KATY HESSEL
From Near and Far: Collage and Figuration in the Contemporary Age
Curated by Katy Hessel and Deborah Roberts
Stephen Friedman Gallery, London
8 June–23 July 2022
Sarah Ball, Jordan Casteel, Kenturah Davis, M. Florine Demosthene, Genevieve Gaignard, Lubaina Himid, Kudzanai-Violet Hwami, Chantal Joffe, Aubrey Levinthal, Deborah Roberts, Martha Rosler, Anne Rothenstein, Betye Saar, Amy Sherald, Mickalene Thomas, Caroline Walker.
Bringing together 16 contemporary female artists, the exhibition focuses on collage as a concept and an art form; from the traditional method of splicing together imagery to amalgamating figures, forms, gestures and viewpoints. The artists are united by a shared interest in figuration.
From Near and Far’ demonstrates how artists have used collage to translate and evoke the world around them. The works dissect political and social norms embedded in mainstream visual culture and expose fractured aspects of society whilst also presenting images of unity.
The exhibiting artists build on the legacy of pioneering women such as Hannah Höch, who used the medium in photomontage, and Pauline Boty, who pioneered the technique of ‘painting’ collage. Kudzanai-Violet Hwami uses the technique of collage for its freedom and power to connect thoughts and words, whilst Deborah Roberts combines images of different skin tones, facial features, hairstyles and clothes to create empowering depictions of Black youth. Working with magazines, Martha Rosler brings to light social and political injustices, whilst Anne Rothenstein and Chantal Joffe use the medium in its rawest form to explore figuration.
