Alessandro RAHO at Thomas Williams Fine Art , London, 12 Nov - 20 Dec

Exhibition Description:

Thomas Williams and Charles Asprey will be presenting new work by British artist Alessandro Raho. A participant in the groundbreaking "Brilliant! New Art from London" exhibition in 1995 with Damien Hirst, Tracy Emin and the Chapman brothers, Raho will exhibit dramatic new work at Thomas Williams Fine Art on Old Bond Street this autumn. His paintings will be shown alongside a selection of Old Master drawings, a field described by gallerist Thomas Williams as the 'haunted wing' of the art world.

The concept for this exhibition was created during a dialogue between Raho, Williams and Charles Asprey concerning the lack of awareness of the linearity between the 'old' and the 'new' in contemporary society, including their concerns about the increasingly deadening environment of the ubiquitous 'white cube' gallery concept.

Alessandro Raho's work is intense and involves a deliberate and slow process, reflected in his layering of oil colour and delicate pencil mark-making. The more measured pace of Thomas William Fine Art's classical gallery space is a natural fit for such works. Raho curates the display of classic Old Master drawings in a side gallery, as an adjunct to the show, to reinforce the historical perspective.

Raho's exhibition is the result of two years intensive work. Culminating in three major new canvases, an impressive two metres in height, which will dominate the display. These portraits involve the people closest to the artist: his wife, his mother and his brother. In using a monumental scale, Raho gives us an almost life-size encounter with his subjects who look us in the eye, compelling us to look back. Colour and pattern are becoming even more important for Raho; with denser backgrounds, he increases the intensity of the aesthetic, so that despite the apparently naturalistic subject matter, there is a disturbing sense of unreality in this subtly abstracted reality.

Raho has become a phenomenen, an artist who took part in the "Brilliant!" show when he was a full ten years younger than his fellow exhibitors Hirst, Emin, the Chapmans, Rachel Whiteread, Chris Offili et al. This exhibition is now recognized as one of the defining moments in contemporary British art, more significant even than the Royal Academy's celebrated 1997 "Sensation!" as it was through this exhibition that the YBAs began to establish an international reputation.

Ten years on, Alessandro Raho offers a very different aesthetic to his YBA peers. He is in tune with the quieter sensibility of the subsequent generation, such as David Thorpe, Enrico David and Mark Leckey. He has exhibited at numerous exhibitions in Europe and the USA and was recently commissioned by London's National Portrait Gallery to paint the actress Dame Judi Dench. Some notable exhibitions include Kunsthalle Basel, Cheim & Reid New York, Taro Nasu in Tokyo and Ruziska in Salzburg.

Description:

Image: Alessandro Raho, Catherine
Oil on canvas, 240 x 160 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Thomas Williams Fine Art

Full Contact Details:

Thomas Williams Fine Art
22 Old Bond Street
London
W1S 4PY
020 7491 1485
info (at) thomaswilliamsfineart.com
Gallery hours: 10am - 6pm, Monday - Friday.