DON’T WORRY is an exhibition of ceramics, sculpture, furniture and tapestry by five artists and designers whose humour and lightness of touch belies their rigorous undertones.
Olaf Breuning’s photo collages are packed with contemporary imagery such as emoticons and coffee, text bubbles and trainers, balloons and bananas. They are absurdist and reiterate our love/hate relationship with the modern world. Breuning was born in 1970 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. He lives and works in New York and Zurich. Solo exhibitions include Home 1-3, Kunsthall Stavanger, Norway, The Life, Metro Pictures, New York, Groups, Haifa Museum of Art, Israel, all 2015, The Grid, Paul Klee Museum, Bern, 2013 and The Art Freaks, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, 2011.
FOS (Thomas Poulsen) is interested in the principles of ‘social design’. For DON’T WORRY, he presents everyday objects; a keyhole, a flowerpot and a plug socket and handlebar. In light of their situation and modifications, these items become comical and their usual functions totally redundant. FOS was born 1971 in Copenhagen, where he lives and works. Solo exhibitions and projects include in the shadow / of a spectacle / is the view of the crowd, Performa, New York, Maggie Margaret Lives, Fig-2, 41/50, ICA Studio, London, Always Happy New Year, Porthole, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, all 2015, Declaration of Unsolid Memories, Camden Arts Centre, London, both 2012 and Oslo, Danish Pavilion, Venice Biennale, 2011.
Dan McCarthy’s Space Ghosts are a group of nine ceramic smiley faces whose expressions are a ubiquitous symbol for happiness. Their 3D, putty-like faces illustrate his primitive and immediate approach to sculpture. Dan McCarthy was born in 1962 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He lives and works in New York. Recent solo exhibitions include Venus Over Los Angeles, 2015 and Anton Kern Gallery, New York, 2014.
Peter McDonald’s paintings tell a collective story of everyday life. His unique graphic language describes both familiar and fantastical scenes, which illuminate the joy of human experience. Here, McDonald presents a new wall hanging, Yoga, made during a residency in Mexico in 2014. Peter McDonald was born in Tokyo in 1973 and lives and works in London and Japan. In 2008 he was awarded the John Moores Painting Prize and in 2011-12 completed a year-long residency and exhibition, Visitor, at the 21st Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan. He presented a solo project for Kate MacGarry at Frieze London 2015.
Muller van Severen is a design project established in 2011 by Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen. Their furniture is delicate yet functional and characterised by simple lines and shapes which interlock with areas of pure, brilliant colour. Fien Muller was born in 1978 in Lokeren. Hannes van Severen was born in 1979 in Gent. Both live and work in Evergem. Solo exhibitions include Musee des Art Decoratifs, Paris, and Matter, New York, 2015, Valerie Traan, Antwerp and Andreas Murkidis, Berlin, 2014. They were awarded Designer of the Year 2015, Belgium.