Justin Fitzpatrick's Gothic-Surrealist Exhibition Explores Bodies as Musical Instruments
Justin Fitzpatrick's exhibition titled 'A Musical Instrument' is on display at the Kerlin Gallery in Dublin from 25 October to 23 November 2024. This showcase includes eight paintings that blend gothic and surrealistic elements, focusing on how music influences bodily transformation, drawing inspiration from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poem from 1860. The artworks intertwine human figures with musical instruments, all confined within grid patterns. Highlights of the exhibition are 'Aeolian harp suspension bridge,' which portrays a giant musician, and 'The Glass Armonica (Dying at my music),' featuring a waning figure with an instrument associated with madness. Fitzpatrick's influences span art deco, Arts and Crafts, and H.R. Giger, while the exhibition delves into the interplay between creativity and destruction, echoing themes of artistic agony and enjoyment, alongside nods to Iggy Pop's 1982 memoir 'I Need More.'
Key facts
- Justin Fitzpatrick's exhibition 'A Musical Instrument' runs 25 October – 23 November 2024
- The exhibition features eight gothic-surrealistic paintings at Kerlin Gallery in Dublin
- Works explore human forms merged with musical instruments and constrained by structural grids
- Inspiration comes from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's 1860 poem 'A Musical Instrument'
- Aesthetic references include art deco, Arts and Crafts, 1960s psychedelia, and H.R. Giger
- Specific works include 'Aeolian harp suspension bridge' and 'The Glass Armonica (Dying at my music)'
- The exhibition examines creativity's relationship with destruction and the body's sensory porosity
- Fitzpatrick references Iggy Pop's 1982 memoir 'I Need More' about physiological effects of music
Entities
Artists
- Justin Fitzpatrick
- Elizabeth Barrett Browning
- H.R. Giger
- Iggy Pop
Institutions
- Kerlin Gallery
Locations
- Dublin
- Ireland