After more than five amazing years in Glebe it is with mixed emotions that we announce Salerno Gallery will be moving to a new space. Glebe has been absolutely wonderful […]
Gion
5th – 17th November, 2013
Opening :
Thursday 7th of November, 6 – 8pm.
Salerno Gallery proudly presents Richard Claremont’s solo exhibition for 2013, Gion. Based almost entirely on a 24 hour period spent in Kyoto’s arts precinct, the ordinary and the mystical overlap in what is intended to be an exploration of contemporary Japan versus the traditional, arcane Japan.
Working from a combination of diary entries, photos and memories, Claremont’s boldly painted pieces are constructed quickly and freely, blurring the line between representation and abstraction. “I am drawn to the beauty and simplicity of ordinary objects… be it a bowl of miso soup, the traditional ‘zori’ thongs in a shoe shop, the way the light falls on a hotel gift bag.”
Broad and expressive brushstrokes draw the eye as the painted surface takes on a life of its own. Yet beneath the layered streetscapes and the gentle humanity of the performers, there is a tension and fragility… as though the delicate balance between the past and the present is itself under threat.