Static Motion brings together Nguyễn Thanh Trúc and George Papadimas – two seemingly disparate artists whose works in fact, share profound commonalities. While visually distinct, the two bodies of work could readily be misconstrued as belonging to a single artist. Herein lies the impetus behind the juxtaposition of the two artists in this exhibition.
Throughout the artists’ practices, mutual affinities in both approach and visual vocabulary are evident. For example, a look at work from 1993 by Papadimas reveals the artist’s concerns with surface and composition as well as visual data/information. Works such as untitled (blue/blue, blue/red) and untitled (red/red, red/blue) are sheets of paper with neat columns of Papadimas’ handwriting. The rhythmic movement and balanced composition are also seen in Nguyễn’s work. For Nguyễn, surface and composition have always been tantamount to his practice. Through his color palette, random marks and grid-like arrangements, he communicates a fluid, ordered harmony echoed in Papadimas’ work.
Nguyễn and Papadimas are clearly engaged with process. Nguyễn’s recent work is rooted in the physical, meditative act of laying down paper strips onto canvas to create collaged ‘paintings’ called Radio Station. Extracted from newsprint and magazines, the mechanically cut strips of paper are glued down carefully and obsessively. The final compositions contain streams of information that have been divested of all literal meaning and serve now as purely visual communication. The collages with their myriad strips of paper appear almost like monochromes.
The basis for Papadimas’ work is tightly structured around analytical, conscious thought. For his latest series of work – painted, matte black steel sculptures – Papadimas takes a cube as the starting point and applies his resolved digits 0 – 9 to create dynamic, in vivo forms. His sculptures twist and turn in natural movements in opposition to their weighty medium.
The works in Static Motion engage in a dialogue around opposites and impart a shared sense of symmetry, controlled cadence and a quietude latent with movement.
Words by Quỳnh Phạm