Brett Amory,  who we featured in our February, 2014 issue, will be opening a new solo exhibition at Lazarides Rathbone this Friday, March 7th, 2014. We stopped by Brett's studio in Oakland to get a little preview just as he was finishing up and getting ready to ship everything to London...

Brett Amory,  who we featured in our February, 2014 issue, will be opening a new solo exhibition at Lazarides Rathbone this Friday, March 7th, 2014. We stopped by Brett's studio in Oakland to get a little preview just as he was finishing up and getting ready to ship everything to London. 

The exhibition, Twenty-Four in London, is a continuation of the critically acclaimed ‘Waiting’ series. Following his 2012 and 2013 exhibitions, Twenty-Four in San Francisco and Twenty-Four in New York, respectively. Amory's first solo exhibition at Lazarides Rathbone will present twenty-four paintings of London's most iconic locations, including The National Museum, Abbey Road and The Blind Beggar alongside multimedia installations in their flagship gallery on Rathbone Place. Amory’s creative process to this particular series involved over a month of research and observation, taking in the length and breadth of the nation’s capital by bicycle and documenting over forty locations with more than fifty hours of video and hundreds of photos at each place. From Kensington and Wimbledon to Hackney and Brixton, each painting portrays a localized arena featuring a diverse demographic of the city dwellers including night clubbers, commuters, school children and traders all going about their daily routine. Each unique setting is quietly and calmly depicted through the artist’s distinctive painterly brushstrokes and scenic anticipation. 

Harnessing the power of social media to obtain recommendations on potential locations, the artist selected sites not only for their historical relevance to this global mecca but moreover for the impact each site has on locals and ability to visually communicate a narrative about the vicinity and its inhabitants: These shows are for the locals. I want to give the viewer an experience. By having painting, photography, video, installation and found object I hope the viewer walks away with something, the same way a great movie or book affects you. You take it home with you and chew on it for a few days or even weeks. 

This body of work—simultaneously soothing and troubling to the viewer—offers visitors an intimate and thought-provoking snapshot of London through the eyes of one of California’s brightest young talents. 

Brett Amory: Twenty-Four in London
Lazarides Rathbone

March 7th - April 13th

Photography by Alex Nicholson.