INTRODUCTION :
“All you have to do is write one true sentence.
Write the truest sentence that you know.”
Ernest Hemingway
‘Concerning The Fragile’ is a solo exhibition of large scale figurative paintings, bronze sculpture and mixed media works on paper by British artist Andrew Litten.
The exhibition reflects the fragility of life with a succinct and inescapable relevance to the recent world crisis, unguardedly exploring complex states of our contemporary condition through a multifaceted body of work. As Litten states “The work itself is intended to be unguarded, full of raw nerves and emotionally varied. I look to create art that speaks of the love, anger, loss, personal growth and the private confusions we all experience in our lives. Where our vulnerability is made apparent, there is then a potential to relate to others. I want this exhibition to nurture a life affirming sense of our shared humanity and encourage wider readings of compassion. Empathy is powerful.” The profundity of this endeavour is all the more notable as it has been completed and assembled following the tragic passing of his wife Emma last year, which both overshadows and prescribes a subtext for this exhibition...
Ernest Hemingway
‘Concerning The Fragile’ is a solo exhibition of large scale figurative paintings, bronze sculpture and mixed media works on paper by British artist Andrew Litten.
The exhibition reflects the fragility of life with a succinct and inescapable relevance to the recent world crisis, unguardedly exploring complex states of our contemporary condition through a multifaceted body of work. As Litten states “The work itself is intended to be unguarded, full of raw nerves and emotionally varied. I look to create art that speaks of the love, anger, loss, personal growth and the private confusions we all experience in our lives. Where our vulnerability is made apparent, there is then a potential to relate to others. I want this exhibition to nurture a life affirming sense of our shared humanity and encourage wider readings of compassion. Empathy is powerful.” The profundity of this endeavour is all the more notable as it has been completed and assembled following the tragic passing of his wife Emma last year, which both overshadows and prescribes a subtext for this exhibition...
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Litten speaks of his hopes and objectives for the show: “Our shared need to connect, to engage with others, to share emotion and express protective feeling towards others who are vulnerable is such an essential and fundamental part of our basic nature. We want to feel moved, yet in a world that has become increasingly dominated by social media hits, disturbing pointless image overload and divisive identity posturing; the truly sensitive nuanced reflections can become rarer and sidelined. Through these works I seek to create stories of authenticity and to explore the part of us that wants to care - to compress a sense of endurance of human spirit.”
The work itself expresses firm commitment to the power of hand manipulated media, carrying a prolonged focus of energy and intensity to the viewer. For Litten, reassessment, manipulation and exploration of the unfamiliar are intrinsic to finding artistic articulacy. Traditional portraiture becomes a format for the representation of dependence (‘Alcohol Now’ and ‘Drugs Combination 1,2,3'), breakdown ('Emma - With Noise'), faith (‘Blessed’ & ‘Praying’), passing ('Head of a Dying Man') and responsibility ('Father and Child'). Larger scale allegorical compositions (‘Seated Man With Animals’ & ‘Discredited’) ambitiously tackle wider anxieties of the uncomfortable animal instincts within us that are often thinly veiled by civility.
‘Concerning the Fragile’ is imbued with the raw aim of defining issues of contemporary social conditioning and private confusion within a wider context that is neither judgemental or sensationalist but humanistic in essence.
The exhibition will be linked to the charity Mind Cornwall, fundraising and gaining feedback regarding how resources can be developed to offer further support to help people in Cornwall.
EXHIBITION ARTWORKS (CLICK FOR FURTHER INFO & IMAGES) :
EXHIBITION INSTALL IMAGES :
ONLINE CATALOGUE :