Please join us at the opening reception for an exhibition of recent paintings by Alastair John Gordon. Informed by seventeenth-century Flemish trompe l’oeil painting, Gordon appropriates images from multiple sources to create new references in his compositions on wood panels. This exhibition of his work, “Souvenirs from the Waste Land,” includes eight paintings inspired by collector Roberta Green Ahmanson’s extensive private postcard collection in Los Angeles. Gordon’s investigation of these fragments of reality questions the notion of authenticity, a reoccurring concern in the larger oeuvre of Gordon’s art. The beauty of the original artifacts transcends our expectations of a travel souvenir and inspires even the most skeptical viewer. Our natural tendency is to simultaneously depend on and mistrust the visual image; but with Gordon’s paintings, we are challenged to contemplate the meaning of representation itself.
When
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
6:00 pm–8:00 pm
Where
First Things Editorial Offices
35 East 21st St, Sixth Floor
212.627.1985
Alastair John Gordon is a London based artist. He is co-founder and director of Morphē Arts, a mentoring charity for graduate artists. Gordon has been selected for several awards, including the Griffin Residency Prize in 2016, the Winsor and Newton Painting Prize in 2015, and the Shoosmiths Art Prize in 2014. His recent solo exhibitions include Irvine, California (2017), Simmons & Simmons, London (2016), and Nomas* Projects, Dundee (2015).
