Luke Baggott
Tapestry of Discord
Exhibition opening reception with the artist
Thursday, February 20th, 6pm - 9pm
Steven Amedee Gallery presents a solo exhibition of oil paintings and mixed media works on paper by the South African artist Luke Baggott.
In Tapestry of Discord, Luke uses New York City as a backdrop to challenge narrative conventions about place and community. Drawing on his experiences as a foreigner, his work highlights the fragmentation and confusion present in familiar spaces, destabilizing entrenched ideas about the City. His work examines what it is to be different and whether the process of assimilation requires us to abandon vital parts of our identity in the quest for belonging.
Luke’s talent for technically beautiful painting seduces the viewer, but he then disrupts this sense of visual comfort with distorted, discordant, or unexpected subject matter. His interest in redefining forms and defying pictorial conventions is evident throughout the work in this exhibition. Descriptive detail is often abandoned in favour of abstracted impressions. These redefined forms flatten out conventional perspectives resulting in images that read more like a tapestry, where shape, color, and fractured imagery take centre stage. The work becomes a metaphor for the often overwhelming surroundings and sensory overload of the City, while simultaneously offering glimpses of visual relief, mirroring his exploration of the competing needs between connection and disconnection.
Luke’s work combines considered, classical methodology with an expressionistic painting language. His mark-making is alternately spirited and passionate, and measured and meticulous, a visceral expression of the complex issues he explores. The work continuously plays with our expectations of place and belonging, inspiring us to question our relationship with ourselves, each other, and our world.
Luke is a graduate of The New York Academy of Art. He currently works from a studio in Harlem and is the recipient of several awards and grants including a 3rd time award from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation. He cites the work of Edward Hopper, George Bellows and more currently Antonio Lopez Garcia and Cecily Brown as significant influences.
thumbnail image: Transition, charcoal, gouache and resin on paper, 32” x 46”
