The Aubin Gallery is pleased to present Heavenly Creatures, a group exhibition curated by ARTNESIA that will take place from the 4th of November to the 24th of December 2010 featuring works by fourteen artists from across the globe.
Since 16,000 BC with the depictions in the caves of Lascaux (France), animals have featured in the realm of visual arts in everything ranging from mere decoration to symbols and allegories.
Heavenly Creatures aims at showcasing how, in the past decades, artists have tackled the representation of animals not only on a purely visual level but also on a more theoretical one.
Among the several themes that run throughout this exhibition are a questioning of the wild/tame dichotomy and a confused duality between human/animal.
This latter issue is present in two extraordinary paintings by George Lilanga (Tanzania, 1934- 2005), whose vibrant use of color and rhythmic movement, which represents Mapico dance, is enhanced by the simple expressionistic forms and tribal references that present the culture and mythology of his people. Lilanga’s imaginary world is inhabited by characters who have fingers coming from their heads, three toes on their feet or elongated ears.
A wild/tame conflict is present in an early painting from 2002 by the renowned Chinese artist Liu Ye (Chinese, 1964). “Girl with Piggy”.
A less visually obvious reference to animals is a new sculpture by Italian artist Gianpietro Carlesso (Italy, 1961). He has conducted extensive research on animal placentas and the way snake eggs are cracked by newborn and his results are presented in a visually striking piece called Transgenesi hand carved from a single alabaster stone.
Heavenly creatures will feature works by: Appau Junior Boakye-Yiadom, Alighiero Boetti, Bhutanese Textile Project, Luigi Carboni, Gianpietro Carlesso, Michele Giangrande, Damien Hirst, George Lilanga, Liu Ye, NERO (Alessandro Neretti), Pino Pascali, Pablo Picasso, Erinc Seymen, Giuseppe Teofilo.
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