Sarah Graham Read: decoration.jpg
11 March - 5 April 2008

Starkwhite is pleased to present decoration.jpg by Sarah Graham Read.

"If three shoe-makers work together, they will be more intelligent than the most intelligent person."[1]

"A painting is made, sent to factory in Xiamen; senior artist makes a painting about it. Younger artist makes a painting about it. I make paintings about it. Museum quality paintings are made about it. For the past 16 months I have been engaged with artists working in factories in Wushipu Oil Painting Village, one of the world's largest oil painting reproduction centers, Xiamen, PR China." Sarah Graham Read

An ongoing dialogue forms the basis of various collaborative paintings; each exchange underpins a relational inquiry, a collaborative inquiry. Particularities of the conversations underpin and extend into the practice. Together the artists in China and Read explore various approaches to 'creating' unique paintings, working with various grades schools and styles. To borrow an expression and reform it as a question: how do things get a little distorted, a little obscured in the process, how to things sometimes get a little lost in translation?

Factory correspondence:
Typhoon Wipa struck hard in Xiamen and an image fell on the floor while abstract.jpg was being completed. The artists were all fine, Read asked about the picture under the palm of the artist on his knees: "decoration.jpg, it is a decoration for another order. Artist reproduce it from a cartoon picture. Next steps he expressed more details one by one very carefully till the painting was completed. The abstract painter said he want to use the colour and lines to express something from inside. Not only his inside world, but also the others who have watched the painting When chose the colour, you can try many times to get the appropriate colour according to the original. Usually it depends on the experience. Do more then get more experience. We recommend decoration quality for this order."

I hope you can enjoy it.

Located in New Zealand on Auckland's Karangahape Road, Starkwhite presents a programme of artists' projects, solo shows, independently curated exhibitions and occasional forays into new music and other interdisciplinary practices. Starkwhite also represents artists from New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific rim.

For further information on the exhibition, or images, please contact the gallery.

Starkwhite
510 Karangahape Road, Auckland, New Zealand
Tel. 64 9 3070703
Monday to Friday: 11.00am to 6.00pm
Saturday: 11.00am to 5.00pm
starkwhite@starkwhite.co.nz
www.starkwhite.co.nz