richard woods, dirty chair #13, 2013, varnish and acrylic on woodcourtesy the artist and the alan cristea gallery

 

the alan cristea gallery is currently showing D.I.Y., a solo exhibition of works by richard woods, which will run until june 01, 2013 at 34 cork street, london.

 

—following text from alan cristea gallery

 

the exhibition features a site-specific installation in which woods will clad the gallery space from floor to ceiling in his trademark vibrantly-coloured and exaggerated wood-grain motif.

 

deceptively simple in form, these bold images are produced using traditional block-printing techniques and installed as parquetry (inlaying wood in geometric patterns). pre-occupied with the notion of reproduction, the techniques employed by woods allude to historical artisanal processes, the power of iconography and the dominance of consumerist plasticity. as is the case with much of woods’ work, the method of construction is appropriate to the surface he is mimicking, articulating the similarities between the artist’s methodology and materials, and those used in everyday situations.

 

 

richard woods D.I.Y. exhibition at alan cristea gallery - 2installation view, richard woods, D.I.Y.the alan cristea gallery, london 2013. courtesy the artist and the alan cristea gallery

 

woods’ print projects are the result of collaboration between the artist and alan cristea gallery and represent a natural progression from his installations and sculpture, all of which start with a printed image. the first suite – woodblock inlays – takes their composition from seemingly random scatterings of ‘offcuts’ from one of the artist’s floor installations printed onto a single colour background taken from a sheet of plywood. the most recent series, shown for the first time here, appear as more ordered compositions – segments seemingly abstracted from a larger completed floor work.

 

both series are densely inked and heavily printed to create a rich, physical surface on the paper. reminiscent of suprematist aesthetics, the strength and severe geometry of their lines also recalls the abstraction of high modernism, drawing attention to its devolution into the world of commercial decor. echoing the postmodern irony of his installations, the work plays with the intersection between the real and artificial.

 

 

richard woods D.I.Y. exhibition at alan cristea gallery - 3installation view, richard woods, D.I.Y.the alan cristea gallery, london 2013. courtesy the artist and the alan cristea gallery

 

 

richard woods D.I.Y. exhibition at alan cristea gallery - 4installation view, richard woods, D.I.Y.the alan cristea gallery, london 2013. courtesy the artist and the alan cristea gallery

 

 

richard woods D.I.Y. exhibition at alan cristea gallery - 5installation view, richard woods, D.I.Y. the alan cristea gallery, london 2013. courtesy the artist and the alan cristea gallery

 

 

richard woods D.I.Y. exhibition at alan cristea gallery - 6richard woods, wood block repeat, 2013, acrylic on plywood, courtesy the artist and the alan cristea gallery

 

 

richard woods D.I.Y. exhibition at alan cristea gallery - 7richard woods, wooden sculpture ac1, 2013, varnish and acrylic on wood, courtesy the artist and the alan cristea gallery

 

 

richard woods D.I.Y. exhibition at alan cristea gallery - 8richard woods, radiator sculpture ac1, 2013, acrylic on plywoodcourtesy the artist and the alan cristea gallery

 

 

richard woods D.I.Y. exhibition at alan cristea gallery - 9richard woods, wood block sculpture ac1, 2013, acrylic on plywood, courtesy the artist and the alan cristea gallery

 

 

richard woods D.I.Y. exhibition at alan cristea gallery - 10richard woods, mock tudor monoprint 2, 2011acrylic on plywoodcourtesy the artist and the alan cristea gallery

 

 

richard woods D.I.Y. exhibition at alan cristea gallery - 11richard woods, print block painting ac1, 2013, acrylic on plywood, courtesy the artist and the alan cristea gallery

 

 

richard woods D.I.Y. exhibition at alan cristea gallery - 12richard woods, print block painting ac2, 2013, acrylic on plywood, courtesy the artist and the alan cristea gallery

 

 

richard woods D.I.Y. exhibition at alan cristea gallery - 13richard woods,radiator painting ac1, 2013acrylic on plywoodcourtesy the artist and the alan cristea gallery

 

 

richard woods D.I.Y. exhibition at alan cristea gallery - 14richard woods,radiator painting ac2, 2013acrylic on plywoodcourtesy the artist and the alan cristea gallery

 

 

richard woods D.I.Y. exhibition at alan cristea gallery - 15richard woods, print block painting ac3, 2013acrylic on plywoodcourtesy the artist and the alan cristea gallery