Caroline Achaintre
DEEDIE
12 October - 20 November 2005
Wednesday Sunday 13.00-18.00hrs
Opening 11 October 19.00-21.00hrs
Gallery talk 29 October 16.00hrs
The Showroom
44 Bonner Road
London E2 9JS
T. 44 (0)20 8983 4115
F. 44 (0)20 8981 4112
E. tellmemore [at] theshowroom.org
W. www.theshowroom.org
Wed / Sun 13.00 18.00hrs
The Showroom is delighted to present a newly commissioned body of work by London-based artist Caroline Achaintre. Achaintres hand-tufted rugs and delicate drawings that work with imagery drawn from a variety of different sources including the goth-metal scene push the interface of subcultural styles and the boundaries of sculptural form.
Achaintres work has been described as portraiture of near monsters, as a result of her development of the twisted and glamourised imagery from horror films and heavy metal graphics. The juxtaposition of the dark, brooding subject matter associated with horror and heavy metal and the aesthetic lightness of the watercolours echo in their form the sensitivity of the goth myth teenage scene and their attraction and cultivation of the representation of brutal and nihilistic fantasy.
The result is an odd tension between content and form, and sees Achaintre playing with aesthetic forms. For example, her woodcuts, a form traditionally associated with Expressionism, which communicates the intense emotional stuff of the subject matter, are thrown into stark relief by the visually seductive and light imagery of the watercolours they accompany.
For The Showroom, Achaintre will present two new major, large-scale, hand-tufted rugs ? made specifically to disrupt the unusual architecture of The Showroom ? alongside her gestural woodcuts and a series of subtle digital and watercolour drawings. In addition, Achaintre will experiment with structural forms that support, display and interact with the work itself to echo the sense of tension and danger.
Since graduating from Goldsmiths MA Fine Art in 2003, Caroline Achaintres work has been included in a number of group shows including Acid Rain, Galerie Michel Rein, Paris, Contropop Vamialis, Athens and The Unhomely, Kettles Yard, Cambridge. She has also made solo shows for spaces including Lawrence OHana, London and Mirko Mayer Galerie, Cologne. DEEDIE will be Achaintres first major solo show in a publicly funded gallery.
Rob Tufnell, Exhibitions Curator at Turner Contemporary, Margate will present a talk about Caroline Achaintres practice at The Showroom on Saturday the 29th October at 16.00hrs. This event is free.
For further information please contact Kirsty Ogg or Bridget Crone at the gallery on 020 8983 4115.
The Showroom is financially assisted by Arts Council England. Project supported by William Hall & Co.
Tim Allen, Adelaide Bannerman, Claire Barclay, Jordan Baseman, Ólöf Björndóttir, Iwona Blazwick, Pavel Büchler, Chelsea School of Art, Paul Collett, Laura Emsley, ezppl, Peter Fillingham, Rose Finn-Kelcey, FlatPack001, Rebecca Fortnum, Eric Franck, Frieze, General Public Agency, Simon Grant, Jackie Haliday, Donna Jamieson, Ceri Hand, Margot Heller, Paul Hobson, Martin Holman, Claire Hooper, Jane Lee & Martin Hopkinson, Matthew Hunt, Sue Jones, Naseem Khan, Franz Koenig, Kate MacGarry, Lynn MacRitchie, Anna Milsom, Moose Foundation for the Arts, Grace Jane Muller, Paul Nicholson, Campbell & Mairi Ogg, Michael OPray, Maureen Paley, Andrea Phillips, Sarah Pulvertaft, Alison Raftery, Craig Richardson, Signwave, John Slyce, Simon Starling, David Thorp, Transmission Gallery, Catherine Ugwu, Isabel Vasseur, Marc Vaulbert de Chantilly, Grant Watson and White Window are all actively supporting the work of the gallery by joining The Showroom’s Friends Scheme.
