Robert Priseman - 'Gas Chambers'
Mair Gallery, 9th March–3rd April 2010
Born in Derbyshire, England, Robert Priseman studied photography and graphic design before reading Aesthetics and Art Theory at the University of Essex. Whilst working as a book designer, Priseman developed a successful career painting commissioned portraits in oils. However, in 2003, Priseman gave up commission work, turning to depictions of unpopulated landscapes, and increasingly, interior spaces. Priseman's work in this vein culminated in the bleakly matter-of-fact Modern Means of Execution etchings and American Execution paintings of 2007-08, which John Finlay describes as 'chilling reminder[s] of our... indifference to death and cruelty.'1 In his most recent drawings and paintings, Priseman extends this theme to embrace the sites of some of the grimmest atrocities perpetrated in recent history - the Death Camps set up during the Nazi regime in World War II. These works form the basis for Priseman's current show at CoCA: Gas Chambers.
Priseman's Gas Chambers series juxtaposes small scale drawings, depicting the landscape settings and architectural sites in which the Gas Chambers were situated, with much larger oil paintings that take the viewer inside the buildings depicted in the drawings. Swift, sure sketches, the drawings are almost postcard-picturesque. In works such as Sonnenstein (2009) or Bernburg (2009), the buildings are depicted at some remove and thus inevitably softened by distance and atmosphere. Without being aware of their true context, the viewer could scarcely imagine the horrors contained within these stately mansions, dappled in sunlight, and securely located in impeccably manicured garden settings. That these sites harbour death rather than civilization comes as a profound shock.
Floor talks at COCA Gallery. Sunday 21st March 2pm. Art historian and curator, Jeremy Marshall, will discuss the art of Robert Priseman and the Methods of Execution and Gas Chambers series. Sunday 28th March 2pm. Lynda Patterson, Theologian in residence at the Anglican Cathedral will discuss the art of Robert Priseman.