Sudden gestures or noises brings together the work of three artists at Artspace in an investigation of the 'gestural' possibilities of contemporary art.

Sudden gestures or noises brings together the work of three artists at Artspace in an investigation of the 'gestural' possibilities of contemporary art.

In an email to the artists Caterina Riva states: “What was of interest to me was the idea of using video as a way of capturing, possibly better than any other contemporary media, the complexity of the present reality through its ability to break down language and a set of structural conventions (simplifying: time, space, image and sound)”.

In the show, video works by Sean Grattan and Ed Atkins toy with the semiotic structure of cinema. Both artists implement sudden shifts in tone and subject to deny the possibility of a straightforward narrative interpretation. “… the viewer should be able to ‘play’ to get the meaning” maintains Grattan.

In addition to these videos, Charlie Sofo will produce a new body of work in Auckland that responds both to the physical space of Artspace gallery and to the strategic possibilities of the gestural in terms of the production of art. “I like thinking in terms of gesture. I like that gesture could be equated with noise, or sound, or tone even. I’m also interested in how gestures can travel, or be transported – like the material might disintegrate (or never exist) and the gesture might live on…” says Sofo.

Ed Atkins b.1982 UK. Lives in London. He is currently exhibiting at Tate Britain Art Now, and was commissioned for this year’s Frieze Film.

Sean Grattan b.1981 New Zealand. Lives in Los Angeles. He has a BA in Philosophy and a BFA from Elam School of Fine Arts. Grattan is currently working towards his MFA at the California Institute of the Arts.

Charlie Sofo b.1983 Australia. Lives in Melbourne. Selected solo exhibitions include: I wish I were smaller, Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney, 2010, I Wander, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne, 2010. He is completing his MFA at VCA, Melbourne.

Ed Atkins, Sean Grattan

& Charlie Sofo

Sudden gestures or noises

Curated by Caterina Riva

22 October - 26 November

Opening: 21 October, 6pm.

Event: Saturday 22 October, 3pm, Charlie Sofo’s artist talk.