"the corner of (y)our eye" : t-mo bauer and anastasia belous - catalogue - final

TBurnsArts | 15 Bishops Court, 54 Folgate Street, London E1 6UN | [email protected] | www.tburnsarts.com

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The Corner of (Y)our Eye An exhibition by T-Mo Bauer & Anastasia Belous

26th May - 12th June 2016

54 THE GALLERY

54 Shepherd Market

Mayfair

London

W1J 7QX

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.tburnsarts.com/


© TBurnsArts

CONTENTS

“The Corner of (Y)our Eye” – An Introduction

T-Mo Bauer – Q&A

T-Mo Bauer – CV

Anastasia Belous – Q&A

Anastasia Belous – CV

Price list – T-Mo Bauer

Price list – Anastasia Belous

Contacts




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The Corner of (Y)our Eye is a joint exhibition of recent work by multidisciplinary artist T-Mo

Bauer and painter Anastasia Belous at 54 The Gallery, Mayfair. Including both separate and

collaborative pieces, the show invites the viewer to explore the starkly opposed yet subtly

compatible way in which the artists observe their worlds. Through their chosen media, they

bring to life moments otherwise glimpsed fleetingly in the periphery.

While Belous’ work describes the physical world, T-Mo’s imagery immortalises both the

digital and ephemeral, Belous’ paintings lending a corporeal foil to T-Mo’s elusory flashes.

While T-Mo’s work often seems to conjure galaxies far away, Belous’ fleshly figures illustrate

the earthly plane. Ultimately, it is in their reflections on the theme of extra-bodily experience,

and mankind’s place in both the tangible and metaphysical worlds, that the artists truly

converge. Brought together, they present us with an alternate realm. A place best viewed out of

the corner of one’s eye.

Vienna-born artist T-Mo Bauer moved to London as a teenager, where he returned to make his

home and studio here after over a decade in NYC. His process is one of continuous material

experimentation, including digital photography, installation and abstract sculpture. An

experienced pyrotechnician and accomplished photographer, T-Mo marries the two practises

to create his own visual language. Although his works are highly technical, their presence is

often organic and visceral. Anastasia Belous is a self-taught visual artist from Kiev, Ukraine.

Following her studies of Art History at University College London, her practice as an artist is

highly traditional, using oils and sitting at her old-fashioned easel in a quest to bring together

the beautiful and the curious – successfully consolidating the two in her figurative paintings.

Similarly to T-Mo’s work, Belous’ paintings are enigmatic, lending themselves to abstraction

as well as straightforward representation.

Dive In, 2016 © T-Mo Bauer and Anastasia Belous




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Q&A WITH T-MO BAUER

May 2016

Can you explain the concept behind the series in the show and some of the themes it

explores?

My purpose in these, as in most of my pictures, is to encourage people to stop, have another

look, and think about what it is that they are seeing. They are meant as a visual diversion, one

which appeals in its other-worldliness and lulls the viewer into a moment where they forget

that everything they see in the picture comes from within themselves, not from the ink on the

paper, or from me. It’s about introspection.

I know what each image symbolises to me but this series is not about what I feel. It is about the

different response and interpretation elicited from each individual. One of my criteria for

hanging a piece of art on my wall is that it needs to reflect back something different on different

occasions because of the time of day – or most importantly my mood. Some pictures are better

barometers than others.

L: Untitled, 2016 © T-Mo Bauer

R: Geheimniss der Liebe (German Secret of Love), 2016 © T-Mo Bauer

You mentioned that you had some pyrotechnic training while working with a gentleman

licensed to take down bridges, buildings or to blast tunnels through mountains, as well as

present fireworks. What was it in this that drove your inspiration – and, sometimes, to

obsession with detail?

The training in pyrotechnics was a result of the obsession with detail, not the other way around.

I had a pretty good idea about what I wanted to capture and thought that I could gain better

control over the images if I knew more about different effects, which metal powders produce

what colour and at what altitude a given set of rockets or mortars will explode. I was right in

that it helps a lot when you can calibrate to a reasonably expected set of outcomes.




