CECILIA CHARLTON

JUL–JAN 2022
RADIO KING’S CROSS

In Form Fantasy, Cecilia Charlton’s artworks toe the line between specificity and subjectivity. The precise application of paint provides a sense of clarity — but the manner of application is in stark contrast to the surrealist nature of the compositions. Ground, gravity, light, and solidity all are brought into question through relentless contradictions. Each element may make sense when inspected in isolation, but when viewed as a whole, the paintings environments are wholly nonsensical. But then, is it possible for the nonsensical to become sensical?

These works, spanning two years, all center around ideas of form and knowledge. How do we know what we think we know about an artwork? How do the signs in an artwork inform us of its character? This process of questioning and knowing is central to Cecilia’s work. The idea of gestalt is present not only in individual artworks, but also in the installation as a whole.

Born in the United States, Cecilia Charlton moved to London in September 2016 to pursue a Master’s degree in painting at the Royal College of Art. Recent exhibitions include: Beyond Borders, Neue Gallery, Hamburg Germany; An Audience of Echoes, Hockney Gallery, London UK; Plants People Pots [an invitation], Pinch Project Space, London UK; Abstraction of Continents / the Continent of Abstraction, Lychee One Gallery, London UK.