Kevin Power

Kevin Power: The Ballet Paintings
6 June - 18 July 2020

After Kevin Power’s successful and acclaimed exhibition with us in the summer of 2018, All Time Is Now Time, the Suzanne Biederberg Gallery is delighted to present his new series The Ballet Paintings, his fifth solo exhibition with the gallery. The three-dimensional works, which can be either worn or displayed, are assemblages of textiles, paint and other organic and inorganic materials--often recycled. Even the gallery walls are clad in discarded cardboard packaging. Maarten Spruyt contributed to the design and presentation of this exhibition. The imagery often reflects the social history and architecture in the neighbourhood of Power’s studio in De Pijp in Amsterdam. Says Power: “I conceived of the paintings as a wearable project that could form a procession in the neighborhood, celebrating its richness and radical history. We are De Pijp. We carry our culture with us. We live today & our history of who we are is all around us.” And not to be forgotten is the relevance of Power”s work in these times of the Covid virus, and world upheaval. Apart from a number of works on paper, the viewer is also greeted by “Office Cleaner”, a life-size sculpture from the series “Office Gurls”, which Kevin Power created for the 2018 Salon del Mobile design fair in Milan, in the Hans Lensvelt Pavilion, curated by Maarten Spruyt. Power studied philosophy/literature at the UCD Ireland and then art and fashion at the Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam. For the past 20 years he has designed and produced artwork, made collections for local and international designers, for flagship stores and showrooms, and has collaborated with art directors on museum exhibitions, photo shoots, and music festivals. Patrick Healy, of the Delft School of Design, Faculty of Architecture, TU Delft, in a recent interview, describes Power thus: “…a kind of jesting Everyman, a figure bordering on mythology and archetype: shaman, trickster, holy fool, saint. At home in the virtual, he nevertheless lives in a hand-made world, of clothing, of food, of gardening, of paintings and sculptures and thinking up communal activities where everyone is indeed, following the maxim of Joseph Beuys, 'an artist'. His work references mythology, shamanic rituals, poetry, healing and the old threads of the embroidered cloth of gold he wears with pride from his first home in Ireland.“ The Ballet Paintings will be on view 6 June to 11 July 2020. Kevin Power studied philosophy/literature at the UCD Ireland and then art and fashion at the Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam. For the past 20 years he has designed and produced artwork, made collections for local and international designers, for flagship stores and showrooms, and has collaborated with art directors on museum exhibitions, photo shoots, and music festivals. Patrick Healy, of the Delft School of Design, Faculty of Architecture, TU Delft, describes Power thus: “…a kind of jesting Everyman, a figure bordering on mythology and archetype: shaman, trickster, holy fool, saint. At home in the virtual, he nevertheless lives in a hand-made world, of clothing, of food, of gardening, of paintings and sculptures and thinking up communal activities where everyone is indeed, following the maxim of Joseph Beuys, 'an artist'. His work references mythology, shamanic rituals, poetry, healing and the old threads of the embroidered cloth of gold he wears with pride from his first home in Ireland.“