© TBurnsArts

In your still life works, too, although with very different effect, your desire to control

every element of the subject and final image – from its positioning to lighting to the

manipulations made after the shot is taken – is evident. How different is the experience of

the shooting process when working in a silent room from, say, at a fireworks display on

New Year’s Eve?

Once you accept that it is impossible to actually fully control the outcome of any action (except

to have no effect by not doing anything) you can focus on the controllable to achieve your

desired goal. Then it becomes a matter of degree. Of course the ranges narrow considerably

once you don’t have ephemeral split seconds events that you are trying to capture.

Without elaborating on the obvious differences, I did many floral still life works where I would

start with an idea of how I want it to look…and then choose the vase, buy and arrange the

flowers, wait for them to open or wilt to exactly where I want them. I have even added ink to

the water of tulips to get my colour and texture ‘right’.

In Vino Veritas, 2015 © T-Mo Bauer

Usually one has an appreciative (or not so appreciative) audience when setting pyrotechnics,

and once you start, you have to get your shots. It is much easier on the one hand to take photos

of someone else’s display than if I prepared the show, but it is much more difficult to know

what is coming. Surprisingly, there are many similarities in preparation for the shoot, especially

if I am the one with the finger on the remote trigger of the explosions. The biggest difference

is that once you set off a set of pyrotechnic events, there is no going for cup of tea to pick up

later!




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Does this make a difference to your relationship with the image and subject when later

you are manipulating it?

The postproduction work on still life images, for me, is much more straightforward, because if

I can take my time and get everything set up right, and work in a light-controlled environment,

there really isn’t much manipulation or filtering to do afterwards.

Speaking of your abstract works, you mentioned just now that, more than anything, the

effect is one of introspection for the viewer – that ultimately the image they see comes

from within themselves, rather than being something imposed by you. With your still life

works, in which the subject is instantly recognisable for what it is – a bottle, a vase, a

flower… - is this also the case?

I tend to add or twist or highlight some aspect of each picture as a feature, not too obscure, to

get that second look and hopefully provoke a question or two.

Still Life with wild flowers #1 and #2, 2015 © T-Mo Bauer

What have been your other career paths and how have each influenced the artwork you

now create?

I ran a hedge fund in NYC for 8 years and have since done property investments with the same

investors. I became a single father four years ago when I won full custody of my two daughters,

and, having cut back my workload to minimum found myself with time and motivation to

pursue a path that I had always intended to walk down. I am entirely self-taught in digital

photography, although I was very much into analog photography when I was a student. I don’t

think that one activity has had much influence over the others, but I do think that my education

and personality have influenced my approach to my previous careers in a similar way that it

influences my images. I am drawn to the fringe of any system and attempt to make sense of it,

understand it, control it...until I do.

How long have you known Anastasia, and what appealed to you in her work that made

you want to collaborate in this exhibition? Tell us a bit more about the experience of

making the collaborative works.




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We met socially 6years ago but only connected when I fell for her blue gorillas. I admire (and

slightly envy) Anastasia’s mastery of traditional fine art techniques and appreciated her ability

to create atmospheres of emotional complexity.

Her figure drawing is superb. It was when I saw her drawing of the diver that I immediately

knew what he demanded to evolve into.

Our collaborations are tempestuous when we actually try to work on something at the same

time, but harmonious if we hand a project back and forth. We have a few more in the pipeline

- the most recent one can be found on our show announcement.

How do you see your work developing further in the future?

I have the next few series mapped out but will try and find time for a sculpture commission that

I have been putting off. I am also collaborating with my partner, Michaela Frankova, to produce

some more textiles for couture fashion, and to put together a ready to wear collection for Spring

2017.




© TBurnsArts

Q&A WITH ANASTASIA BELOUS

May 2016

Can you explain the concept behind the series in the show and some of the themes it

explores?

I’m a figurative painter and work a lot with human form. In the three nudes that are on show I

used live models – through a number of sketches and studies I end with a certain angle and

position that I want to portray, which is specific to the individual figure and which causes the

most emotional response in the viewer. To deliver and promote this further I deliberately distort

the proportions of my girls. For instance, one has incredibly large hips in comparison to her

head. I always give lesser dimensions and importance to the arms and hands, while the feet of

my models double in size as to ground them further in their animal side. They are hand drawn

and take many hours to execute, yet in this scrupulous work I find incredible joy, and freedom

for imagination.

