Gallery Hopping: Curator Michael Bracewell Updates Modernist Ideals at Maureen Paley

Angst is the order of the day.

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“…Hounded by external events…” at Maureen Paley
The Card Players by Serban Savu (2011)
“…Hounded by external events…” at Maureen Paley
Dans la rue, 17 by John Kelsey (2016)
“…Hounded by external events…” at Maureen Paley
Departure by Serban Savu (2014)
“…Hounded by external events…” at Maureen Paley
Untitled, Eišiškės, Lithuania by Andrew Miksys (2003)
“…Hounded by external events…” at Maureen Paley
David Bowie Memorial Carport by Gareth Jones (1994)
“…Hounded by external events…”
Kim Philby by Lucy McKenzie (2011)

Currently on view at Maureen Paley in East London, “…hounded by external events… is an exhibition bringing together seven international artists chosen by renowned British curator Michael Bracewell. The show compiles works that compare nineteenth-century ideals about art and the role of the artist to the postmodern world we live in today.

Taking its title from World Within World, the autobiography of English poet Stephen Spender, the tone of the exhibition is one of a paranoid society, suffering under the weight of the new technologies from which it once prospered.

Works by the likes of Andrew Miksys and Serban Savu show urban scenes inspiring feelings of unease and anxiety in the viewer. A variety of media ranging from photography to watercolour are used to communicate the exhibition’s themes.

Bracewell, the author of six novels and four non-fiction works, is celebrated for his cultural commentary and exploration of the way in which the visual arts have progressed across time. Through the works selected, he presents a view of today’s society that likens it to something resembling science fiction.


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