This abstract artwork features a neutral beige canvas with scattered, organic shapes and symbols rendered in shimmering gold. The composition has a sense of spontaneity and movement, with the shapes appearing to float or drift across the surface. The technique employed appears to be a combination of painting and collage, creating a textural, layered effect. The work's minimalist style and use of simple yet visually striking materials suggest the artist may have been influenced by the Zen aesthetic, with the piece inviting contemplation of the relationship between positive and negative space. ...
Working mostly with watercolour, acrylic and oils on raw linen, Helene Appel renders everyday objects and substances in minute detail. Shards of spaghetti, folded blankets, or fragments of broken glass act as subjects, with Appel’s mastery of trompe l’oeil and illusionist painting magnifying the very fibre of these materials. Through the process of painting these tableaux, the intrinsic beauty of these items is revealed, and the art historical weight of the untreated linen pedestals of these entities. Blurring a minimalist aesthetic with the tropes of classical still life painting, fresh, sharp focus is gifted to these objects. Revelling in both flux and stillness, Appel depicts precise moments of transition, such as the spilling of grains or the curve of a wave forming, whilst she also applies careful precision to inanimate surfaces such as pavement stones, the bark of trees or grains of sand. What unites all of these paintings is their poetic tone, and their lyrical ability to capture the smaller moments of life in registers usually reserved for grander settings. ...
The Approach is co-directed by Jake Miller and Emma Robertson. Located in Bethnal Green above The Approach Tavern, for over twenty years it has operated an internationally recognised programme from its East London base. The gallery is known for discovering artists and establishing their careers as well as making inter-generational curated group shows a strong focus. The list of represented artists includes the Estates of important overlooked female artists Heidi Bucher and Maria Pinińska Bereś, as well as seminal British collage artist John Stezaker, together with established and emerging artists including Magali Reus, Peter Davies, Lisa Oppenheim, Sandra Mujinga, Pam Evelyn, Sara Cwynar, Sam Windett and Caitlin Keogh. Over the years the gallery has operated parallel programmes in additional gallery spaces in London’s West End (The Approach W1) and in Shoreditch (The Reliance). The gallery is currently based solely in its original East End location and continues to expand its programme, showcasing its represented artists in the main gallery space, and both represented and non-represented artists in The Annexe, a smaller, more experimental space at the back of the building. ...
