Real Painting

Artists: Simon Callery, Adriano Costa, Deb Covell, Angela de la Cruz, Lydia Gifford, David Goerk, Alexis Harding, Jo McGonigal, DJ Simpson, Finbar Ward.

Castlefield Gallery is pleased to present Real Painting, an exhibition of new and existing work by ten artists working nationally and internationally including 2010 Turner Prize nominee Angela de la Cruz and 2004 John Moores Painting Prize winner Alexis Harding. Curated by Deb Covell and Jo McGonigal the exhibition emphasizes the essential grammar of painting, considering not necessarily what a painting means but what it ‘does’.

Each artist shares a purposeful interest in the material components of painting and its ability to assume its own presence, rather than being symbolic of something else. Slipping between painting and object, the visual and physical, the work in the exhibition highlights the expressive capacity of the materials and processes specific to painting to be sites of investigation in their own right.

Throughout the exhibition painting is transformed from subject matter to object matter, transcending its flat surface to fix the viewer’s attention on ‘seeing’ as both a visual and physical encounter.

 ‘I make physical paintings – because I am interested in the viewer as a physical being – a fully sentient, inquisitive, perceptive, decision-making, information-processing, emotional, idiosyncratic thinking being. I want the painting to involve and engage the full attention of that person’ (Simon Callery (Interview in Abstract Critical 22/8/12) Questions for Angela de la Cruz and Simon Callery: Enantiodromia Part I. FOLD Gallery, London)

A commissioned essay (downloadable below) and a talk by Craig Staff (Reader in Fine Art at The University of Northampton and author of After Modernist Painting: The History of a Contemporary Practice published by I.B.Tauris, 2013) accompanies the exhibition.

About the artists

Simon Callery (b.1960) initially educated in Athens, Greece, Callery went on to gain a first-class honours degree from Cardiff College of Art (1983), he now lives and works in London. Exhibiting internationally Callery is represented by FOLD Gallery, London. He exhibited in the John Moores Painting Prize (1993), and later included in the Saatchi Gallery’s Young British Artists III (1994). Recent solo exhibitions include: Physical Painting, FOLD Gallery, London (2010); Pit Paintings, University of the Arts, London (2007); Simon Callery, Philippe Casini Gallery, Paris (2005); and Inland Sealand, 33 Newland, Dorset (2012). He was involved in Arts Council England’s Estuary Project, Thames Estuary (2011). He has work in public collections across Europe, including: Tate, England; Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, Norway; and Comune di Carrara, Italy. foldgallery.com

Adriano Costa (b. 1975, São Paulo) lives and works in São Paulo where he graduated with a BA from ECA-Universidade São Paulo. He is represented by Sadie Coles HQ, London and Mendes Wood, São Paulo, Brazil. He has had numerous solo exhibitions including: Galeria Polinésia, São Paulo (2009); Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna (2013); Sadie Coles HQ, London (2014), and has had works in group exhibitions including: Mitologias (Mythologies), Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris (2011); Imagine Brazil, Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo (2013); and Time Space Poker Face, Be-Part, Waregem, Belgium (2013). He completed a residency with Kiosko Galería in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia (2010) and was included in the Festival Internacional de Arte Contemporânea SESC_VideoBrasil, SESC Belenzinho, São Paulo (2011). He has work in many private and public collections including the Zabludowicz Collection and the Guggenheim Collection. sadiecoles.com | mendeswooddm.com

Deb Covell (b.1966, Stockton on Tees) lives and works in Teesside and is represented by OBJECT / A, Manchester. She received her BA in Fine Art from Liverpool Polytechnic (1989) and her MA in Fine Art from University of East London (2002). Recent exhibitions include: Sha Boogie Bop, Anonymous Gallery, New York (2014); From Nowt to Summat, MIMA, Middlesbrough (2014); Absolute Zero, PS2, MIMA , Middlesbrough (2014); Aesthetica Art Prize, York St Mary’s, York (2014); Secret, Royal College of Art, London (2014); Zero, Untitled Gallery, Manchester (2013); North South Divine, WW Gallery, London (2013); This That and the Other, Platform A Gallery, Middlesbrough (2012); and Afternoon Tea,  Venice Biennale, Venice (2011). Forthcoming exhibitions include: We Insist, International Biennial of non- objective art, Pont de Claix, France (2015); and a solo exhibition at OBJECT / A, Manchester (2015/16). She was a finalist in the 2014 Aesthetica Art Prize and her works are held in private and public collections including the MIMA Collection, Middlesbrough, UK. object-a.co.uk

Angela de la Cruz (b. 1965, Galicia, Northwest Spain) lives and works in London, she is represented by Lisson Gallery, London. De la Cruz received a BA in Philosophy from the University of Santiago de Compostela in 1989 before moving to London where she graduated from Goldsmiths College with a BA in Fine Art (1994) and an MA in Sculpture and Critical Theory from the Slade School of Art (1996). She was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2010 the same year as her solo exhibition at the Camden Arts Centre, London. De la Cruz was selected for Adventures of the Black Square: Abstract Art and Society 1915-2015, Whitechapel, London (2015). Selected solo exhibitions include: Escombros, Fundación Luis Seoane, Spain (2015); Larger Than Life, Galerie Thomas Schulte, Berlin, Germany (2015); Angela de la Cruz: Transfer, Lisson Gallery, London (2011); and Angela de la Cruz: Burst, Lisson Gallery, Milan (2014). Her work is held in numerous private and public collections including: Tate, England; the British Council Collection; Contemporary Art Society Collection, England; Collection of Contemporary Art, Fundacion La Caixa Fundacion, Spain; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia; FRAC Nord Pas De Calais, France. lissongallery.com

