Karnik Gallery
12 Hay Hill
Mayfair
London W1J 8NR
Opening hours, by appointment only:
Monday - Friday: 10.00am - 18.00pm
Thirteen new works by Marcus Dove and Tim Fowler
Marcus Dove and Tim Fowler, who last exhibited together in London in 2018, first met in Leicester. Their friendship developed while sharing a studio together in 2019. Through their parallel visual languages of colourful and dynamic botanical paintings, Dove and Fowler have developed into like-minded contemporary artists and great supporters of each other's work.
Dove presents a new group of eight paintings of potted plants and vegetation, which expand on his fascination with pyrotechnics and exothermic materials. His Miró-esque depictions of domestic plants are comparable to elements seen in classical still lifes, but also exude bursts of energy where gunpowder has strategically been deployed.
Fowler presents a vivid series of five large-scale flower paintings. In keeping with his distinct style and signature colour palette of bright, intense hues, Fowler has chosen to depict the abundant leaves of banana plants. The choice of this particular crop reflects the meditations upon colonialism and the slave trade found in Fowler's vibrant oeuvre.
The dialogue that transpires between Dove and Fowler through the paintings on view ultimately moves beyond the theme of plants and nature to raise questions of the modernisation of classical themes and motifs, the incorporation of unconventional techniques and a deep respect
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