Blaise Drummond's First Major French Survey at Musée de l'abbaye Sainte-Croix

The Musée de l'abbaye Sainte-Croix in Les Sables d'Olonne presents the first major survey in France of British painter Blaise Drummond, running from April 1 to June 18, 2006. The exhibition features over forty works, including paintings and sculptures, arranged in a classic yet effective hanging. The artist explores the tension between urban and rural life, a theme encapsulated by the title 'City v Country' from a 2000 solo show at Rubicon Gallery in Dublin. Drummond draws on literary sources such as Grey Owl's 'Tales of an Empty Cabin' and Henry David Thoreau's 'Walking'. His paintings, characterized by stains, drips, cut-out motifs on raw canvas, and recurring ink-wash rock forms, critique modernist architecture—particularly Le Corbusier's ideals of hygiene, light, and nature. Works reference iconic modernist buildings: Villa Savoye, Villa Stein de Monzie, Unité d'Habitation, Domino system, Pavillon de l'Esprit Nouveau, and Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House. Recently, Drummond has turned to postmodern icons like James Wines's Best stores for SITE. The artist maintains a pessimistic view of modernity's concrete applications, highlighting its individualistic excesses through a suspended, groundless pictorial space.