Back to Nature
Simon Periton is known for his intricate paper cut-outs. For his fourth show at HQ, Periton has expanded his technique by retracing sculptural forms from his previous paper works and stenciling them to glass. These new spray-paintings on glass use multiple layering and the mutation of one image into another to create a hypnotic collage of his particular visual vocabulary.
For his third show Simon Periton takes his scalpel to our rural landscapes and urban wastelands. Railway tracks, graffiti tagged walls and abandoned factories meet Suffolk hedgerows as the source material travels from the pylon studded English countryside to the oil fields of the Middle East, ranging from a parochial vision of damaged arcadia to the heart of destruction on a global scale. The title of the show is borrowed from Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s film The Edge of the World (1937), with which it shares a romantic, but slightly doom laden air, a kind of melancholic nostalgia. Periton’s cut paper works develop the window metaphor inherent in landscape paintings, as the negative spaces create apertures. There is an organic quality to the intricately cut, delicate layers of paper, strands held together in a dense web.
The title of Simon Periton’s second one-person exhibition at Sadie Coles HQ, Cold warmed up, reveals a lot about his choice of appropriated images. This distinct new body of work presents a portrait gallery of famous and non- famous faces, with complimentary domestic animals. The subjects are all familiar to us for their lurking absurdity, but, like the title for the show, are restructured, reheated and served back up.
Within this motley crew is Iggy Pop masquerading as the Turin Shroud; the Dalai Lama melts into The Laughing Cavalier, and anonymous teenage girls in a photo-booth who laugh for the camera and are repeated in a Warholian grid. Popular imagery continues to be an inspiration for Periton, and blending the obvious associations of a subject like Julie Burchill or Lord Lucan with the delicacy and intimacy of the form of the cut paper pieces subverts our obvious responses. Lord Lucan and Wallis Simpson become delicately pretty under Periton’s scalpel and the familiar press images of folk such as Julie Burchill look less like a wanted poster and more like a heraldic standard.
1964 Born in Kent, England
1986-90 St Martin’s School of Art, London
Solo Exhibitions
2007 Back to Nature, Sadie Coles HQ, London
Sordide Sentimental, Vacio 9, Madrid
Simon Periton, The Modern Institute, Glasgow
2005 Simon Periton, Peter Pears Gallery, Aldeburgh, Suffolk
The Penis Mightier than the Sword, Karyn Lovegrove Gallery, Los Angeles (CA)
2004 The Edge of the World, Sadie Coles HQ, London
Ragamuffin, Vacio9, Madrid
Street, Changing Role Gallery, Naples, Italy
2003 Mint Poisoner, Inverleith House, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (cat.)
Snip Riot Omen, The Modern Institute, Glasgow, Scotland
Premonitions, Gorney Bravin + Lee, New York
Flag, Gallery 4, Henry Moore Gallery, Leeds
2002 Simon Periton, Karyn Lovegrove Gallery, Los Angeles (CA)
Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus Quinquefolia) collaboration with Raf Simons (Autumn/Winter 2002-03, 26 Jan. 2002, Paris)
2001 Simon Periton, Galerist, Istanbul
Simon Periton, Jablonka Galerie, Linn Lühn, Cologne, Germany
Cold warmed up, Sadie Coles HQ, London
2000 Simon Periton, Karyn Lovegrove Gallery, Los Angeles (CA)
Simon Periton, Statements Booth, Basel Art Fair, Basel, Switzerland
1999 Barroquade, Simon Periton, foyer project at the Hayward Gallery, London (20 Sept.-10 Oct.)
1998 Simon Periton, Camden Arts Centre, London (cat.)
1997 Habitat, Kings Road, London (with David Thorpe) (cat.)
Dandeliceum, Sadie Coles HQ, London
Simon Periton, Skinner’s Cage, London
Simon Periton, British Council Window Gallery, Prague
1994 Strange Spectacle (with Alan Kane), Gallerie 217, Sportsverbande, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (cat.)
