The exhibition program of Blanca and Borja Thyssen-Bornemisza's collection has dedicated this fall a small exhibition to emerging artist Jordy Kerwick.
Jordy Kerwick, born in Melbourne in 1982, is a self-taught Australian artist, currently based in Albi, in the south of France, where he lives and works. The exhibition program of Blanca and Borja Thyssen-Bornemisza's collection has dedicated this fall a small exhibition to emerging artist Jordy Kerwick, on view from September 22nd, 2023 to January 25th, 2024. The exhibition displays 9 artworks ranging from large-format canvases to smaller creations on paper that include three paintings from the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection.
The exhibition displays 9 artworks ranging from large-format canvases to smaller creations on paper that include three paintings from the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection.
As a self-taught artist, Kerwick's work stands out for its contrasts in its technical variety, which includes spry, acrylic or oil, and a very particular subject matter that mixes classical readings of domestic lifestyle elements and still lifes with a contemporary vision mixed with historical references. The main theme of the paintings is often enriched with figurative elements that give the works a deeper, more elaborate and ambivalent reading.
Kerwick's work mixes classical readings of domestic lifestyle elements and still lifes with a contemporary vision mixed with historical references.
Adding everyday elements with antagonistic connotations, such as flowers and cigarettes, Kerwick juxtaposes the attractive and the more monotonous aspects of life. The images wander between the contrast of unambiguous figuration and meticulously precise detail. In recent paintings, too, Kerwick's work is filled with more complex, narrative compositions that evoke a particular mythology and, in some cases, depict a female divinity.
The works displayed in the Thyssen-Bornemisza exhibition show indoor scenes that also include fantastic figures such as a camouflaged cobra and a tiger, fantastic creatures that later move outdoors, to jungle landscapes dominated by lions and wolves but also by unicorns, most of them with two heads. The works are a clear demonstration and show the particular imaginary and style of the Australian artist.
The works are a clear demonstration and show the particular imaginary and style of the Australian artist.
