{"id":44230,"date":"2017-01-17T10:06:55","date_gmt":"2017-01-17T09:06:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/?p=44230"},"modified":"2017-01-17T10:06:55","modified_gmt":"2017-01-17T09:06:55","slug":"celia-hempton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/celia-hempton\/","title":{"rendered":"In The Flesh: Celia Hempton"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Celia
\n <\/p>\n

\nIn today\u2019s saturated art world, few paintings stand out as much as those by British artist Celia Hempton<\/a>. Featuring images of male and female genitalia rendered in pastel tones, they confront contemporary issues relating to gender, sex, art and society. Hailing from family of painters in Stroud and a graduate of London\u2019s Royal College of Art, her dynamic approach to the medium is manifested in a subtle degree of variety. \u201cWhat ties the work together is an interest in nature,\u201d she says. \u201cTo make these paintings I put myself in certain situations where I am forced to deal with and analyse my instinctual feelings\u201d.
\nHer most celebrated body of work, \u201cChat Random\u201d, was first shown\u00a0at Southard Reid in 2014. An ongoing series of portraits documenting users of the eponymous sex chat website, they depict men in various states of undress and poses, sometimes gazing blankly at the camera, other times masturbating. Her motivation was sociopolitical: \u201cI began these works quite consciously thinking about my position as a woman, how I engage with sex on the internet, and how unbalanced the whole thing is,\u201d she explains. \u201cBut now I\u2019ve reached a point where I made so many of them that those feelings are still there, but much more complicated.\u201d
\n <\/p>\n

\"Celia “Caspar”, 2014, Oil on canvas, 30.5 x 35.5 cm, courtesy of Southard Reid<\/p>\n

 
\n 
\nHere, Hempton\u2019s talent lies in her ability to capture her subjects in the fleeting moments spent together online, carefully reproducing the dull light from their monitors and even the pixelated effect of dodgy webcams. The paint is thick, the colours are somber, and the figures are often blurred and difficult to read, turning some of the images into abstract compositions. Yet in studio work with sitting models such as \u201cCaspar\u201d (2014), Hempton\u2019s painting is bright and sharp. In her words, this series is based on a respectful, positive and intimate relationship with her models, often friends and acquaintances.
\nThe artist came to these figurative works through her previous paintings of landscape and objects. She tried to insert figures in them, until eventually the landscapes turned into bodies. Hempton considers her subjects as still lifes, \u201cbowl[s] of fruit that I\u2019ve never seen before\u201d. Indeed, her images also conjure references to still life masters Paul Ce?zanne<\/a>, Andre? Derain, the Fauves and even Frank Auerbach<\/a>, showing a critical awareness of the role of painting in art history. Yet Hempton operates in this historical context only to undermine it from within.
\nIn this regard, one of her most interesting collaborations has been with the gay porn actor Colby Keller, who recently posed for her. Objectifying Keller\u2019s body, Hempton found a way of subverting the traditional relationship be- tween the male artist and the female model, which is a classic example of how patriarchal society influences culture. In the recent New York exhibition \u201cThe Female Gaze, Part Two: Women look at Men\u201d, curated by John Cheim, Hempton has been included in the specific tradition of depicting the male body from the perspective of the female gaze. \u201cIt was an all female show featuring artists who are heroes of mine \u2013 Lynda Benglis<\/a>, Dana Schutz, Joan Semmel, Alice Neel<\/a>,\u201d she says. In this exhibition, Hempton\u2019s paintings claimed the right to be associated with such pivotal artists, challenging the taboo of depicting the phallus in art.<\/p>\n

\"Celia “United Kingdom”, 12th March, 2015, oil on Linen, 30 x 35<\/p>\n

\n
\n 
\nIt has been a very busy year for Hempton. This October, her solo stand with Southard Reid gallery at Frieze was on everyone\u2019s lips. Composed of online images of executions in the Middle East, as well as some recent male nudes, it was presented on a series of irregular walls designed and painted by the artist herself. \u201cThe booth at Frieze was, broadly speaking, a visual and performative enquiry into current notions of gender, control, sexuality and power, as well as the implications of looking from my own position, looking and specifically painting, both online and in the flesh\u201d, she explains.
\nHer practice is not limited to painting, however. Hempton is also currently working with friend and fellow artist Prem Sahib on a film using footage of building sites and sound recordings of people they\u2019ve met in chatrooms. Coupled with her eagerness to push boundaries, her representations of the human body and explorations of sexuality \u2013 online or otherwise \u2013 make her work daring and engaging. Mixing painting with images sourced from some of the most lurid online corners, she\u2019s found a way of questioning the values of art and society with a playfulness that draws focus on the seriousness of her subjects \u2013 a rare thing indeed.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Taken from SLEEK 52<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n
\n
\n
\nUpcoming Exhibitions:<\/em>
\nSouthard Reid, London, UK (2017); Group Show in collaboration with Prem Sahib<\/em>
\nGalleria Lorcan O’Neill, Rome, Italy (2017); Solo Show\u00a0<\/em>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 
\n 
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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