L: Olga, 2014, Charcoal on paper, 120x90cm © Anastasia Belous

R: Svetlana, 2014, Charcoal on paper, 120x90cm © Anastasia Belous

The largest series of work to date is the Pond series. These picture a human – boy or a girl –

swimming or being in close proximity to water and to the fish. This theme has strong links with

my adolescent years back in Ukraine. As 12-14 year olds, a group of friends and I were

travelling outside of Kiev to the abandoned village called Buchak. Buchak was rich in natural

resources including fields of rye, windmills, abandoned small houses, forest, river, and a

beautiful lake with no people in the radius of few kilometres. As you were approaching the lake

from the hillside down, one could see how clear the water was, and that the lake had one

inhabitant – a very large catfish. We went swimming with the fish, creating a very unusual

bond. Essentially we the kids became visitors to his lake, and in it became equals. This equality,

peace, tranquillity that one finds with nature I attempt to portray in my late canvases. The desire

to create art works was to give beauty to people, with late series I attempt to create that spot on

the wall for the eye to rest, a memory of what is true, timeless and doesn’t require any further

proof. Many of my latest work carry sense of nostalgia for the childhood, peace and nature.

This perhaps could be considered in the context of the late geo-political events that are

happening in my native Ukraine. In the despair of the two brotherly nations fighting in the war

that is not theirs, one misses the days of peace and serenity.




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Special Bond, 2015, oil on canvas, 85x60cm © Anastasia Belous

You have said: “In my work I attempt to give special place to the skill and beauty, and spend

many hours at the old fashioned easel striving for both.” How important do you think it is

for artists to retain a sense of the old fashioned skill of previous generations of painters?

Do you feel this is something lost in younger artists working now?

I don’t think it’s important. For an artist working now it is important to identify their audience.

I think that there is no Art World anymore but art worlds, and it’s the job of an artist to

acknowledge which one he/she belongs to. Within those preferences vary, some like traditional,

some like conceptual, some go with rebellious. It is GREAT to know the history of your trade

well...and then go against the stream if you wish so.

The skill in your work is clear to see. But some may not necessarily be subjects of beauty

(your gorillas, for example, or bruised faces). Is it in your role as an artist to find the

beauty within the subject, or it is in the inherent beauty of the paint and the painterly act

itself?

Thank you. If to put definition to it, Beauty is something that delivers most pleasure within the

shortest timeframe. From a beautiful woman to a sunset in Capri, the subject changes from

viewer to viewer. To me beautiful is the omnipotent spirit that is enclosed in our bodies. Hence

the icon with mirror in place of Christ’s face in which you can see your own reflection, hence

the striped down to the flesh and bones portrait (of Thomas) with the eye left to explore the

world. Hence the gorilla series – who share 98% DNA with us – who I portray with classical

attributes of the artist (brush, palette), as if the apes painted themselves – entering typically

human domain of art and self-portraiture.




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L: Blue Gorilla, 90 x 70 cm, oil on canvas © Anastasia Belous

R: The Ukraine, 2015, oil on board © Anastasia Belous

The self-portrait with a bruised face you refer to is a girl with a ribbon with the national flag

colours in her hair, an allegory for The Ukraine at this moment of time. It directly references

the annexation of the Crimea peninsula by Russian Federation last year, and the conflict that is

still going on in the east parts of the country. These events are saddening to me, as although

being born in the USSR I find my identity in being Ukrainian. Even if one doesn’t immediately

recognises the allegorical figure through the Ukrainian flag colours, and sees perhaps the

portrayal of domestic violence, the girl is still looking straight at you. As in her gaze she states

her existence, power and negligence of violence as something inferior to her.

I do take particular pride and joy in the physical skill that I have taught myself to acquire, and

perfect further with each new piece. The physical is the key word. I like the fact that it’s my

hands that do the job, I take great pleasure in the tactile qualities of my painted surfaces. One

can touch them and feel another’s presence. I also like the utopian idea that should Kurt

Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle come to live and I am to survive, I will still be able to paint with a

little earth and oil :)

Tell us a bit more about your process. How, firstly, do you select your subjects?

