Donne Gallery presents Sweet Nothing, on view February 7 through March 14, 2024.
This exhibition is a celebration of sentiment, longing and heartbreak. The artwork makes deliberate use of the introspective narratives and disorientated romantic symbols that blur our vision and star our eyes.
The exhibition presents works by Ella Garvey (1997), Henry Glover (b.1997), Peter Jones (b. 1968), Natasha Michaels (b. 1969) and Yulia Zinshtein (b. 1990). These works scale the spectrum between sincere and sarcastic letting the viewer to gage where they land.
Fantasy is potent. Fantasy is sublime. We are seduced by the promise of what could be and empowered to act boldly. Fantasy strips us of our everyday and leaves us to indulge in our desires. Henry Glover’s vibrant works mimic the courtly motifs and images of chivalric love found in medieval artwork. Glover pushes this idea further by portraying the allegoric symbolism through a cartoonish lens, presenting fairytales as caricatures. Natasha Michaels' work re-imagine seductive Rococo paintings, exaggerating the playful and amorous figures. The direct eye contact turns the former subject to spectator.
As love provokes it’s mayhem, enchantment sways on the edge of heartbreak. In Yulia Zinshtein’s airy scenes we see moments of deep emotion lushly rendered in sweeping brushstrokes. Seduction, courtship and heartbreak play out as if in a movie.
Ella Garvey’s hallucinatory images are punctuated with autobiographical souvenirs. The delicate scenes show narratives that play on consciousness and subconsciousness.
Peter Jones approaches his subjects with a caring playfulness. Through dramatised poses that toy with classical compositions, Jones’s weather worn stuffed animals become saccharine symbols of longing and nostalgia. Their lovelorn pantomime expressions are amusingly endearing.
Both knowing and naive, these artworks navigate the intricacies emotion. Sweet Nothing is on view at 59 Great Portland Street from February 7 to March 13, 2023, Tuesday through Saturday, from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM.
For additional information, please contact Lucie Touroul at +44 7539 452004
or donne@donne-gallery.co.uk