I visited White Cube Bermondsey once again to catch another exhibition before the gradual shutdown of London, this time it was the dramatic light installations of Cerith Wyn Evans (previously here). The creation of the largest of these neon sculptures is informed by the drawings of the first helicopter designed by Paul Cornu in 1907. There is also an amazing 'light wall' of neon dividing the space in another room composed of Japanese characters containing several literary references, and the smaller neon sculptures reference Marcel Duchamp's ready-made Bicycle Wheel (1913). I've been looking at a lot of Abstract Expressionist painting of late and so really appreciated seeing the gestural brushstrokes in Evan's Indeterminate Paintings series using black gloss and emulsion, as they were an aspect of his artistic practice that I had never seen before. In another gallery space was more new work again referencing Marcel Duchamp's work The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (1915-23), in a series of of large large bronze screens comprised of cracked or shattered glass. As well as the screens were large mobiles sculptures consisting of curved cracked glass windscreens which had been spotlit to refract the light as they moved in space. These mobiles and screens refer to Duchamp's sculpture which broke whilst in transit, and seeing the results Duchamp decided to embrace the element of chance that happened with the damage to his work and saw the cracking of the glass as being the completion of the artwork. I really enjoyed the stark, minimalist transparency of these works and absence of colour. The cracked/shattered glass enlived the pieces and provided some lovely abstract patterns.
Cerith Wyn Evans: No realm of thought... No field of vision
until 19th April
White Cube Bermondsey
144-152 Bermondsey Street
London
SE1
(Please note that viewing hours for this exhibition have ended in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic).
