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CLARE PRICE__ROB LEECH September 12th - October 18 2009 Closing Drinks Saturday Oct 17th 5-7pm
“I knew a wise-guy who used to make fun of my painting, but he didn’t like the Abstract Expressionists either. He said they would be good painters if only they could keep the paint as good as it is in the can. And that’s what I tried to do. I tried to keep the paint as good as it is in the can.” Said Frank Stella in a 1964 Radio. . In his mischievous yet mesmerising, intensely indulgent “paint can” series of works, Rob Leech (b. Derby, 1983) has literally kept the paint in the can. With the aid of water pumps normally used to create fountains in garden ponds, and air pumps for fish tanks he creates continuous, self creating painterly gestures that occur within the can of paint - playfully poking fun at certain styles of painting and the seriousness of art while still preserving a positive attitude towards the world around us. Rob Leech is a recent graduate of the Royal Academy Schools. CLARE PRICE
The paintings explore the intersection of something that is very visceral and painterly with something that is much more controlled and designed. The initial images that create the basis for the paintings are made on an antiquated computer drawing programme. These are carefully edited, projected and meticulously drawn onto the canvas. The clean computer pixels become hand drawn pencil marks. The intuitive mark making of the computer drawing becomes a “grid” or skeleton for the paintings. This is either rigidly adhered to, or rebelled against using expressive brush strokes and aerosol sprayed marks. The paintings are created using acrylic, spray paint and household laquers. There is an energy and tension in the paintings between fast and slow, meticulous line drawing and action painting; creating unsetting visions and fractured abstracted landscapes. The paintings have a sense of natural chaos and drama and revel in notions of rebellion and performance mirrored in their titles gleaned from pop songs.
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