Alexander Gorlizki

Conversation Pieces explores the work of contemporary artist Alexander Gorlizki alongside historical Indian miniature paintings, on loan from London-based dealer Francesca Galloway. Long interested in looking at artworks in dialogue with objects that share stylistic, formal or conceptual relationships, this is the first time Gorlizki’s work is shown with examples of the historic works that have been at the root of his practice for over 25 years. Gorlizki’s contemporary paintings are distinct in their subject matter and unique creative process, yet they share techniques, materials and overall sensibilities with the historic miniatures.

Integral to Gorlizki’s practice is his atelier; a group of traditional artisans led by Riyaz Uddin, with whom Gorlizki has worked for 26 years. First, Gorlizki formalises his visual language and imagery - the iconography, spacial relationships, patterns and colours - after which he sends the works to India, where they are meticulously hand-painted in Jaipur by Riyaz and his studio. The works are then sent back and forth numerous times between Jaipur and Gorlizki’s Brooklyn studio, as the work is refined, or during periods Alexander visits the studio in Rajasthan. This collaborative, creative to-and-fro can last four to five years as a work goes through various incarnations until Gorlizki considers it complete.

Gorlizki’s works reflect the many ways he has been influenced by these historical progenitors, in some instances by particular historical paintings included in the exhibition, and more generally by the varied schools and traditions from which they themselves have evolved. There is invariably an element of harvesting and extraction from the historical work; of forms, motifs, colour relationships, and a certain mindset. This exhibition is an insightful and compelling opportunity to see them in parallel.

Alexander Gorlizki was born in London in 1967 and studied Fine Art at Bristol Polytechnic, followed by an MFA in Sculpture at the Slade, London. He lives and works between Brooklyn, New York and Jaipur, Rajasthan

Gorlizki has been fascinated with traditional artisanal techniques for the past 25 years, looking for ways to combine disparate visual languages and iconography with highly specialized forms of craftsmanship. Having worked across India and Pakistan, Gorlizki has collaborated with and commissioned artists and craftsmen including stone carvers, embroiderers, sand-casters, spectacle repairers, shoemakers and forgers amongst others. In 1996 Alexander established an atelier with master miniature painter Riyaz Uddin, in the Muslim quarter of Jaipur’s Old City and this 700-year-old tradition has been the primary focus of his work ever since. Gorlizki conceptualizes and designs all the elements of the paintings that are then rendered with astonishing skill by Riyaz and his assistants. When Gorlizki isn’t in the studio in Jaipur, each work is sent back and forth between New York and Rajasthan, sometimes over a period of several years, accumulating layer upon layer of notes, revisions and additions.

Gorlizki’s imagery draws on a wide and varied range of sources, from Eastern and Western art historical references to cartoon and pop iconography, as well as a keen scrutiny of commonplace objects. This crosscurrent of influences surfaces in infinitesimally detailed works on paper that reveal the artist’s longstanding obsession with Indian miniature painting. The compositions move between geometric abstraction and whimsical narratives that incorporate such diverse elements as Uzbek textiles, Etruscan sculpture, designs from 1940s American advertising, and Syrian ceramics. Ambiguity plays a part too, as varying styles and schools of traditional imagery appear side by side and antique papers act as a backdrop for contemporary references.

Gorlizki’s work is featured in several museum collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, The Aspen Art Museum in Colorado, The Museum Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf, The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Virginia and Humboldt Forum, Berlin, Germany.