THREE: group art exhibition

Three, an exhibition of new works by London-based artist-educators Aleksandar Baši?, Luke Branca and Lisa Sharma.
?
Aleksandar Baši?'s latest mixed media (ink, acrylic and watercolour) works on paper are a series of portraits, merging art history with the more contemporary phenomenon of 'selfies'. Throughout history artists have been infatuated with the portrayal of themselves and others in numerous ways and forms. Today, portraiture is pushed to banality, or kitsch, with the arrival of new technologies; even face recognition software is no longer science fiction. Aleksandar uses these realities to gather the essential information he needs to create his portraits, which consistently depict the memory of an artist who has inspired his practice. His abstracted portraits present viewers with a blend of jarring shapes and all of the key components of the historical and contemporary portraits that he examines. The viewer’s full engagement is demanded in reading these fascinating and uncanny images.
?
Luke Branca is showing selected work from a recent series of paintings on paper, titled Vampires | Tears | Rain. The works freely combine abstract shapes, marks and symbols with landscapes, figures and structures. The entire series is subtly painted in just two colours; either a rich Berlin blue or neutral grey. The grey adds a sense of bleakness to what are already forlorn landscapes, at times appearing to depict the aftermath of some event, a battle, or apocalypse perhaps. That said, the subject of the work remains elusive and unexplained. The blue draws out certain motifs, such as diamonds, dots and inverted crosses; again, the subject of which is hard to pin down. Sparse and vague, yet highly captivating, these paintings inspire sustained contemplation. Seldom showing in public, this exhibition offers a rare opportunity to engage in person with the artist’s work.
?
Lisa Sharma’s aptly titled Being Mum records the artists endeavour to create work during transitory moments, captured within the time-pressured schedule of a being mother, artist and teacher. Outcomes are rarely certain and could take any form; anything is possible. This unrestricted approach not only reflects the subject matter, but also adds an intriguing element of surprise to what the artist creates and exhibits. Highly personal and moving work.
?
Performance/collaborative work: "There will be Fire" performed by the artists - burning their own artwork, 6th April 2017 from 6PM - 9PM.