Damien Meade's Clay Sculptures Painted into Being at CAR Gallery Bologna
Damien Meade's exhibition titled "Idoli senza culto" is set to take place at CAR Gallery in Bologna from September 18, 2026, to November 7, 2026. This showcase includes paintings depicting imaginary clay sculptures and delves into the shift from lifelessness to liveliness. Meade's artistic approach entails sculpting, photographing, and refining figures until one emerges as worthy of visual representation. His creations intertwine oil paint and clay, creating a unique material interplay. Thematically, the works relate idols to artificial intelligence, embodying both vitality and death. Two prominent figures continue a theme of embryonic women, representing endurance in darkness. The lighting draws inspiration from Western religious art, prompting inquiries rather than providing answers. Photographs by Manuel Montesano, courtesy of CAR Gallery Bologna.
Fatti principali
- Damien Meade's solo exhibition "Idoli senza culto" runs 18/09/2026 – 07/11/2026 at CAR Gallery, Bologna
- The gallery is located at via Azzo Gardino 14/a, Bologna, website www.cargallery.it
- Meade paints clay sculptures that no longer exist, each figure the painted remnant of a body made to be unmade
- His process involves modelling, manipulating, photographing and reworking countless heads and figures, often within hours
- The artist links oil paint and clay as mineral matter powdered and suspended in a fluid binder
- A cited hypothesis places the origin of life about four billion years ago at deep-ocean hydrothermal vents
- The two large figures in the show continue a prior cycle of a triptych of embryonic women imagined as Shakespearean witches
- Lighting in all works comes from the left, following Western religious painting from Beato Angelico onward
- A footnote cites Nick Lane's "The Vital Question: Energy, Evolution and the Origins of Complex Life" (Profile Books, 2015), Italian translation "La domanda fondamentale" (Bollati Boringhieri)
- Exhibition photographs are by Manuel Montesano, courtesy CAR Gallery Bologna
Entità
Artisti
- Damien Meade
- Piero della Francesca
- Rembrandt
- Beato Angelico
- William Shakespeare
- Nick Lane
- Manuel Montesano
Istituzioni
- CAR Gallery
- Juliet Art Magazine
- Profile Books
- Bollati Boringhieri
Luoghi
- Bologna
- Italy