Andrew Pope

Fortnight Institute is pleased to present Lonescape, Andrew Pope’s first solo exhibition. Pope is a self-taught artist born in Atlanta, GA, living and working in NYC. In this exhibition of new paintings and drawings, the artist revisits sites of memory and translates these redacted moments into visible marks.

Mark-making through drawing is an integral process to Andrew Pope’s works. Having recently changed from painting exclusively in oil to now working in acrylic and Indian and walnut inks, has naturally changed the way he works, allowing him to paint more like he draws. The quick drying nature of acrylics allows for building up layers or effacing (the same way he uses white-out in his small drawings and collages). This technique reveals the irregular history of mark- making that lies beneath as a sort of palimpsest. Pope says, “My favorite things about drawings—at least the way I try to do them—is that they are rather subdued, humble, and unobtrusive. And that’s how I want my paintings to be. I felt compelled to close that gap and strengthen the link between my works on paper and my works on canvas. I want my new paintings to mumble, to whisper.”

The paintings do whisper, they are an ode to stillness and restraint. Each painting is made with a singular intent, finished without being overworked. And despite the sinister undercurrent present throughout, he leaves room for play as he moves from painting to painting, revisiting similar motifs/compositions to see what another version may offer. In Dear Dim Years Ago, a tree-lined road leads to an edge, an unsettling place that collapses into a triangle, sometimes lit by a majestic full moon, such as in This Night is No Exception and Escape Route. Trees are sometimes cloaked geometric shapes, painted in beautiful yet unusual color combinations of blue and mint green, as in Specimens. And in Not To Scale and Family Tree branches are rendered tender and true like ominous strands of memory.

Andrew Pope was born in Atlanta, GA in 1971. He graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in English Literature. His artwork has been exhibited in group shows at Galerie Sebestien Bertrand (Geneva) in 2017, Turn Gallery (New York) in 2018, among others.