Gerard Hemsworth
Brief Encounter (Red), 2009
Unframed$450
$405 members
Silkscreen print on 290 gram Coventry smooth paper
Paper 18 3/4 x 18 3/8 inches
Image 9 3/4 x 9 3/4 inches
Edition of 20
Courtesy of the artist and Gary Lichtenstein Fine Art, Ridgefield, CT
Printed and Published by Gary Lichtenstein Editions
The work of British artist Gerard Hemsworth touches on the heightened psychological drama inherent in all fairy tales, yet it is also plainly decorative. His imagery is drawn from the fanciful realm of childhood—picture books, comics, and toys—yet his means of depiction cuts back to the heart of the Modernist painterly concern with flatness and the idea of the picture as an object.
We search the images for narrative clues, yet the way Hemsworth paints reminds us that in fact there are no figures here: this is just an assemblage of forms. What appear to be figures can also be viewed as accumulations of elemental shapes: ovals, straight lines, and, mostly, semicircles.
His images are both insistent and subversive, questioning the values and assumptions that the viewer brings to the work.
Gerard Hemsworth has exhibited internationally since the 1970s. He lives and works in London, where he is the Professor of Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London.
To order this item or request additional information, please contact Lise Sharfin at 203.438.4519 or email lsharfin@aldrichart.org.
