Richard Denny | The Laughter of Fools - 2011 | Acrylic, enamel and oil stick, vintage maps and linen attached to recycled doors | 160 x 210 cm
Richard Denny’s artistic journey continues to grow, delight and prosper and Paper Towns promises to be no different. Hard work is no stranger to Richard who will be launching his 11th solo show since 2010 at 19 KAREN Contemporary Artspace on Saturday 18 February 2012.
Paper Towns is another body of work resulting in Richard’s continuous exploration of Polish-American philosopher Alfred Korzybski’s phrase “a map is not the territory”. The use of maps in Richard’s work is credited to a much repeated story of wandering through the unusually snow covered streets in Marseille and finding an abandoned box with an extensive collection of maps. Richard has allowed this story to continue through his body of work and this time it has led to the fruition of Paper Towns.
“A ‘trap’ street is a misrepresentation on a map. It is either accidental or an intended copyright trap. Paper towns and mountains have been placed on maps for the same purpose. Presented here [in solo show Paper Towns] are some of the characters and stories from a Paper Town,” says Richard.
Though the story for Richard’s work is always continuing, his inspirations come from all over the place.
“I feel the strongest connection to the work by artists such as Willem de Kooning, Karel Appel and Jean-Michel Basquiat because the energy and vitality of their work. Writers such as Paul Auster, George Orwell and Irving Welsh provide humour and understanding of their fellow humans and society,” he says.
Richard’s description of his influencers is the perfect way to summarise his work for Paper Towns: full of energy, vitality and humour. His characters provide a hint of cheekiness; like they want to tell you their story but it’s a funny little secret.
“It is a little absurd to create voices and characters from towns and places that only exist by the devious calculation of a mapmaker to protect their intellectual property. It is about the humour of the non-existent characters,” Richard says.
Using whatever materials that come to hand at the time, Paper Towns was composed with acrylic, oil stick, enamel, oil pastel, pen, pencil, wood, paper, linen and vintage maps. Bold reds, yellows and blues work comfortably together to give the paintings edge and vivaciousness.
Richard is currently working out of his studio in The Abbotsford Convent in Melbourne.
Please join us, Richard Denny and guest speaker Art Editor Marina Saint Martin for the Opening Night of Paper Towns at 19 KAREN on Saturday 18 February 2012. To RSVP please email info@19karen.com.au.
