The ongoing Arthole series finally saw the work of series curator Morris Monroe reach the Superstore’s hallowed walls.
Monroe conceived and guided the project into being, dedicated to the exposure of a new queer artist each month, and previous centrepieces have included graffiti-esque-paint-and-words Patrick Church and body-preoccupied BJ Broekhuizen. This month, Monroe’s work gives a linear journey of form, technique and thought.
We begin with the male body sketched as charcoal on canvas. ‘Punch’ depicts a man thrusting his left fist towards the ground, the right held aloft to follow. It is an image of anger, but also of futility – for the fists hit nothing but air. A slight roseate bursh of colour is used sparingly but to great effect, lending hue to the right side of the body from the dark and shadow at the core. The body is muscled yet fine line detail also conjures a perception of carved rock from the flesh.
A particularly beautiful image is ‘Essence’. Given that Monroe’s exhibition is entitled ‘The Essence of Self’, the viewer might imagine that here lies a key to the overarching throughline of the collection. We have a male body similar to that of ‘Punch’, but in a position of prostration, legs bent and arms and chest flung backward; wearing nothing but small, provocative pants. The shading is darker on this painting, and much of the body is lost to thick strokes. Yet a red thread begins in the air, and snakes down the body’s torso and crotch – perhaps the ‘essence’ we are meant to perceive?
What’s exciting about Monroe’s work is the journey we are taken on from this beginning. Rather than stay with the corporal visions, the essence of the self becomes invested in radical colour, lines illustrating space and abstract shape. ‘Form in Space’ shows a bar of carmine red, morphing into electric ultramarine, against a background of a white-lined crossroad on black. Whereas ‘Memory Replacement’ is reminiscent of a copper cutthroat razor blade, or half a film, with bronze and a hint of blue laced onto white. In the square below, the colour and shape is transposed to a pink, Martian landscape.
Monroe states that he uses “drawing as a medium to express experiences that are personal as well as universal.” With The Essence of Self he has created a narrative that will excite discussion, invite contemplation and be admired by all lovers of art.
• The Essence of Self – Morris Monroe
• Dalston Superstore, 117 Kingsland Road, Dalston, E8 2PB
• Running until 31st July 2015
• www.dalstonsuperstore.com / www.artholelondon.com
