From 30 October, the Friends of S.M.A.K. will be showing the work of British artist Finbar Ward.
Finbar Ward's (°1990, UK) sculptural installations, paintings and works on paper aim to be chameleonic in ambition. Using a combination of organic and raw material, foraged matter and studio detritus, Ward’s practice reflects on and is physically determined by the histories, traditions and narratives surrounding the location it will inhabit. In a time of infinite exposure to imagery and an increasing estrangement from the physical, it is a visceral engagement with the work that he strives to elicit from the viewer.
This new body of work made for the exhibition space of the Friends of S.M.A.K. is born out of a reaction to the 2020 lockdown. The research spans from antiquity to the contemporary day in search of individuals who have devoted themselves to their homes and gardens as a place of self expression and solace. The work takes the use of Larariums in ancient Rome as its source. These wall mounted structures acted as shrines to the domestic deities and guardian spirits thought to have watched over the day to day life of a household. Ward has adopted this gesture to create a series of ode to works dedicated to his pick of ‘home makers’ found throughout history and contemporary culture. Each work has been made with an assemblage of materials chosen to reflect the nuances and idiosyncrasies of the individual and the spaces they have built, tweaked, decorated and mused upon. It is a body of work which hopes to applaud the endeavour to care for and maintain our immediate surroundings, and to consider the ancient and enduring need to say ‘I Was Here’.
Finbar Ward (°1990, UK) graduated from The Ruskin School of Art in 2013. Past exhibitions include New Order II: British Art Today, Saatchi Gallery, London, 30 Years Of The Future, Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, In Absence, FOLD Gallery, London/Expo Chicago, In Waiting, The British Embassy, Paris and Holiday From Rules, Kunstraum Gallery, London, supported by Arts Council England. Most recently Ward designed and made an award winning sculptural installation and garden for this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
The exhibition is coordinated by Nadia Bijl.
