Private View: When Will I See You Again? with Kyle Meyer

When will I see you again? Kyle Meyer Three naked forms emerge behind a rash of colours as if coming up for air. This large-scale textural self-portrait articulates the feelings of seclusion, claustrophobia and anxiety that run throughout Kyle Meyer’s latest body of work. Largely created in lockdown and in response to global crises, the artworks express the artist’s personal psychological experiences of enforced solitude whilst also speaking to shared human conditions of oppression, loss and uncertainty. Aptly entitled When will I see you again?, the artist’s first UK solo show at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery London is a powerful interrogation of normality and what it means to be human in today’s world. Based in New York, Meyer originally trained in photography and graphic design before going on to learn the art of weaving in Swaziland during a fellowship. His practice now melds these two artistic mediums to create highly-textural, layered and often surreal artworks that question the potency of digital photography by challenging the viewer’s perceptions of reality. For Meyer, the process usually begins with the setup and capturing of one or several images, which are then printed, reassembled or overlaid and hand-woven together with strips of dyed fabric. Through the physical act of weaving, the printed image is ruptured and distorted, creating a surreal effect which recalls digital pixelation. The aim for Meyer, however, is to reconnect the physical body to making and viewing of an image; the effort of the artist’s hands is visible in the textures of each piece. ‘There are subtle changes in the weaving and colour in these works, which play with perception,’ commented the artist. ‘I’m bringing to attention something that would have never been seen before.’ This disruptive drive as well as a deep physical engagement with the artistic materials and creative process are essential to Meyer’s practice.