. They are an important
development for me, combining the colour of my landscapes with the searing imagery
of my symbolic work. Colour, like materials, can alter the meaning of images.
Art should be both topical and timeless, which is another fascinating paradox."
Extremes
24 Jan - 22 Feb 2003
These
are six examples of what was shown at the exhibition; to find out more, please
contact the Gallery.
click on image for larger picture
2001
