|
John Roch Simons and the 411 Galleries invites you to‘VAS Éire - part 1’, his first exhibition in China in two years
A show of two parts: Art photography and video installation.
Shanghai Jing An District Culture Center Urumuqi Noth Road 459 Thursday 9th September 2010 Opening at 5 PM with a wine reception.
With entertainment from Quiet Club music from Ireland.
John Roch Simons’ latest exhibition ‘VAS Éire - part 1’ opens in the Shanghai Jing An District Culture Center Urumuqi Noth Road 459 on Thursday the 9th of September. The show, which runs until 25th September, consists of 18 art pieces exhibitied in light boxes and a video installation. Simons’ use of light boxes allows the viewer experience the graphite drawings and Indian ink works on a larger scale in a bold and new yet intimate way.
Simons’, a self-taught artist born in Dublin, Ireland (1964), has worked as a portrait artist with lumanaries such as The Edge from U2, actor Sean McGinley, Shane MacGowan of the Pogues, the late Mr Justice Dermot Kinlen and the late Ronnie Drew of the Dubliners (Penguin books).
The central piece of this exhibition was exhibited in the Irish Pavillion at the World Expo in July 2010. The 411 Gallery commented about the response to “Beijing Girl” at the Group show “A Sense of Éire” (in the Irish Pavilion at the World Expo, attended by the Irish President Mary McAleese) “John Roch Simons’ depiction of a girl against a red background was immediately recognised by the audience as a comment on China as all passport photographs taken in China must have a red background”.
Simons’ works are featured in a number of private collections internationally for example, Bank of Ireland has also purchased three of his major works (“Innocence”, “Baggot Street 2003” “the kiss” 2005) for its corporate art collection. He has also been among the photographic winners for the Allied Irish Bank Calendar 2007.
Simons’ latest exhibition seeks to explore artists at work in their studio and his response to his relationship with China through his series of red portraits.
“VAS Éire - part 1” is an exhibition of two parts
1. A “red” series of portraits derived partially from a body of work “Red Shanghai” which Simons undertook for the Jing An District Culture Centre
2. An introduction to “VAS Éire - part 1”, which is an ongoing study of the behaviours and practices of artists in their studios, through video and art photographic portraits.
The title “VAS Éire - part 1” stands for Visiting Artists Studios Ireland. “Éire” is the Irish native word for Ireland. The title plays on having a similar sound to the name of Giorgio Vasari’s (the Florentine architect, painter and historian) book “the lives of the artists”(first published in 1550).
“The influence of China and the Chinese people can be seen in both the subject matter and the choice of mediums in this exhibition. The medium of indian ink plays an important part in Chinese art and I found it a common ground between my practice as a Westerner and the practice of the East”.
In 1999, Simons was sponsored by Richard Branson for his ‘Study of New Yorkers at the end of the 20th Century’. Simons is no stranger to China and has exhibited in many exhibitions since 2007. In 2008 his last solo show in China titled “3 Portraits about 1 Thing”, Simons’ explored the relationships between humans and their natural environment and the impact of digital imagery on the intimacy of these portraits. Simons sought to emphasise how we experience artwork and provoke the viewer into asking “why did the artists do this?” instead of “What is this?”, thus bringing the viewer to a deeper observation of the works.
The central piece of this exhibition was exhibited in the Irish Pavillion at the World Expo in July 2010. The 411 Gallery commented about the response to “Beijing Girl” at the Group show “A Sense of Éire” (in the Irish Pavilion at the World Expo, attended by the Irish President Mary McAleese) “John Roch Simons’ depiction of a girl against a red background was immediately recognised by the audience as a comment on China as all passport photographs taken in China must have a red background”.
John Roch Simons is married to barrister Catherine White. The couple live with their three daughters aged eleven, nine and five in Donnybrook, Dublin.
“ Beijing Girl ” 2007 - 2008
© John Roch Simons 2007
841 x 594 mm
“ Chinese Girl ”
© John Roch Simons 2010
841 x 594 mm
“ “Given that we all know we will die, are we complacent about how we live? ”
© John Roch Simons 2010
841 x 594 mm |
