British sculptor Damian Fennell and Australian painter Jonah Cacioppe are pleased to present their second exhibition of work together at Londons Menier Chocolate Factory Gallery this June. Working together since 2001 and sharing a studio for a number of years Cacioppe and Fennell have produced a body of work addressing the enduring themes of beauty, death and the sublime.
Cacioppes series of 5 large semi-abstract oil paintings of Baghdad night bombings, the Shock and Awe campaign of 2003, are taken from found reportage photography. Colour explodes on the canvas and conveys the sublime through overwhelming death and destruction. The paintings neither glorify nor abhor the landscape of war but rather aim to transcend its horror to reveal beauty. 4 large canvases from Cacioppes earlier I am the Sun and the Moon series are also concerned with the sublime but convey it in more serene, meditative and minimal forms.
A selection of female nude sculptures from Fennells Woman series explores sexual politics and a contrasting belief in the transcendent nature of the Self. The different surface treatments and materials in these sculptures recognize various persecutions of women from both pre and post-feminist eras. Their core form reflects womens stoic resolution and power through the adversity of discrimination, while celebrating their essential presence. Also included in the exhibition is States of Being, a series of 5 life-size male nudes embodying the different types of government from Platos Republic and their reflection in the varying states of the individual. Often underlying Fennells work is a love of the experience of pure existence, seemingly free from all identifications and concerns.
Perth born Cacioppe lives and works in London. He has studied and exhibited extensively in both the UK and Australia including Trevor Victor Harvey and Metro 5. Also based in London, Fennells UK exhibitions have seen his work enter collections in Europe, Africa, Australia and the USA.