1993 Gild the Lily (with Alan Kane), London, E1
Weekender (with Alan Kane), Caledonia Street, London
1992 Simon Periton, Bipasha Ghosh, London
1991 Seeds of Hope, (with Georgie Hopton), Wilson Hale, London
Olde World, (with Georgie Hopton), The Caraway Installation, Butlers Wharf, London
Hope Project, (with Georgie Hopton), Frieze, London
Group Exhibitions
2006 Sarah & Simon, Platform 3, London
Paper, Platform 3, London
Webs, Loops, and Skeins in Modern and Contemporary Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence (RI)
2005 England Their England, Laden Fuer Nichts, Liepzig, Germany
Ideal Worlds: New Romanticism in Contemporary Art, Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Frankfurt-am-Main
2004 Angelo Filomeno, Simon Periton, Philip Taaffe, Francesco Vezzoli, Gorney Bravin + Lee, New York
Paper, Emily Tsingou Gallery, London
Strategies of Desire, Kunsthaus Baselland, Basel, Switzerland (cat.)
Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London
Four-ply, Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York
2003 Twilight, Gimpel Fils, London
Rendered, Sara Meltzer Gallery, New York
Guided By Heroes, a project by Z33, Hasselt, Belgium (curated by Raf Simons)
Contemporary British Art Exhibition, Mucsarnok Kunsthalle, Budapest, (curated by the British Council)
Post Flat, Lock, Philadelphia (PA)
In Portraiture Irrelevance is Ugliness, Galerie Reinhard Hauff, Stuttgart and Museum Schloß Hardenberg, Velbert, Germany
Cut Out, Barbara Gross Galerie, Munich, Germany
My head is on fire but my heart is full of love, British Council Window Gallery, Prague
2002 Summer Exhibition, Kagan Martos Gallery, New York
mixer02, moniquemeloche gallery, Chicago (IL)
My head is on fire but my heart is full of love, Charlottenborg Exhibition Hall, Copenhagen (cat.)
Cut, Karyn Lovegrove Gallery, Los Angeles (CA)
2001 Carts and rafts! Centenary Gallery, Camberwell College of Arts, London
Tailsliding, British Council Touring exhibition (Oct. 2001-May 2003): Bergen Centre for Contemporary Art, Bergen, Norway; Vilnius Centre for Contemporary Art, Vilnius; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tallin; Centro de Arte de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain; Turku Art Museum, Turku, Finland; Brno House of Arts, Brno, Czech Republic (cat.)
Lebensmuster - patterns of life, Museum Schloß Hardenberg, Velbert, Germany (cat.)
The Multiple Store, New Art Centre Sculpture Park & Gallery, Salisbury, England
A new horizon, Art: Concept, Paris
SchattenRisse/Shadows, Silhouettes and Cut-outs, Kunstbau Lenbbachaus, Munich, Germany (cat.)
Century City: Art and Culture in the Modern Metropolis, Tate Modern, London (cat.)
City Racing 1988-1998: a partial account, ICA, London
Secret Victorians: Contemporary Artists and a 19th Century Vision, The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia (PA) (cat.)
Dead, The Roundhouse, London (2-10 March)
2000 INNER CITY PRESSURE, (curated by Radek Vana), Galerie No-D (Roxy), Prague
Hoxton HQ, Sadie Coles HQ at Hoxton House, London
Konfrontace, Czech Centre, London
1999 Natural Dependency, Jerwood Gallery, London
papermake, Modern Art Inc, Glasgow, Scotland
Limit Less (curated by Matthew Higgs), Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna
A Radiant Future, Forde, Geneva, Switzerland
European Factory, Villa delle Rose, Bologna, Italy (cat.)
