Merging Painterly, Sculptural, and Digital Space @ SomoS Arts Berlin

WHEN: June 1st – 11th 2022, Tuesday – Saturday, 14 – 19h, and by appointment.

Opening reception on Tuesday the 31st of May 2022 from 6 pm to 8 pm.

WHERE: SomoS, Kottbusser Damm 95, 1.0G, 10967 Berlin (U8 – Schönleinstraße)

WHY: Infectiously playful yet thoughtful, Atticus Gordon’s solo show at SomoS invites us to enjoy an alluring imaginary world merging painterly, sculptural, and digital space.

From June 1st – 11th, SomoS presents “Space & Matter,” a solo exhibition by Canadian visual artist Atticus Gordon (b. 1995). The show displays a series of mixed media artworks exploring familiar yet uncanny scenes, functioning together as a complete installation. All works were created during his 3-month residency at SomoS Arts Berlin in 2020.

The “Expanded Painting” concept of “Space & Matter” merges paintings into sculptural installations, initiating spatial conversations across different art forms. Exploration and experimentation are important to the artist’s work process, keeping a playful and inquisitive air. Blending unconventional materials with more traditional elements and techniques, Gordon’s work is set to cross boundaries, generating inviting imaginative experiences for visitors.

For Gordon, expanding the matter of painting also involves the space of the digital realm. As Maela Ohana, director of Archive Contemporary gallery in Montreal observes,

“Atticus Gordon’s work ties representational painting with digital processes. His paintings are based on iPhone photography, ranging from images of the mundane to candid photos of friends. His creative process has progressively evolved into a style that reflects the fractured immediacy of digital information and images. He is building a language of layering and graphic simplification that simultaneously references how imagery is stored through digital media and in human memory.”

Atticus Gordon’s solo show at SomoS is an invitation to dive into an alluring imaginary world, where painterly, sculptural, and digital spaces merge together.

Originally planned in 2020 during the pandemic, Space & Matter was originally developed as an in-deep online archive / virtual exhibition of Atticus Gordon’s work with curatorial text and work analysis by Angelica Lanza, with editing by Oliver Dougherty. Now, SomoS is able to present the physical exhibition as well.

Realized with the kind support of the Ontario Arts Council – Conseil des arts de l’Ontario (OAC) and the City of Ottawa.