WEEK #4
OLIVIA BRAZIER & ANNA KLIMENTCHENKO
Olivia Brazier participated in last year's summer group exhibition Ripe Beings, while Anna Klimentchenko, she participated to the group show Night back in 2017.
All artworks are available to purchase. Should you wish to make an enquiry please email maddie@whitecrypt.com or anais@whitecrypt.com
OLIVIA BRAZIER
Olivia Brazier’s work is concerned with the relationships between women and food. The connection between the female form and fruit and vegetables is layered; historically women have been objectified in art much like a fruit basket in a still life and this remains palpable today. Women’s bodies in art and in life are constantly being observed. Their consumption of food and sex is something that is circumscribed and scrutinized. Moreover, the language used to describe food is often ascribed to women’s sexual viability and their body parts: ‘ripe’, ‘rotten’, ‘peach’ for example.
Brazier’s work aims to manipulate the typical imagery we see in art of women and food, by removing them both from their original context and placing them together into a new setting. She chooses to portray women from vintage pornography magazines playfully interacting with oversized fruit and vegetables in an attempt to redefine the historical portrayal of women and food in art. Art history is filled with depictions of nude women, however naked women in pornography are not afforded the same admiration. The work attempts to replace the shame and objectification, which surrounds women’s sexuality and appetite, with humour and surprise. The resulting images portray the subjects as elegant nudes in either regal interiors or embedded into nature. This change of narrative brings women - and the food they are so often objectified alongside - together creating an image of beauty that forces the viewer to reassess their original judgement whilst trying to fathom how such an absurd pairing could have occurred.
Discussing how the current pandemic crisis has affected her work, Brazier explains:
The pandemic lockdown has given me the time I've always wished I had to spend making work. I am very lucky that my studio is based in my home and although I am not able to go out to look for books and source images, it has allowed me to continue creating as usual. Alongside the positives of the world being put on hold there is also that underlying feeling of being trapped. I now feel even closer to the women portrayed in my collages and paintings - what was once a fantasy of being enclosed with food has now become a reality (and I am not sure it is everything I dreamt it would be). This has led me to look into new concepts; I miss the small, seemingly insignificant things like swimming and open spaces so have started making work about being in the ocean with a more dreamlike approach.
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http://oliviabrazier.co.uk/about/
@brazinraisin
Olivia Brazier (b.1991, works in London)
Recent presentations of Brazier’s work include the solo exhibition, ‘Bites and Piece’s at Apricus Osteria & Bar, Apricale, Italy (2019) and the following group shows: ‘Ripe Beings’, White Crypt, ‘Supercut’s, Deptford Art Hub (both 2019) and ‘Thrills and Spills’, a Peer Forum exhibition at Camden Arts Centre (2018).
ANNA KLIMENTCHENKO
Anna Klimentchenko’s paintings are a response to her thoughts, her way of processing human interactions and memories; they explore what it feels like to remember. By channeling her sensitivity to emotions into the work, she finds meaning and an opportunity to escape.
Over the last few years, Klimentchenko has started to look at postcards from her childhood. These assume a new meaning filtered through time and distance. Painting overlays those memories and fondness for certain objects with her current state of mind. Her paintings, in essence, present a response to what had happened and what is happening in her life at the moment of making them. They are not about a single memory or an event but seek to compress time and bring together multiple moments, associations and experiences.
Speaking about her current life under lockdown, Klimentchenko reflects:
Most recently, I have had to adjust by learning how to paint while homeschooling my son. This has been a challenging adjustment to my normally consistently quiet and uninterrupted studio time. Time will tell what I have learned from this experience.
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https://annaklimentchenko.com/home.html
@aklimentchenko
Anna Klimentchenko was born and grew up in Russia. She studied at the Slade School of Fine Arts an the Art Institute of Chicago.