Lydia Gifford (b.1979, London) lives and works in London, she is represented by Laura Bartlett Gallery, London. Gifford received a BA in Fine Art, at the Chelsea School of Art and Design, London (2006). Following this with an MA in Fine Art (2008) at the Royal College of Art, London, winning the Valerie Beston Young Artists’ Prize the same year. Solo exhibitions include: Siding, Kunsthaus Baselland, Basel (2013); Drawn, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, UK (2014); and most recently, To. For. With, Laura Bartlett Gallery, London (until 20 May 2015). Selected group exhibitions include: Minimal Myth, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam; White, Simon Dickinson, New York; Upcoming shows include: Adventures in Bronze, Clay and Stone, curated by Adam Carr, Arezzo City Arts Festival, Arezzo (Jun-Oct 2015); and Women’s Art Society II, Mostyn, Llandudno, Wales (2015).  laurabartlettgallery.com

David Goerk (b. 1952, New Jersey) lives and works in New York and is represented by Howard Scott Gallery, New York and Larry Becker Contemporary Art, Philadelphia. He has a BFA from Philadelphia College of Art (1975) and an MFA from Indiana University, Bloomington (1977). Goerk was awarded the Purchase Award by Perkins Center for the Arts (1990) and the Mildred Bougher Award (1993). As an international artist, he has exhibited across America and Europe, including: Studio La Città, Verona, Italy (2001); New Works, Howard Scott Gallery, New York (2009); Shift: New and Recent Work, Larry Becker Contemporary Art, Philadelphia (2009); Now and Then, Howard Scott Gallery, New York (2014). His work is included in many public and private collections, including Philadelphia Museum of Art; Rutgers University, New Jersey; and the Panza di Biumo Collection in Milan. howardscottgallery.com | artnet.com/galleries/larry-becker-contemporary-art

Jo McGonigal (b. 1969, Manchester) lives and works in Manchester and is represented by OBJECT / A, Manchester. She is currently undertaking a practice based PhD at the University of Leeds that examines Painting and Materiality (Amanda Burton Scholarship). She studied Fine Art at Bristol Polytechnic (now University of West of England) and later completed her MFA at Manchester School of Art (2008) (AHRC award). Forthcoming exhibitions include: Poppositions 2015, Belgium (alongside Art Brussels); Concept for a Temporary Cultural Intervention, Turnhout (Lokaal01), Antwerp; and Between Painting & Place, a solo show at Platform A Gallery, Middlesbrough (8 May-18 June 2015). In addition to her own practice McGonigal has worked as an arts professional for over 20 years including: curating projects for FACT, Liverpool, and Liverpool Biennial; establishing Corridor8 (an international journal for art & writing); and lecturing in Fine Art at Leeds Metropolitan University and Manchester School of Art at Manchester Metropolitan University. object-a.co.uk

Alexis Harding (b.1973) lives and works in London and is represented by Mummery + Schnelle, London. He graduated from Goldsmiths College with a BA in Fine Art (1995) and won the John Moores Painting Prize 2004. Harding has had solo and group exhibitions internationally including: In Progress: Rainbow Voids, Tondos and Exit Paintings, The Nunnery, London (2013); Project Room, Galerij S65, Aalst, Belgium (1997); Fault Lines, Galleria Marabini, Milan (2009); Tondos and Bi-Products, Rubicon Gallery, Dublin (2011); Didier Moiselet Collection; Caen Museum, Normandy, France (2012); Long Room Drying Depot, Two Rooms Gallery, New Zealand (2012); Substance and Accident, Mummery + Schnelle, London (2012); and Somewhat Abstract, Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham (2014). He currently has work in several collections, including the Arts Council England; Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; and the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. mummeryschnelle.com

DJ Simpson (b. 1966) lives and works in London and is represented by Helga de Alvear Gallery, Madrid, Spain. He graduated from Reading University with a BA in Fine Art (1990) and Goldsmiths College, University of London with an MA in Fine Art (1998). Past exhibitions include: It’s All About The Landscape, Grizedale Arts, Coniston Institute, Coniston (2014); MIX, Helga de Alvear, Madrid (2012); Small Scale Works, PS Projectspace, Amsterdam (2013). Simpson was commissioned by the Contemporary Art Society to create a major work near the Olympic Park in East London (2012). His work is included in several public and private collections including; the Arts Council Collection, UK; Leeds Art Gallery, UK; Fundación Helga de Alvear, Madrid – Cáceres, Spain; and Museum Jan Cunen, Oss, The Netherlands. helgadealvear.com

Finbar Ward (b.1990, London) lives and works in London and is represented by FOLD Gallery, London. Ward graduated from The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford University (2013). Solo exhibitions include: Geukens & De Vil Contemporary Art, Knokke, Belgium (2015); and Make Be More Than One Start, FOLD Gallery, London (2014). Group exhibitions include: Take 1, The Greenroom, Krakow (2012); New Order II: British Art Today, Saatchi Gallery, London (2014); 30 Years of the Future, Castlefield Gallery, Manchester (2014). His works are held in numerous private and public collections including the Saatchi Collection. foldgallery.com/artist/finbar-ward