Hidden Harlequin

Hidden Harlequin Works by Lauren Coullard and Lauren Godfrey  
5 – 20 October 2018 Thursday, Friday Saturday 1- 6pm
Private View: Thursday 4 October 2018 6 – 8pm
Workshop: Saturday 20 October 2 – 4pm
 
C4RD is pleased to present works by contemporary artists Lauren Coullard and Lauren Godfrey.
 
In the drawings of both artists the actual object used, be that textile or a roman column, becomes lost in a new flat landscape which speaks of a fantasy world or another dimension. There is a shared interest in textiles and patterns combining together to form a new image.
 
In this group of drawings Coullard is inspired by an exchange with the poet Rosanna Puyol. Collage and oil pencils are used to create a fairy tale world with found images and invented characters. Coullard’s drawings are sketches which sometimes make their way to paintings. She uses the drawings as a way to navigate between her collages and her paintings, setting the architectural boldness of the collages free with the drawn line. She draws in the morning, enjoying the first light, quiet and clarity in the studio, which adds to the magical quality of the work. The collaged material comes from archives, old books, and auction catalogues. Through her work they lose their original function and form often scanning and reprinting images so they become far removed from their original point of reference.
 
Godfrey uses drawing as a studio practise tool, keeping her hands busy while her mind is allowed off duty thinking time. The drawings feature her own clothes and textiles jumbled together in a state of nausea, each pattern telling a story of a different time or place. The drawings are personal self- portraits of sorts which chart years of decision making based on pattern choices for clothes. These personal textiles are also layered with more patterns chosen from sourcebooks, jostling and abutting each other but reaching a harmony of lines and colours across the compositions. There is a play on still life, depth and flatness as well as a consideration for the origins of these patterns whether it be an individual designer or a high street brand.
 
Lauren Coullard
Coullard holds a MA from Chelsea College of Art and Design, London and studied at École Nationale Supérieure d’Art de Paris-Cergy . She is a member of DOC! Paris. She lives and works in Paris. Past exhibitions include Black Sunday at La Tolerie in Clermont Ferrand, 2018, Salon de Montrouge, curated by Ami Barak, 2018, Glue Eyes, Projectspace, Colletot, France, 2017, Break(Feast), Sillicone Malley, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2017, Beloved in the landscape, curated by Ana Iwataki and Marion Vasseur Raluy, New Bretagne, Essen 2016, DOC, Rob a Robe and Inauguration in 2015, and Lait du Miroir curated by Martina Sabbadini, 2015.
www.laurencoullard.com
 
Lauren Godfrey
Godfrey (b. 1989) lives and works in London. She holds a BA from the Slade School of Fine Art and has also studied at Kuvataideaketemia, Finnish Academy of Fine Arts, and Chelsea College of Art. In 2016 she was resident at Triangle Art Association, New York. Past exhibitions include HOUSE WORK – 53 Beck Road, London – 2017, ‘Identify your limitations, acknowledge the periphery’ – VITRINE Gallery, London, ALIMENTARI – Geddes Gallery, 2016, ART IN RESTAURANTS IS ON THE SAME LEVEL AS FOOD IN MUSEUMS” – NILES CRANE – Turf Projects, Group show curated by Lauren Godfrey, 2015, ENTREÉ, STAGE LEFT – Kingsgate Workshops, 2015 – Solo exhibition following Kingsgate Workshops Studio Residency, London, LONGING FOR LEISURE – Open Space Gallery, Baltimore, USA, 2015 Group Show with Alex Brenchley, Nicholas Hatfull and Alec Kronacker, COCKTAIL #1 Solo exhibition Co2 Gallery, Rome, 2013, Bloomberg New Contemporaries, ICA 2012.
www.laurengodfrey.co.uk
 
Alice Bygraves is a freelance curator who has over eight years’ experience working in museums and galleries. She spent two years working at the British School at Rome with artists and took part in archaeological excavations. She works with textiles and embroidery, assisting artists to create fibre works. She is Director of Geddes Gallery, a nomadic space which was first housed for over a year in KC Continental deli on Caledonian Road.
 
For more information and images please contact Alice Bygraves: info@aleeechay.com

WORKSHOP: Pasting Patterns
20 October 2018 2 – 4 pm
Drawing on themes from the exhibition ‘Hidden Harlequin’, artist Lauren Godfrey leads a relaxed practical workshop exploring the potential of printed pattern and fabrics to create still lives.
In the legacy of Matisse’s backdrops to portraits or the surfaces of Memphis furniture. This workshop will invite participants to bring patterned objects / books / clothing / fabrics and printed matter to assemble into a mega pattern overload still life from which the group will draw as an exercise in observation, abstraction and colour application.

Some pencils, pens and materials will be provided but if you have something you particularly like to work with, bring it along.

Spaces are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment on info@aleeechay.com

C4RD would like to acknowledge the support for of the Dovehouse Trust for this exhibition.