Pop Art meets Classical Sculpture in Timothy Gatenby's new Solo Show at Blond Contemporary.
Blond Contemporary and Guerin Projects are proud to present “And All Shall be Memorialised”, a solo exhibition of paintings by Timothy Gatenby. Timothy Gatenby has produced a completely new series of work exclusively for Blond Contemporary for his first major UK solo exhibition, curated by Guerin Projects founder MC Llamas. Renaissance meets Pop Art in Gatenby’s hyper-real paintings referencing iconic cultural moments from Michelangelo’s David to Warhol’s Coca-Cola Bottle. Timothy Gatenby “And All Shall be Memorialised” is the inaugural show in Blond Contemporary’s 2025 exhibition programme and runs from 14th March until 9th April 2025.
Timothy Gatenby’s paintings explore consumerism, classicism and culture. Gatenby’s new body of work represents Classical and Pop culture icons, describing acclaimed objects of contemporary consumerist culture, alongside revered sculptures from the Classical age to the Modernist era. They create a visual link between the totems of then and now, triggering our subconscious belief system: is the Coca-Cola bottle as much of a cultural symbol as Michelangelo’s David? The theoretical lines are blurred. Gatenby’s pieces pay homage to a classical painting technique honed during 10 years of study at the Charles Cecil Studios in Florence. Gatenby’s works are extremely skilled and draw influence from John Singer Sargent’s sight size method. His practice merges reality and fiction, resulting in a form of fantastical realism.
Gatenby’s paintings reference the Pop and Dada alienation of the object as a consumerist fetish: The work of art as object, notably found in the work of Richard Hamilton, Tom Wesselmann and Marcel Duchamp amongst many others. In Gatenby’s pieces, the subjects are alienated and put on a pedestal, asking the viewer to think about them as totemic symbols, either of classical or of consumerist culture.
Timothy Gatenby explains the inspiration behind this new series of artworks: “This series of works draws inspiration from mundane everyday items and classical antiquity to ask questions of iconography in the modern world. I have curated my favourite sculptures–many of which influenced me during my time studying in Florence–and painted them blurred out as a visual way of exploring the digital age that we find ourselves now living in. For me, there is as much nostalgia attached to pieces such as the ‘Laocoon’ or Michelangelo’s ‘David’ as there is to an old Evian bottle. Objects featured in the works are blurred out to evoke the fading of memories and passing of time.”
Exhibition Details:
Timothy Gatenby ‘And All Shall be Memorialised’ - 14th March to 9th April, 2025.
Opening Reception: Invitation only VIP Private View on Thursday 13th March.
Location: Blond Contemporary 7 Piccadilly Arcade, St James's, London SW1Y 6NH.
Gallery opening hours: Monday-Friday: 10am-6pm | Saturday: 11am-5pm | Closed Sunday
Further Information: Blond Contemporary