Gallery Poulsen kicks off the spring with an extraordinary double exhibition that will transform the tranquil old corner of Staldgade into a legendary arena, where nature’s rebellion against humanity unfolds. To take the lead, we have handed over the reins to one of our significant masters, Nicola Verlato. Alongside Ian Ingram, a brand-new name in Gallery Poulsen context, both artists present their perspective on a unique tale of nature’s geometry and the depiction of humanity in two parallel exhibitions.
Nicola Verlato’s main piece “Actaeon” shares its title with the Greek myth about the hunter Actaeon, who accidentally catches a glimpse of the undressed goddess Artemis bathing in the forest. In anger, she turns Actaeon into a deer and condemns him to decay as a prey to his own dogs, tearing him to pieces with froth. Nature’s rebellion against man and the idea that our relationship with nature and our own inner nature are completely distorted is a common narrative, Verlato recounts in six chapters over three oil paintings and three drawings.
We furthermore get a unique insight into Nicola Verlato’s peerless method in a video work that takes us through the process, in which he sculpts his story lines in 3D so not one single body part, line or fiber escapes the geometric reconstruction of reality.
For more than 20 years, Ian Ingram has stood in front of the mirror in intense wonder of the vibrant cellular creature, evolving for millions of years, now staring back at him from within the depth of the mirror. He has studied the surface of his face in a repetitive manic madness until he began to look through the surface. The familiar face suddenly paved the way for landscapes of cellular patterns and multiple symmetry to appear, and soon he let himself completely immerse by the buzzing mass behind the mirror image, which constitutes his self-portraits, and describes a “self” that is not contained within a body.
Ian Ingram’s portraits of hands act as mirrors themselves. On the flat canvas we see the reflection of the hand that has created them. His smaller paintings show a left hand, painted by the right, and a right hand painted by the left. These are not just images of hands, but a portrait of the mind that has created them.
The exhibition shows works on canvas, paper and video
Nicola Verlato and Ian Ingram will both be present at the opening and available for interviews.
Contact the gallery at info@gallerypoulsen.com or phone + 45 33 33 93 96 for further information
