GerogII Uvs | On Khaos and Beauty | 30 September – 12 October 2019
Wings no. 9 UV, 2017, 130x200; oil on canvas
Retrospective 2005-2018
GALLERY 8, 8 Duke Street St James’, London, SW1Y 6BN
Exhibition Dates: 30 September – 12 October 2019
Private view: Friday 4th October 6.30pm – 9.00pm
Press View: Monday 30th September 10am – 2pm
The exhibition follows on from the artist’s hugely successful UK debut show at Saatchi Gallery earlier this year, and will showcase 22 works spanning across 2005-2018, from his Moscow, Maltese and UK periods.
The artist’s second UK show takes its name from the Greek word ‘khaos’ which symbolises the state of emptiness before genesis, a personal journey from oblivion to the final goal of creating utmost beauty, using the canvas as a meditative catalyst for conveying emotions and moods. The retrospective will map out the artist’s cathartic journey and abstract practice development from his Moscow to Maltese and UK periods, in which Uvs is searching to perfect his style. Uvs holds abstraction as the ultimate artistic expression that gives an artist the space and freedom to provide a more authentic expression of one’s vision.
Moreover, Uvs’ practice conveys his almost ritualistic approach to art: each one of the works is created by pouring paint on the canvas in a meaningful manner rather than using a brush and may take between six months to four years to completion.
Creating almost a symbiotic relationship with nature, Uvs’ technique is largely built on his constant experimentation and his masterful use of different densities of paint and pigments. By manipulating the paint in different ways without ever touching the surface of the painting, Uvs is emphasising the collaboration between the artist and nature in producing a work of art. It is his philosophical belief that nature is the ultimate creator and he is a co-creator in the process. He is fascinated by the power and inevitability of nature that he recognizes and respects and its relation with the artist and the viewer.
His practice particularly recalls the words of Eugene Delacroix who adopted the idea of “the music of art”. Uvs himself commented: “When you paint inspired, focused, knowing where you want to get, you flow. Painting becomes natural, flowing like your thoughts and their transformation in the act of painting.”
While this experimentation remained central to his approach to art, his creative desire to express himself always plays a pivotal role throughout his life. This London retrospective celebrates Uvs’s vivid journey as an artist, from the point in which he began developing his particular abstract language over the last 13 years, from his gloomier, emotionally suppressed Moscow period, to the complete freedom and enthusiasm of Maltese and UK periods.
“Sometimes miracles happen, this is the most joyful, but rare moment. A miracle is when the randomness has merged with your intention.” GeorgII Uvs