Gallery Swap, Sadie Coles HQ at Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin
The Order of Things, Bluecoat Gallery, Liverpool, England
Show It Off, Art.TM Gallery, Inverness, Scotland (pamphlet)
Phillip Treacy- Autumn/Winter 1999 Collection (collaboration on hat design), New York Fashion and London Fashion Week
NewOldTown (curated by Liam Gillick), Casey Kaplan, New York
1998 Multiple Store (inaugural show), ICA, London
Secret Victorians: Contemporary Artists and a 19th Century Vision, Firstsite, Colchester, tour to Arnolfini, Bristol; Ikon Gallery, Birmingham; UCLA Armand Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (CA) (cat.)
Surfacing: Drawings by 20 Contemporary Artists, ICA, London
View Four, Mary Boone Gallery (curated by Clarissa Dalrymple), New York
Kettle Blue, Galerie Beaux Arts, Luxembourg
Lovecraft, South London Gallery, London
Inbreeder, Collective Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
1997 Let’s Rock, Alexandra Mansions, Norwich, England
Victoria, Laurent Delaye Gallery, London
Fish and Chips, Diverse Works, Houston (TX) (cat.)
Landy, Periton, Simpson, Habitat, Manchester, England
Supastore, Cornerhouse, Manchester, England
619 KBB 75, Mobile 2000, Laurence Hazout, Paris
Love Craft, CCA, Glasgow, Scotland
Imprint 93, Norwich Gallery, Norwich, England
Space Oddities, Canary Wharf Window Gallery, London
B.o.n.g.o., Bricks and Kicks, Vienna
Snowflakes Falling on the International Dateline, Casco, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Popocultural 2, Southhampton City Art Gallery, Southampton, England
Zone Photographic Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
1996 Popocultural, South London Gallery, London
Supastore De Luxe, @ Up & Co, New York
Co-operators, (Hope), Southhampton City Art Gallery, Southampton, England
Kiss This, Focal Point Gallery, Southend, England
21 Days of Darkness, Transmission, Glasgow, Scotland
1995 Imprint 93, City Racing, London
1994 WM Karaoke, Portikus, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (cat.)
Constable, can’t you see my predicament?, Clacton-on-Sea, England
1993 Purpose-built New England, (Hope), Realartways, Hartford (CO)
Van de Siecle, London
1992 Modern Art, Seven Sisters, London
1990 A Summerplace (curated by Stuart Morgan), Salama Caro, London
Commissions and Collaborations
2007 Commissioned Artist for new gallery opening April 2008 at Firstsite, Colchester, England
Collaboration with Giles Deacon for Another Magazine, March issue
The Anti Room of the Mae Queen, work commissioned by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London for the tunnel entrance to the museum
2006 Work commissioned by Tate Modern for the re-hang of the collection
Future Punk, Selfridges, London
2005 Work commissioned by British Home Office for new building of the Deputy High Commission, Chennai, India
2004 Banner, temporary commission for opening of BBC Media Centre, Wood Lane, London
Strange Attractor, work commissioned for London Headquarters of Channel 4 Television
Collaboration on fashion shoot for British Vogue, Feb. issue
2003 Junya Watanabe/Comme des Garçons, collaboration on prints for fabrics, Collection Autumn/Winter Paris 2003-04
Vol-au-Vent, permanent sculptural commission, British Airways Headquarters, Heathrow airport, London
2002 Pulp – Greatest Hits, CD album cover commission
Atlantic Bar and Grill, anarchy membership card commission
Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus Quinquefolia) collaboration with Raf Simons, Autumn/Winter Paris 2002-03, 26 Jan. 2002
British Council, Brussels, window design for new building
Free Radicals, façade light projection, commission for Victoria and Albert Museum 150th Anniversary (15 May-3 June)
2000 Anarchy Veil commission for Isabella Blow
1999 Phillip Treacy- Autumn/Winter 1999 Collection, collaboration on hat design, New York Fashion and London Fashion Week
Collections
Arts Council Collection, Hayward Gallery, London
British Council Collection
Celebrity Cruises Collection, mv Millennium
Channel 4 Television, London
Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany
Unilever plc Contemporary Art Collection
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
The West Collection at SEI, Oaks (PA)