Swimming against 'Strong Currents'

 

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Amon Yariv, owner of the gallery and co-curator of the exhibition alongside Michal Freedman, explains: 'The new space was designed to allow the gallery—which represents the best of Israeli contemporary artists—to develop a diverse international plan and enable a dialogue with leading international artists'. And so, with the unveiling of a new gallery space comes the unveiling of a brand new exhibition.

 

'Strong Currents' is the most recent project by FAILE, the Brooklyn-based artistic collaboration between Patrick McNeil and Patrick Miller. Since their pioneering project, 'A life' (from which the anagram FAILE was derived), the dynamic duo has worked with a wide range of multimedia materials and techniques. From printmaking and painting, to stenciling and even prayer wheels, FAILE explores those things that divide us as a cultural: religion, authority, and most recently, consumerism.

 

'This show finds us in a year of exploration in the studio', Patrick Miller explains. He goes on to describe their artistic approach, which starts with an investigation in abstracting the painting process that FAILE often employs. 'All our work starts with black and white imagery through hand drawing and cut and paste collage'. For this special Tel Aviv exhibit, the artists shift gears to try and bring the ‘underpainting’ (the bottom coat that is usually refined by a final layer) to the forefront.

 

The loose idea behind 'Strong Currents' speaks to the pair’s views of America as it plays off the prevalent issues at the center of current discourse in this trying time. 'Issues that remain locked under the surface; whose effects are seen but not dealt with; issues that underlay much of our society and are not uncommon to other cities and countries. These issues are broad. They may be personal, or not, given the way we digest media and what we see play through popular culture'.

 

FAILE frames the show as a poetic response to these current issues through bold copy, image and painting. They see themselves as quilt makers, taking little bits and pieces of the past and trying to create something new as they weave a tapestry of the times. 'We weave new narratives from the discarded pieces of ephemera that surround us to create seamless representations of an urban mythology'.

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FAILE’s exhibition opens at the new Gordon Gallery on Nov 17 at 19:30.

Exhibition dates: Nov 17-Dec 31. Mon-Thu 11:00-19:00, Fri 10:00-14:00, Sat 10:00-13:00, or by appointment. 6 Hapelech St, Tel Aviv (http://gordongallery.co.il/)