All That Matters Is What’s Left Behind

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On view at Ronchini Gallery, London, All That Matters Is What’s Left Behind, brings together a distinct group of young international artists with their individually identifiable abstract works. Artists include: Alex Clarke, Phoebe Collings-James, Ziggy Grudzinskas, Prem Sahib, Rebecca Ward and Jens Wolf.

All That Matters Is What’s Left Behind explores the act of the artist ‘leaving their mark’ as a work of art. From hand-drawn scrawls, to bodily imprints and lyrical abstractions, the elements of human imperfection find expression within the individuals’ works of art.

The works reflect on the artistic process alongside the completed art form; the manipulation of materials in order to extract meaning is evident within the work. Created in a gestural style solely by each artist’s own hand and eye, imperfections add to the physicality of the work, creating a visual experience which actively engages the viewer in the artistic process, continually reminding us of the artists’ bodily presence.

Alex Clarke makes various groups of paintings that, together, explore the very notion and aspiration of a person making a painting. Clarke’s recent paintings utilising paper question ‘gesture’, presenting the space of a figurative practice that comes before the abstract painting. Phoebe Collings-James works in a variety of mediums including painting, sculpture and video. Placing an un-stretched canvas on the floor, she paints using her whole body to create work, which explores violence, sexuality and desire; a new work created using an ivory black pigment contains the artist’s footprints. Ziggy Grudzinskas’ painting practice is a dedicated investigation of materials and the perception of image. His work builds upon his background in graffiti art to create abstract large scaled works on canvas, created by various emotive processes. The artistic gesture is used as a document of a specific time and an act free from mind.

Prem Sahib works primarily in sculpture, but also through installation, performance, photography and sound. His practice is informed by a language of display, its elements embodying discrete formalism placed in choreographed relationships with one another. With an economy of material and form he aims to produce an emotional reaction from minimalist language; in a new black ‘dead neon’ work, Sahib presents a gestural abstract sculpture. Rebecca Ward’s subtly evocative paintings set into motion a perceptual play of colour, texture and light investigating the relationship between the painted surface and its base. Ward produces paintings and large-scale installations, preferring an eclectic range of non-traditional materials including: bleach, spray paint, tape and dye. Influenced by Minimalism, Abstract Art and Arte Povera her varied practice surrounds the iconography of feminine gesture, contemporary Americana culture and craft. Jens Wolf explores colour, shape and flatness through his geometric abstract paintings on plywood. Working with painting on board, Wolf is inspired by the major abstract Modern movements on the 20th century, but his work transcends this rich tradition by leaving traces of imperfection and uniqueness behind. Colour, geometry and symmetry are explored throughout his work.

About the Artists

Alex Clarke (b. 1988, Nottingham, UK) graduated from Central St. Martins in 2010 and the Royal Academy Schools in 2014. Past exhibitions include: Hope, Gowlett Peaks, London, (2014); Showtime, Johannes Vogt, New York (2014); and Best Good Friend, Royal Academy Schools Show, Royal Academy of Arts, London (2014).

Phoebe Collings-James (b.1987, London, UK) graduated from Goldsmiths in 2009. She has presented her work internationally. Recent solo exhibitions include: Blood on the leaves, Blood on the Roots, Preteen Gallery Mexico City; Lament for the Walking Dead, Cob Gallery, London; The Flesh Is All You Have, If You Mortify That There Is No Hope For You, Ritter Zamet, London. Collings-James was the first female artist in residence at the Still House Group where she presented Pleasure Pieces in 2012 and in 2014 she completed the Nuove Ceramics residency. Group exhibitions include a The Demons I Summoned Won’t Let Me Go with Art & Language and Sam Anderson, Cookie Butcher, Antwerp; It’s Been 10 Years Since 2010, Arcadia Missa, London. Phoebe has been invited to speak on art and gender by Tate Britain, WOW festival at South Bank Centre, The Cass School of Art & Architecture and the ELF.

Ziggy Grudzinskas (b. 1982, Sydney, Australia) is a current third year student at the Royal Academy Schools. He received his BA in painting from Camberwell College of Arts in 2010. Recent exhibitions include: What do YOU Represent?, The Nursery, London (2014); Wu-Tang Is For The Children, Londonewcastle Project Space, London (2014); Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London (2014); DUBL TRUBL, Urban Spree, Berlin (2014).

Prem Sahib (b.1982, London, UK) graduated from the Slade School of Fine Art in 2006 and the Royal Academy Schools in 2013. Recent solo exhibitions include Tongues, Jhaveri Contemporary, Mumbai; Night Flies, Southard Reid, London; Back Chat, Lorcan O’Neill Gallery, Rome. Group exhibitions include Shape of Thought, The Breeder, Monaco; Abstract Cabinet, David Roberts Art Foundation, London; Days In Lieu, David Zwirner, London, 2013. Forthcoming exhibitions include presentation of work and performance within Forget Amnesia, The Fiorucci Art Trust, Stromboli; Burning Down The House, Gwangju Biennale, South Korea as well as solo shows at The Breeder, Athens; Lorcan O’Neill, Rome; and Southard Reid, London in 2015.

Rebecca Ward (b. 1984, Waco, Texas, USA) lives and works in New York. She received her BA in Fine Arts from University of Texas in 2006, and an MFA in Fine Arts from School of Visual Arts, New York in 2012. She has exhibited extensively in the United States, Europe, and South America. Museum solos include The Museum of Contemporary Art, Raleigh. Notable solo exhibitions include: Ronchini Gallery, London, UK (2013), East Hampton Shed, East Hampton, NY (2013), and a two person show with Carla Accardi, Bibo’s Place, Todi, Italy (2013). Her work is included in museum and public collections. Ward participated in group exhibitions including Maurizio Cattelan’s The Virgins at Family Business, New York (2012), curated by Marilyn Minter, Post-Op at Mixed Greens Gallery, New York (2012), Recent exhibitions include: The Shaped Canvas, Revisited at Luxembourg & Dayan, New York (2014), Material Images at Vogt Gallery, New York, (2014). Forthcoming exhibitions include a solo show in 2015 at Ronchini Gallery.

Jens Wolf (b. 1967, Heilbronn, Germany) lives and works in Berlin. Wolf graduated in 2001 from the Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe under Helmut Dorner and Luc Tuymans. Past solo and group exhibitions include: FRAC Languedoc – Roussillon, Montpellier (2004), Le Grand Café Centre d’art Contemporain, Saint-Nazaire (2005), Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Ludwigshafen (2006), Musée d’art contemporain, Grenoble (2007), MARTa Herford Museum, Herford (2008), MUMOK Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna (2010), Marres Maastricht, Timmerfabriek, Maastricht (2011), Kunstbunker, Nuremberg (2012), Galerie am Markt, Kunstverein Schwäbisch Hall (2013), FRAC Poitou-Charantes, Angoulême (2013), Saarlandmuseum, Saarbrücken (2013/2014), Galerie MaxWeberSixFriedrich, Munich (2013). His work is included in numerous permanent collections including: Daimler Contemporary, Berlin; Marta Herford Museum, Herford; Sammlung zeitgenössischer Kunst der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn; Kunsthalle – CCA Andratx, Spain; Saarlandmuseum, Saarbrücken, Germany; The Zabludowicz Art Trust, London; and multiple FRAC Collections in France.