BLUESOUP GROUP , CALINE AOUN &
SHANNON FINLEY

Liquid Space

4 FEBRUARY - 6 MARCH 2011

VIEW WORKS

NETTIE HORN is pleased to present an exhibition inspired by the new technologies surrounding the creation of images and their systems of representation and communication. From virtual realities to the universe of video graphics and the mechanics of the image, the exhibition opens a window of reflection on the influence and development of digital media through the mediums of video, painting and printing.
In the last decades, artists have been experimenting with all aspects of this new concept of the computer image techniques, and digital art has evolved into a multitude of practices, from object-oriented work to interactive, process-oriented pieces. The artists in the exhibition present a strand of this mutation operated by the status of the image and the way in which virtuality has become a catalyst to the reshaping of our anthropology.

Founded in 1996 in Moscow, Blue soup group is composed of Alex Dobrov, Daniel Lebedev, Alexander Lobanov and Valery Patkonen – a group of architects united by the same passion for video and computer animation. Following in the tradition of Russian conceptualism, Bluesoup creates realistic virtual images and animations defined by an atmosphere of mysticism generated by the notion of emptiness. This idea of emptiness is a fundamental element in Soviet reality as it symbolizes a metaphysical void, a transcendental vacuum. It is seen as a principle of destruction and disorganization which actively transforms all positive being into non-being, a space waiting to be filled and organized (1).

The piece “Way Out” is typically one of these environments, where questions and answers flood in but remain pending. The video presents the interior of an inhabited house where paradoxical activity is generated by its components. This intangible domestic activity seems to reveal a mechanism operated by laws understood solely by the mechanism itself: some household elements are detached from their everyday meaning and move of their own accord. Within Bluesoup’s practice, there is consistently an opening leading towards hypothesises confronting the viewer’s subjectivity and often associated to an anxiety which is, surprisingly, not activated by the actual content of the films themselves but more so by their structure.

Caline Aoun’s recent works originate essentially from the manipulation of material and the systems used to communicate images and their mechanisms of transmission. In this way, Aoun exceeds and diverts the functions of digital equipment such as printers to which she inflicts manual “dis-manipulations” and malfunctions such as force-feeding paper or blocking the plotter’s suction in order to exploit ways of subverting certain effects onto the image (such as saturation). By addressing and disrupting the mechanics of creation and representation of images, Aoun explores the processes through which these images appear and ultimately questions the idea of technical failure. She plays with the energy of an executional system to create “non images” where paradoxically sophisticated and spectral fields of colour are superimposed onto one another.

Characterised by a compelling and sophisticated visual impact, Shannon Finley’s acrylic paintings play with an aray of hypnotising contrasts of colour fields where structures of elementary shapes merge and intertwine. Through a combination of textural, light and colour effects, these meticulous and yet irregular prismatic and iridescent territories create a surface of mystifying geometry and space. According to a traditional painterly rhythm, Finley’s paintings are developped through a process of successive layering, in an almost collage-like manner, enabling us to transit from an ancient sacral contemplation to a three-dimensional environment inspired by digital media. The geometry seems to then take shape with a holographic effect recalling the dynamism and aesthetic of video games. As suggested in his titles, Finley references a number of first generation games such as the arcade and console games and is essentially drawn to contemporary pop culture from which references and a certain visual identity originate from.

Bluesoup Group was founded in 1996 in Moscow. Their members live and work in Moscow, Russia.
Exhibitions include “Untitled”, Stella Art Foundation (SOLO SHOW) (2010); Rauma Biennale Balticum 10. Rauma, Finland (2010); Walking a Fine Line. Espace Croisé, Roubaix, France (2010); “Blizzard”, XL Gallery, Moscow (SOLO SHOW) (2009); History of Russian Videoart, volume II. Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Moscow (2009); Busan Biennale 2008. Busan, South Korea (2008).

Caline Aoun was born in 1983 in Beirut, Libanon. She currently lives and works in London.
Exhibitions include “Bloomberg New Contemporaries”, ICA, London & The A-Foundation, Liverpool (2010); “Paperplane”, The Joinery, Dublin and The Occupy Space, Limerick, Ireland (2010); “Royal Academy School Show”, London (2009); “Scape”, Sartorial Project Space, London (SOLO SHOW) (2009).
Shannon Finley was born in 1974 in Toronto, Canada. He lives and works in Berlin, Germany.
Exhibitions include “Shannon Finley, Silverman Gallery, San Francisco (SOLO SHOW) (2010); Specters into Signals, Galerie Christian Ehrentraut, Berlin (SOLO SHOW) (2010); Konstruktiv!, Beck & Eggeling, Dusseldorf (2010); Your third eye is a dictator, The Gowanus Studio Space, New York (2010); Wasistdas '09, Paris (2009).

Shannon Finley was born in 1974 in Toronto, Canada. He lives and works in Berlin, Germany.
Exhibitions include “Shannon Finley, Silverman Gallery, San Francisco (SOLO SHOW) (2010); Specters into Signals, Galerie Christian Ehrentraut, Berlin (SOLO SHOW) (2010); Konstruktiv!, Beck & Eggeling, Dusseldorf (2010); Your third eye is a dictator, The Gowanus Studio Space, New York (2010); Wasistdas '09, Paris (2009).

For inquiries regarding availability of works and prices, or additional information about the artist, please contact the gallery. 

Liquid Space, Installation View, 2011

Liquid Space, Installation View, 2011

Liquid Space, Installation View, 2011

Liquid Space, Installation View, 2011

Bluesoup, Way Out, 2005
3D animation, 9 mins

Shannon Finley, Necromancer, 2011
Acrylic on canvas, 150 x 130 cm

Shannon Finley, Niteline, 2011
Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 36 cm

Shannon Finley, Tablet, 2011
Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 20 cm

Shannon Finley, Shaped, 2011
Acrylic on canvas, 47 x 50 cm

Shannon Finley, Necromancer, 2011
Acrylic on canvas, 28 x 24 cm