Well if I work directly with models, the person dictates the result, as I like to get “beyond the

surface”, and to their soul. Painting for me is the way to express an idea, the feeling.

The process involves dreaming up, researching, sketching, painting, and then many more

changes to already existing work in search for that perfection. I think my greatest work so far

was done ‘on a single breath’, even if it took longer to execute. I think all the best work is done

‘on a single breath’. There is something ruthless about it that I really like. Even if I don’t like

the result. Like Basquiat, I don’t necessarily have a particular leaning towards his work – but I

love with how he worked

When did you come to London from Kiev, and what perceivable differences, if any, do

you notice in the creative scenes?

I left Kiev in my late teens and don't have much professional experience from that part of the

world to be able to compare to the scene in London. But London definitely offers many more

opportunities in terms of exposure, connections and collaborations with other creatives.




© TBurnsArts

Moving on to this particular collaboration, how long have you known T-Mo?

We met around 8 years ago and became closer friends around 2 years ago, and later – art

collaborators. I am very happy to have found cross paths with him, as our work is so very

different. I learn from T-mo new ways, I feel he helps me – the dinosaur – to progress.

What appealed to you in his work, which made you want to collaborate in this exhibition?

Thomas has the ruthlessness that I mentioned above that I so admire. He just goes for it, and

his new ways I find fascinating. Although I will never go into digital domain, I think that magic

happens on the crossing of old and new, which I hope we will explore further than this exhibit.

Tell us a bit more about the experience of making the collaborative works?

We fight all the time - but it fascinates me that the occasional disagreements also add to great

results.

How do you see your work developing further in the future?

We have already discussed a few ideas not to be disclosed just yet. It is funny that several of

our visitors pointed towards the same direction. Maybe it’s a good idea. Maybe we will develop

it




© TBurnsArts

CV – ANASTASIA BELOUS Born 1987, Kiev, Ukraine

Education

2009 – 2011 MA Art History, UCL, London

2006 – 2009 History of Art, Christies Education, London,

2003 – 2005 University of Architecture, Kiev

1993 – 2001 Art School for Youth No 2

Recent exhibitions

2015 – present Group exhibition, Hay Hill Gallery, London

2015 – 2016 PQR Financial Planning, London

2015 Secret Art Pop Up Group Exhibition at Library Club, London

Group Pop-up Exhibition “Art in the Attic”, London

2014 “Master Of Art International” competition, selected entries, Great

Yarmouth Race Course, Norfolk, England

2012 Group Show, Glasgow City Hall, Scotland

2001 New Art Youth Exhibition, Kiev’s Philharmonic, as part of the

graduation show of Arts School for Children and Youth no 2

Collections

Private collections in London, Milan, Paris, New York, Miami, Barcelona, Berlin, Hong

Kong and Moscow.




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PRICE LIST – T-MO BAUER

IMAGE

TITLE MEDIA & DIMENSIONS

Dive In, 2016

(collaboration between Anastasia Belous

and T-Mo Bauer)

Crystal print mounted, framed

80cm x 80 cm

Edition of 8

Memento vivere, 2016 Fuji Crystal Print

84 x 59.4

Edition of 9

Omnia tempus haben, 2016 Fuji Crystal Print

84 x 59.4

Edition of 9

Tempus Ignis 2016 Fuji Crystal Print

84 x 59.4

Edition of 9




© TBurnsArts

F major 2016 Fuji Crystal Print

84 x 59.4

Edition of 9

Untitled, 2016 Fuji Crystal Print

84 x 59.4

Edition of 9

Si vis pacem para bellum 2016 Fuji Crystal Print

84 x 59.4

Edition of 9

Viribus unitis 2016 Fuji Crystal Print

84 x 59.4

Edition of 9




© TBurnsArts

Guilt Conscience 2016 Lightjet High Gloss print

72cmx128cm (+2cm border)

Edition of 9

Tempest Fug it

Crystal print

60 x 40 cm

edition of 11

V.I.T.R.I.O.L. Crystal print

60 x 40 cm

Still Life with wild flowers #1, 2015 C-type Metallic Print

50x50cm

Edition of 9 + AP


50x50cm

Edition of 9 + AP




© TBurnsArts


50x50cm

Edition of 9 + AP

Burning question C-Type on fuji flex, mounted on

di-bond

72 x 72 cm

Edition of 9

Almamia Fine Art Print

98 x 78 cm

Edition of 9

Geheimniss der Liebe (German Secret of

Love), 2016

Fine Art Print.

