Spotlight is the first group exhibition held at D’Stassi Arts’ flagship gallery in Shoreditch. It brings together 6 talented contemporary artists from our international network, displaying them alongside each other for the first time. The Spotlight artists - Adam Handler, Anthony Ronidone, Exhibit69, Peter Opheim, Rose Madone, and Sidney Teodoruk - each have their own unique styles that complement our vision as a gallery.
After five incredible shows and a complete transformation of the gallery space in 2022, Spotlight ends off the year at D’Stassi. The artists shown represent the core mission of the gallery, to nurture innovative and talented artists and to show them to diverse collectors and audiences. As storytellers, we are excited to exhibit our achievements as a gallery so far. Here, at Spotlight, D’Stassi Art’s history culminates with the inclusion of the first artist ever on our roster, Rose Madone, to our most recent, Exhibit69.
The Spotlight exhibition showcases works that are largely acrylic on canvas, in various shapes and sizes. The Adam Handler pieces, for example, are on atypical circular canvases and are being displayed for the first time in this exhibition. They are typical of Handler’s style, featuring his motif ghosts in various pastel scenes. Similarly, Peter Opheim’s work draws on a fantastic element. His large-scale canvases depict uncanny creatures in dusky earth tones. They are first modelled in plasticine, before being transferred into watercolour drafts and then eventually transformed into oil on canvas.
A reinterpretation of characterisation is likewise seen in the work of Exhibit69, where the use of black superheroes draws attention to the whitewashing of heroes in popular culture. Here the unconventional material choice of using found road signs creates familiarity for the audience, whilst also representing the reclamation of the urban environment. Characters are also central in the works of Anthony Rondinone, abstracted but familiar representations of favourite childhood characters. Whilst the images themselves are playful with their bright splattered paint, the titles show an ironic twist to their respective subjects, hinting at an otherwise darker interpretation.
In a similar fashion Rose Madone’s work comments on a certain darkness through the observation and analysis of the world. The pieces are a poetic transcription of emotion, full of symbolism and raw expression. The simple black and white pallet draw focus to the minimalist style of Madone’s canvases. In contrast, Sidney Teodoruk uses bright, flat colours to create narratives of juxtaposed interpretations of the world. Teodoruk’s work is uneasy, featuring nostalgic childhood iconography throughout fractured, neo-expressionist landscapes.
It’s not just the artists that make D’Stassi, it’s our team, our collectors and our supporters. We look forward to closing the year with a bang and hopefully another sold-out show.