Sims Reed Gallery and Oliver Projects are delighted to present Drop Shadows — a unique exhibition bringing together, for the first time, two contemporary artists – Katherine Jones RA and Temsuyanger Longkumer. Opening next spring, the exhibition will be a fusion of artistic visions exploring the delicate — and often deceptive – minutia of the natural world.
Having known each other as part of London’s printmaking community for over twenty years, Herefordshire-born artist Katherine Jones RA and Temsuyanger Longkumer, who grew up in Nagaland, Northeast India have formed a special and close friendship. Despite vastly different upbringings, their aligned artistic practices share an intense fascination with the subtly transformative forces of nature, and its power to represent both danger and refuge.
In Drop Shadows, the artists explore nature’s intricacies through three different art forms: painting, printmaking and sculpture. A renowned and accomplished printmaker, Jones has recently stepped outside her comfort zone to devote time to painting; this new body of unique works will be exhibited for the first time in this exhibition. Working on paper and wood panels, these works are investigating anthropomorphism in plants and parasites.
Jones’ vibrant new imagery, featuring rainbow-hued wings, gleaming eyes, and wobbly cacti, hovers between figuration and abstraction. Gently surreal and ambiguous, each composition is infused with – in the artist’s words “a bit of magical thinking”. This will contrast with Longkumer’s deeply symbolic objects which sit in quiet dialogue with the eerie luminosity that characterises Jones’ limited edition prints and paintings.
Earthy and tactile, Longkumer’s new collection of unique terracotta sculptures form the core of his multi-disciplinary artistic practice (his multi-media installation ‘Home’ was recently presented at the Venice International Film Festival.) Longkumer’s curvaceous, organic forms focus on the mysterious world of microorganisms but are also reminiscent of rolling landscapes and the human body, with skin or scale-like surfaces. The artist’s additions of pins and spikes appear both menacing and protective, representing nature’s wily ability to deceive.
Drop Shadows has been curated by Katherine Oliver who has amassed over 20 years’ experience in the art world, and is bringing together these dynamic artists’ works in dialogue for the first time. This exhibition marks an exciting collaboration between Oliver Projects and Sims Reed Gallery, representing a new collaborative approach by pairing a respected, established gallery and rare book dealer with a recently founded nomadic gallery/online platform.
Katherine Oliver, Founder of Oliver Projects, comments: “Drop Shadows comes at an important time when the art world has begun to explore new, collaborative ways of working. These partnerships enable galleries to support each another whilst enriching the cultural landscape and offering fresh perspectives. This will be our first exhibition in central London, held in our 5th anniversary year, and will continue Oliver Projects’ programme of exhibiting contemporary artists’ works outside the typical ‘white cube’ gallery space. In addition, Drop Shadows will represent a shift in the gallery’s focus from contemporary works on paper to more substantial works including paintings and sculpture.”
Chloe Christian, Director at Sims Reed Gallery, adds: “We are thrilled to be working with Oliver Projects alongside Katherine Jones RA and Temsuyanger Longkumer – two hugely respected and established artists. Bringing their work together is a celebration of the power of collaboration which is further enhanced by this exciting partnership with Oliver Projects, which creates a vital platform for these artists to showcase their work, fostering a rich dialogue between the artists, the audience and the space itself.”