90 x 63cm

Edition of 9




© TBurnsArts

Insectoid 3, 2016 fine art print, framed under UV

glass

42 x 59 cm

In Vino Veritas, 2015 C-Type print on Metallic paper,

mounted

63.5x63.5 cm

Edition of 9 + AP

Insectoid 5, 2016 fine art print, framed under UV

glass

42 x 59 cm

colours surface, 2014 Fuji Crystal Print

109 x 72

Edition of 9




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It tolls for thee, 2014 Fuji Crystal Print

84 x 59.4 with vintage

magnifying glass

Edition of 5

delivery subject to availability of

glass

subconscious subjective inkjet on rear lit film mounted on

vintage x-ray viewer

Guilt Tulip, 2014 inkjet on brushed aluminium

63 x 63 cm

Gilt consciencee reprise (2014-2016) fine art print in vintage gilded

frame

50 x 60 cm

edition of 5

size will vary depending on

matched frame

Security device for Banknote 7, 2015 fine art print mounted framed

29 x 42 cm




© TBurnsArts

Mardi Gras 2016 Fine Art Print

60 x 40 cm

C - is for cat part of children’s alphabet book,

Work in progress

Bespoke cocktail dress Lace and digital print on silk

Collaboration with Michaela

Frankova

Bespoke cocktail dress “copper tulip” Lace and digital print on silk

Collaboration with Michaela

Frankova




© TBurnsArts

PRICE LIST – ANASTASIA BELOUS

IMAGE

TITLE MEDIA & DIMENSIONS

Dive In, 2016

(collaboration between

Anastasia Belous and T-Mo

Bauer)

Epoxy print

50x50cm

Edition of 8

Olga, 2014 Charcoal on paper

120x90cm

Svetlana, 2014 Charcoal on paper

120x90cm

Alina,

2014

Charcoal on paper

80x60cm




© TBurnsArts

Oleg,

2014

Charcoal on paper

80x60cm

Tentacle Dialogue, 2016 Oil on board

80x60cm

Margarita and Margarita,

2016

Oil on board

80x60cm

War and Peace, 2016 Oil on canvas

120x90cm

Special Bond, 2015 Oil on canvas

85x60cm




© TBurnsArts

Koi Diver, 2015 Oil on canvas

120x90cm

Big Rower, 2015 Oil on canvas, epoxy

150x120cm

Lake of Serenity, 2016 Oil on canvas

150x120cm

Frog Prince, 2016 Oil on canvas

70x70cm

Fish Rider, 2016 Graphite and watercolour on

paper

59x84cm




© TBurnsArts

Arizona Dream, 2016 Graphite and watercolour on

paper

59x84cm

The Ukraine, 2015 Oil on canvas

Schnobel from Chernobyl,

2015

Oil on canvas

The Inner Self, 2015 Oil on board




© TBurnsArts

ENQUIRIES

For sales enquiries or further information, interviews or images please contact Tani Burns:

T: +44 (0)207 377 5665

M: +44 (0)7888 731 419

E: [email protected]

W: www.tburnsarts.com

FB: TBurnsArts on Facebook

TW: @tburnsarts

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Exhibition: The Corner of (Y)our Eye

Venue: 54 The Gallery

Address: 54 Shepherd Market, London W1J 7QX, United Kingdom

Dates: 26th May – 12th June 2016

Times: Monday – Saturday 10:00 – 18:00 or by appointment

Website: http://www.54thegallery.co.uk/





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"the corner of (y)our eye" : t-mo bauer and anastasia belous - catalogue - final

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