Harnessing the power

of the contemporary

art world

Kevin Francis Gray is known for works in marble which flex the boundaries of figuration and abstraction. Offering a convincing argument for the continued significance of traditional media in the contemporary world, Gray presents figures and forms in transition and in various states of becoming. In each of Gray’s works an acute vitality is captured in that residue of the artist’s hand is left permanent in stone; sheets of white Carrara marble framed in burnt umber Sapele wood incorporate the lines of human shapes through the negative space carved into the stone.

Part of a growing body of work that the artist started in 2018, the marble panels originate from Gray’s life-drawing sketches in ink, watercolours and pastel. The artist isolates lines and angles from the drawings and transitions them to the page of marble, which seems to have been sculpted only with fingers. The human form is abstracted beyond recognition. The result is a wall sculpture that appears delicate but draws the viewer into its texture: the marble is unmistakable and the skill of releasing a work so subtle from the stone is a testament to Gray’s commitment to his material.

Kevin Gray was born in 1972 in Armagh. Work by Gray has been included in exhibitions at institutions such as the Royal Academy, London; Museum of Contemporary Art of the Val de-Marne, Paris; Museo d’art Moderne, Saint-Etienne, and Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv. Recent solo exhibitions have been held across the UK, Italy, France, Denmark, the US and Israel, and Gray’s work is held in collections in both the UK and US. Educated at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, and Goldsmiths, London, Francis Gray lives and works in London, UK, and Pietrasanta, Italy.

Renowned for his wild brushwork and idiosyncratic style, Albert Oehlen redefined painting at a critical moment in its history. A contemporary of Martin Kippenberger, he rose to prominence in 1980s Cologne as part the loose avant-garde cohort known as the ‘Junge Wilde’ (‘Young Wild Ones’). Raucous and irreverent, these artists championed an approach that they described as ‘bad painting’. Fusing genres, colours, media and techniques with riotous abandon, Oehlen’s works rail against aesthetic convention, opening up new possibilities for art-making in the process. Known for his thrilling abstract works, as well as his Grey Paintings, Computer Paintings and other major series, he proved deeply influential to a younger generation of artists. His work continues to push boundaries today.

Born in Krefeld, Germany in 1954, Oehlen studied under Sigmar Polke at the Hochschule für Bildende Kunst, Hamburg. He has been the subject of major exhibitions at the Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne, the Whitechapel Gallery, London and the Kunsthalle Zürich, with more recent shows at the Guggenheim Bilbao, the Serpentine Gallery, London and the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf.