Realms

Curated by Gemma Rolls-Bentley

Carl Freedman Gallery is proud to present ‘Realms’, a powerful and thought-provoking group exhibition created in collaboration with Gemma Rolls-Bentley. ‘Realms’ invites you to journey beyond the confines of our reality to explore hidden stories and secret worlds envisioned by a group of nine international artists.

Artists: April Bey, TM Davy, Laura Footes, Leasho Johnson, Tali Lennox, Kris Lock, Jessie Makinson, Emma Steinkraus and Georg Wilson

Within these realms, new possibilities for life, love, liberation, and joy flourish, transcending the limitations of our current society. Through large scale paintings and installation, each artist reveals their unique vision of alternative realities. Whether rooted in reality and memory, or taking myth and folklore as a starting point, these artists’ journeys are united by boundless imagination and hopeful potential. From abundant landscapes to enchanted narratives the show offers glimpses into different dimensions where the barriers of conventionality fade away, and the spirit of exploration reigns supreme.

The paintings of Georg Wilson and Emma Steinkraus are rooted in the natural world where they explore the transformative powers of a deeper kinship with nature. Emma harnesses the imagery of Greek mythology to consider how humans relate to plants. Daphne’s metamorphosis sees her changing into a sweet pea whilst baccanti find wildness as they sprout gooseberries, all set in a sultry country garden inspired by the artist’s recent residency in Somerset. The fantastical figures in Georg’s work exist within a landscape imbued with stories, rich in fairytale and the Cornish folklore she grew up with. The forest is in a constant state of transformation, as are the genderless figures that appear amongst the trees. More animal than human, Georg’s creatures channel the medicinal powers of native plants and overlooked species, encouraging us to consider a return to nature. Leasho Johnson presents luscious scenes in which moments inspired by reality are abstracted through a palette of deep greens and floral tones. Deep within the vibrant plant life of the tropics, charcoal figures move rhythmically together, finding each other in moments of queer intimacy, otherwise forbidden in Leasho’s native Jamaica. The paintings come from the ‘Anansi’ series, named after an ancient trickster spider from the oral folktales that travelled along the transatlantic slave trade routes. Known for defying and outsmarting the gods, Anansi is used by the artist as a‘metaphor for finding psychological space for Black queer love’. TM Davy and Jessie Makinson guide us into magical realms inhabited by faeries and mythical beings. In Jessie’s large-scale painting, captivating figures–part human, part forest–weave in and out of the archways of a sprawling architectural structure.Brought together through an ascending female power, they share moments of pleasure and decadence, entangled in a dance that never ends. TM’s series of small paintings were created on Fire Island, a real life queertopia of golden beaches and vibrant sunsets. Other worldly figures–fauns, faeries and mermaids–invite us to follow them deep into unseen worlds where the light glows strong and the magical possibilities are abundant.

Tali Lennox and Laura Footes present dream-like scenes that blur memory with imagination. Tali’s realm of the illuminated kingdom appears as a mirage within the surreal compositions of a weeping whip and the glistening tears of Neverland. The blinking lights and shiny latex and leather speak to the neons and sex shops of the Boulevard de Clichy right by the artist’s studio in Paris, and her fascination with the illusion and mystery of a world that she will never enter. Laura’s large-scale painting tells the story of a bed-bound figure being liberated from the trappings of a thorny rose garden, a metaphor for the artist’s chronic illness. Full of promise, the scene demonstrates the power of creative manifestation and resilience in transcending the familiar darkness of real-world existence. April Bey transforms a corner of the gallery into her fictional planet Atlantica, which she has been creating since childhood as a response to being othered because of her appearance. On Atlantica, an Afrofuturist alien world, difference is celebrated and there is no prejudice. The digitally-created Atlanticans are dressed in Colonial Swag, a high-fashion luxury brand that frees Black expression from the trappings of Earth’s power relations. Kris Lock paints anew world that comes after this one. Resembling the digital landscapes of gaming worlds, the setting is uncanny in its familiarity viewed aslant. Presented through the aesthetics of ecological restoration, extinct creatures are reintroduced and thrive alongside other species–both real and imagined. The paintings speak to a hopeful new future built through regeneration and renewal. In a world that constantly presents us with new challenges, we see the most vulnerable in our communities experiencing hardship and discrimination. Art has the power to help us navigate difficult times by creating space for us to consider different perspectives.

– Gemma Rolls-Bentley (Guest Curator)