Quodlibet

Alastair Gordon’s Quodlibet shows a new series of works on board, panel, paper canvas on the themes of illusion and ‘Quodlibet’ musical compositions. A special exhibition at 12 Piccadilly Arcade curated by Aleph Contemporary.

Alastair Gordon’s practice references forms of trompe l’oeil painting as a means to approach questions about illusion, replication and the way in which artists utilise source materials. In the last year he has moved his focus on heightened realism to a more gestural and intuitive approach. Gordon describes his work to be:
“A poiesis of matter and thought where instinct and intellect create a place of attunement. A ritual space of imagination and embodiment, where materials have thought and the hand moves instinctively.”

A fundamental component of this new direction for Gordon is his expanded selection of substrates to work on: board, panel, paper, as well as canvas. His application of the collage technique transforms papers, artefacts, paint and residual materials, that become woven into the conception of the paintings from the start. While the layers and textures of the new work may seem to be a stark departure from his expected, meticulously rendered and sophisticated oil paintings, his practice has always been rooted in collage. There is also a philosophical link between collage and quodlibet painting, the latter of which has offered him a fecundity of reference points for the pinned or taped objects on wood panels. Driven by the free association of collage, his layered compositions similarly challenge the nature of perception by adding multiple types of artefacts to the picture plane. The interplay of the tactile surfaces and the illusion of painted objects, re-contextualizes the subject beyond its representation and becomes integrated into the fabric of the painting.

Alastair Gordon is a London based artist, artist-in-residence for City and Guilds of London Art School in 2020. He is co-founder and director of Morphe Arts and course leader for Critical and Professional Development at the Leith School of Art in Edinburgh. After his selection for the Open West 2014, Alastair went on to receive first prize in the Shoosmiths Art Prize. That year he was also selected for the Threadneedle Painting Prize, Zeitgeist Open, Oriel Davies Open and Beep 2014. Since then solo exhibitions have included First Things gallery in New York, the Ahmanson Collection in Los Angeles, Nomas Projects in Dundee and group shows including CCE Gallery in Beijing and Paint Lounge, Sluice in Berlin. Alastair’s work features in several international collections including the Landmark Trust plc. (London), Ahmanson Collection (Los Angeles), Simmons and Simmons (London), Royal Bank of Scotland Collection, Glasgow School of Art Alumni Collection and the Bow Arts trust (London).

Aleph Contemporary is a London based contemporary art gallery with an international roster of emerging and mid-career artists and a forward-looking programme of curated collections, publications, virtual exhibitions and pop- up events. The name Aleph is inspired by Jorge Luis Borges’ story of the same name and expresses a commitment to the importance of dialogue, invention, and the value of experiencing and understanding art today.