Andrew Mania
& Carl Van Vechten
|
|
Vilma Gold is pleased
to present an exhibition of new works by Andrew Mania alongside
Andrew Mania’s private collection of photographs by Carl
Van Vechten.
For this exhibition Andrew Mania has transformed the gallery
into a highly personalized environment in which to house his
private collection. This has been achieved by using materials
that include drawings, photography, wall relief, sculpture and
video to create a series of shrine-like homage’s.
Carl Van Vechten’s black and white photographs dating
from 1932 until death in 1964 hold great significance to Andrew
Mania’s practise. Van Vechten took photographs of many
the major artists and intellectuals of the first half of the
20 th - century. The importance of these images is two-fold;
they document a specific time and milieu in 20 th -century American
history that was neglected by others, and they are among some
of the earliest art photography images created. While Van Vechten
never created as technically complex images as some of the professional
photographers of his day, a consistent artistic sensibility
pervades his work. In particular, his portraits of influential
African-Americans illustrate a rich artistic and intellectual
era in the African-American community.
Andrew Mania is a collector of curiosities, creating assemblages
and installations that include figurative drawings, curios,
sculptural objects, photographs, videos and film footage. He
recycles found objects and images, such as old master drawings
or vintage photographs, and adds his personal obsessions -
including yetis, invasive abstract motifs or bird-like swarms.
Mania has a nostalgic, romantic and irreverent relationship
to art history - he appropriates the status of the antique
then twists it to convey new narratives in the present. His
visual language reclaims and recombines images with the drive
and aesthetic of a collector given to creating fantastic arrangements
with intriguing tangential associations.
Andrew Mania was born in Bristol in 1974. Since graduating from
Chelsea college of Art in 1999 his work has been exhibited both
nationally and internationally. Solo exhibitions include: Chisenhale
Gallery, London (2005), Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco (2005)
and John Connelly Presents, New York (2005).
Carl Van Vechten was born in 1880 in Iowa and died in 1964.
During his life he was known as a photographer, writer and critic.
Van Vechten was well known for his interest in African-American
culture and his efforts to promote better interracial relations.
For further information or images please contact Sarah McCrory:
+44(0) 20 8981 3344 or: sarah@vilmagold.com
|
Installation view
Andrew Mania
Installation view
Andrew Mania and Carl van Vechten, 2006
Andrew Mania
David II, 2006
pencil on paper, photograph, fabric, framed
200 x 120 cm
|