I’m a big fan of Cornelia Parker so was keen to see her new show History Painting at Frith Street Gallery.
The grid format is inspired by famous newspaper covers and the colour theory of American artist Emily Noyes Vanderpoel. there’s more to it than that. With Parker there often is so I recommend reading the exhibition blurb.
The paintings upstairs were interesting though wasn’t moved by most of them. I do like to have some kind of emotional response and kept thinking yes, that’s clever…
Downstairs was different for me. The dinosaur pigment paintings felt poignant: the remains of creatures from 90,000 years ago ground into paint where marks were arranged in different combinations. It looked as if each animal had two dabs per painting and I found myself trying to identify them accordingly. There was something about the play of shadows behind the marks, an additional presence beyond the paint.
Gunpowder Plots paintings were on the opposite wall. Maybe I connected much more with the sources of the paints? Was it the actual mark-making? I don’t know but found these more engaging.
No matter what she produces, there’s always plenty to think about.