From 10 October – 1 November 2008, John Squire presents Noise, an exhibition of new mixed media works at London’s SW1 Gallery.
This latest series of large-scale canvases continue to explore the use of text and language within painting, a motif which Squire began experimenting with in a series of the paintings he made for his show at the Signal Gallery earlier this year.
In the creation of these works, Squire has covertly recorded conversations by local people in and around Manchester exchanging stories and anecdotes of their life. These texts are built up on the canvas to form intricately layered land and seascapes with dramatic Turner-esque emotion and movement. Squire at times chooses to highlight occasional phrases, which relate to the work or have motivated him in the creation of the work, causing on detailed inspection, an insight into the individual psyche of a stranger on a chance encounter.
Gradually flooding his canvases with a flurry of abstract, lyrical and often searching passages of text, these partial sentences are a stream of consciousness that build in half-perceptible layers through the paint. Snatched words and phrases become part of Squire’s quietly brooding landscapes, creating expressive movement across drifting seascapes and turbulent skies.
His next exhibition of original work is a major solo show at the Oldham Gallery, in July 2009, followed by an exhibition at Gallery Thiele in Linz, Austria in October 2009.
John Squire is also currently part of an esteemed panel - alongside iconic designer Peter Saville, the Contemporary Arts Society’s Fabienne Nicholas, and Dazed & Confused magazine’s visual arts editor Francesca Gavin - for the forthcoming Beck’s Fusions ‘Live Studio’, a competition launched to find the best new visual art and design talent, which will showcased as part of September’s Beck’s Fusions events in Manchester.
Based in Macclesfield, John Squire’s work has necessarily been informed by his dual experiences as a musician and artist. Renowned for his paintings and sculptural works which have, since the late 1980s, frequented the covers of albums and singles, from the Stone Roses onwards, John Squire has continued to develop his visual practise for over 20 years.
His early artwork, which was suddenly propelled into a high profile realm as a consequence of his musical successes, inspired a generation of young music fans to explore 20th century painting, and many of his paintings are already iconic images and much loved works with their own identity. However, John Squire’s career as a visual artist has always taken its own trajectory, developing independently from his musical celebrity, and his focused, consistent and ever-evolving output demands critical attention in its own right.
Further press information: Emma Pettit, Margaret, +44 (0)7852 196 539 / emma@margaretlondon.com
SW1 Gallery
10 October - 1 November 2008
Tues-Fri 12-6 and Sat 12-4
Solo Show
12 Cardinal Walk
Roof Garden Level
Cardinal Place, Victoria
London
www.sw1gallery.co.uk
Gallery Oldham
7 July - 5 September 2009
Major Solo Show
Oldham Cultural Quarter
Greaves Street
Oldham, OL1 1AL
www.galleryoldham.org.uk