Cupid
Curated by Maria do Carmo M. P. de Pontes
16th August, 2024 –14th September, 2024
Elizabeth Xi Bauer
Fuel Tank
8-12 Creekside
London
SE8 3DX
Celebrating the Many Entanglements Between Love and Creativity Cupid presents works by nine couples: 16 individual artists within their romantic partnerships and an artist duo. The exhibition invites artists to explore the various creative dynamics within a relationship. In recent years, Elizabeth Xi Bauer has exhibited several artists who are incidentally in a relationship with another artist.
Exhibiting Artists
Abraham Kritzman & Matan Oren
Andreea Petrișor Hereșanu & Cătălin Marius Petrișor Hereșanu
Clementine Keith-Roach & Christopher Page
Gokula Stoffel & Paulo Monteiro
Maria Konder & Rafael D’Aló
Mariana Paiva Rebola & Theodore Ereira-Guyer
Marta Jakobovits & Miklós Jakobovits
Mr and Mrs Philip
Cath Rafał Zajko & Jonathan Baldock
This sparked the idea of further investigating the many intertwining aspects of art and life. Some of the exhibiting artists will respond to this invitation by collaborating with their respective partners, while others will showcase works created independently. Mr. and Mrs. Philip Cath are exceptions, as they create their work together, with their relationship being central to their practice. Many artists in Cupid will delve into the complex realm of collaboration for the first time, breaking down the physical and metaphorical barriers between the private and public spheres.
Courtesy of the artist and Elizabeth Xi Bauer Gallery, London.
“Romantic relationships are intense bonds in themselves, but what happens when people take this bond to the next level, blurring the lines between living and creating? Beyond sharing a private life and a bed, lovers also share a profession. Does this shift sometimes lead to schadenfreude, or can selflessness prevail? How can one give honest feedback on a partner’s work when so many emotions are involved?” explains Maria do Carmo M. P. de Pontes. The exhibition title, Cupid, references the Roman god of love and desire, traditionally thought to be the offspring of Venus and Mars, symbolizing the union of love and conflict—fitting for this exhibition.
Clementine Keith-Roach is a sculptor whose work centers around plaster-casting and trompe l’oeil painting, creating sculptures reminiscent of archaeological artefacts. Her work suggests both funerary elements and the potential for new worlds. Christopher Page is a painter whose work explores light, shadow, and reflection, often through trompe l’oeil techniques that challenge the boundaries between real and virtual space. The two artists, having previously explored the enmeshment of bodies and psyches, will showcase a collaborative wall relief that merges their visual languages.
Gokula Stoffel’s practice revolves around memory and the subconscious, using materials like fabric and copper wire to bridge figurative and abstract art. Paulo Monteiro explores the limits of space in painting and sculpture, with a focus on colour, shape, line, and texture. The two occasionally paint together, and Cupid will feature their collaborative watercolours, a blend of landscape and object.
Maria Konder’s practice reflects on social injustice and environmental issues. The artist often uses mythological references to explore gender identity and how it is reshaped through political and social beliefs. Her multidisciplinary practice incorporates drawing, sewing, painting, writing, sculpture, performance, and video.
Because You Were Born, 2024
Rafael D’Aló’s work focuses on the metropolis, examining the flows of global trade, migratory histories, language, and urban development. He uses found materials, such as steel frames from buildings, as urban fragments and pieces of contemporary material culture—objects he encounters daily. His works reflect on the fragility of our complex social web and point to a deeper contemplation of the forces that shape our personal and collective identities.
Mariana Paiva Rebola addresses the cultural constraints of female adulthood while evoking a primitive sense of the body. Her intimate approach to her practice reflects on self-representation and its deconstruction, combined with metaphysical and, at times, disturbing undertones. The artist often explores enclosed spaces, which once represented anxiety but later became sources of inner freedom. In Cupid, Rebola will exhibit a headless collage.
Theodore Ereira-Guyer’s printmaking process, including etching on paper or plaster, emulates the mechanism of memory, capturing a loss of information between the plate and the new surface. He sees the bronze casting method as another form of printmaking. His recent bronze cast faces sit between figurative and abstraction, evoking an eternal presence like a spectre, with an aura that transcends time.
The artist will display two bronze cast faces from a new series—one polished and one heat-treated blue—mirroring day and night, a poetic nod to the complementary nature of a couple. Cupid marks the couple’s first exhibition together, where Rebola and Ereira-Guyer will showcase separate works, allowing space for each to create and present their unique forms within the shared space.
Marta Jakobovits’ practice is profoundly focused on exploring ceramic techniques, including casting, modelling, firing, and glazing. She works with shape, colour, and texture, building a vast personal library that explores how chemicals and physical processes inform each other. Her installations often engage in a visual dialogue with natural forms, such as stones, leaves, tree barks, and found objects.
Miklós Jakobovits (1936-2012) was a painter and sculptor whose practice explored the harmonies and discords in human relationships through colours and forms. During the Ceaușescu dictatorship in Romania, the Jakobovits created works in secret, often collaboratively, as part of the underground Transylvanian art scene. The exhibition will feature a ceramic box created by Marta and decorated by Miklós during this period, along with Marta’s rearrangeable composition Raku Pillows – Morning Meditation (2003), which inspired Miklós to paint a series of tempera paintings.
Courtesy of the artists.
Mr. and Mrs. Philip Cath are a husband-and-wife artist duo who create works solely together, combining conceptual and historical elements. Their joint practice frequently explores the perils of human existence through their shared perspective. Cupid will feature their portraiture work, a central element of their practice.
Jonathan Baldock works across multiple mediums, including sculpture, installation, and performance, using autobiographical elements to delve into themes of trauma, mortality, and spirituality. His work explores the complex relationship between body, objects, and space, often within a theatrical or ceremonial context, blending myth and folklore with humour and wit.
Rafał Zajko explores the environmental impact of industrial history, interweaving queer identities, working-class heritage, Polish folklore, and science fiction. His multidisciplinary practice spans sculpture, performance, and costume, using a variety of materials and techniques. Zajko’s multidisciplinary practice spans sculpture, performance, and costume.
The artist’s work investigates the connections between monuments, architecture, and the relationship between the body and technological developments. Baldock and Zajko will create collaborative work in response to this exhibition.
Cupid opens on the 16th of August, 2024 until the 14th of September, 2024 at Elizabeth Xi Bauer
©2024 Elizabeth Xi Bauer
Art Plugged is a contemporary platform inspired by a relationship with the broader arts communities. We provide our audience with curated insight into the world of art, from exhibitions to artist interviews and more.
