TURNER BARNES GALLERY

presents

HUMAN SOUP

A Solo Show by
DAVID SHILLINGLAW

In collaboration with
THAT ART GALLERY

Location:
Fitzroy Place… THE ART
The Reception, 2 Mortimer Street
Fitzrovia
London

Curated by Turner Barnes Gallery


The Human Soup Collection

Turner Barnes Gallery are pleased to present a collection of work by David Shillinglaw.
David Shillinglaw’s motivation to make art is an ongoing obsession about how to capture or conjure the universal themes of what it means to be alive in the ‘human hive’ – a universal set of ingredients that we all produce and consume. Every day, we fill ourselves up and empty ourselves out, from royalty and heads of state to the lowest lives of the displaced or imprisoned. We all suffer the same appetites and desires, fears and misfortunes.
The artwork is colourful and playful, deliberately humorous and, at times, ridiculous. Somewhere between ancient hieroglyphics and comic books or board games, the works present a kind of human portrait. Not obviously male or female, old or young, the figures resemble totems, statues, chess pieces or key holes. There is just enough information to suggest the human figure in which the characters represent everyone or nobody. A painting takes on its own personality, it becomes more than the sum of its parts. Like a Frankenstein’s monster it wakes up, it speaks for itself, and it answers back.
David aims to construct a visual world that celebrates and incorporates the ingredients of what it means to be human; constructing heavily layered and detailed descriptions while also reducing and simplifying ideas into abstractions that seek to describe the complexities and simplicities of the human condition. The work is a celebration of differences and coexistence, global and local story telling; the way we communicate to one another and to ourselves.
We are all strong, we are all vulnerable, we are all hungry, we are all courageous, we are all hideous, and we are all fantastic.

The most significant development in Fitzrovia for over 50 years. Located in the heart of central London, within the City of Westminster and surrounded by the adjoining neighbourhoods of Mayfair, Soho, Marylebone and Regent’s Park, Fitzrovia presents London life, both work and play, at its very best.
Fitzrovia is founded on its rich cultural history and its list of former residents reads like a roll-call of London’s creativity: Charles Dickens, Virginia Woolf, John Constable. Today the spirit is embodied by a thriving creative community including writers, artists, designers and filmmakers.
Fitzroy Place is a unique collection of prestigious new homes, enticing stores, a restaurant and high quality office space, all gathered around a stunning landscaped square.
Fitzroy Place. Where Creativity Lives.

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Tuner Barnes Gallery is launching a series of Pop-Up Gallery shows at “Fitzroy Place. The Art” within the reception area at no 2 Mortimer Street. Human Soup, a solo show by David Shillinglaw, is the first exhibition as part of this collaboration which will be developed further in 2019.