190. What's past is past. One could leave it as it is, too.
191. On the other hand, it must be admitted that there are aftereffects, impressions that linger after the external cause has been removed, or has removed itself. "If any one looks at the sun, he may retain the image in his eyes for several days," Goethe wrote. "Boyle relates an image of ten years." And who is to say this afterimage is not equally real? `indigo makes its stain not in the dyeing vat, but after the garment has been removed. It is the oxygen of the air that blues it."
Nelson, Maggie. (2009) Bluets. London: Jonathan Cape.
Kendall Koppe is delighted to present The sun and the sun's reflection including works by Neil Bickerton, Joe Cheetham, Josh Faught, Jame St Findlay, George Platt Lynes, Katie Shannon and Alessandro Teoldi. In the quietness of the opening of a new year, as we start to emerge through the darkness of winter we have found ourselves reflecting on ideas of longing. From this melancholy we find ourselves longing for a different time. For unspoken understanding. For time to ponder.
The urge to be in pursuit; desirous of a place - a person - a memory. Comforted by the force of our longing to either eclipse or preserve that which is longed for.
A remembrance of sorts… Remembrances that are more Elysian than those same realities. And we hope that our longing- even when it must remain unrequited- brings us closer to that which we long for.
Wanting is intrinsic to human nature.
We constantly find ourselves in pursuit of progress or something at the edge of our reach- our appetite for more, never sated. We are propelled onward by our desire to reach some distant and receding carrot of 'enlightenment' or 'betterment'.
And so, with The sun and the sun's reflection we seek a moment of stillness within this constant longing. Where we can see simultaneously the futility and the fruitfulness of this pursuit.
That which is, and was, and will.
To find beauty in this dichotomy of human experience and fortify ourselves for the Sisyphean task (whilst we imagine that Sisyphus was happy).
Neil Bickerton (b. 1976, Scotland) lives and works in Glasgow. Recently exhibitions include; between two moons, No31 Gallery, Duns (2023); Short questions for guidance, A_place Gallery, Glasgow (2024); OPENING, A_place Gallery, Glasgow (2023); I've never met anyone quite like you before, Queens Park Railway Club, Glasgow (2023); To be a giant and keep quiet about it, Yee Society, Hong Kong (2022).
Joe Cheetham (b.1992) lives and works in Glasgow. Recent solo exhibitions include: Something in the way, Annka Kultys Gallery, London (2024); Mellow Doubt, JPS Gallery, Hong Kong (2023); Life is overtaking me, L21 Gallery, Palma de Mallorca (2023); Something for the Weekend, L21 Gallery, Palma de Mallorca (2021). Recent group exhibitions include: Estructuras Animadas de Chocolate Fundido, L21 HOME, Palma de Mallorca (2024); Entre Cajas, L21 HOME, Palma de Mallorca (2023); Looking through the window wearing only socks, L21 Gallery, Palma de Mallorca (2022); Untitled (But Loved), Bosse & Baum, London (2020).
Josh Faught (b. 1979, Missouri) lives and works in San Francisco. Recent solo exhibitions include Look Across the Water into the Darkness, Look for the Fog, Wattis Institute, San Francisco (2022); Both Things are True, Koppe Astner, Glasgow (2019); Casa Loewe, London (2019); Sanctuary, commissioned by Western Bridge, St Mark's Cathedral, Seattle (2017); Siyinqaba, US Embassy in Swaziland, Mbabane (2015). Faught has exhibited in group exhibitions at NAK Neuer Aachener Kunstverein, Aachen; Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston; Museum of Arts and Design, New York; Yerba Buena Center for Art, San Francisco; The New Museum, New York; ICA Boston; The Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston; Grazer Kunstverein, Graz; Pakville Galleries, Ontario; and The Museum of Contemporary Art, Detroit.
Jame St Findlay (b. 1994, Scotland) lives and works in London. Findlay graduated from the Royal Academy, London in 2024. Recent solo exhibitions include Life Span, Gathering, London (2024); LONE, Luca's Gallery, London (2023); Conditional Love, Middlesex Presents, London (2022); Low Hanging Fruit, Celine, Glasgow (2022); Dependency, 16 Nicholson Street, Glasgow (2019).
George Platt Lynes (b. 1907, New Jersey, d. 1955, New York) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. His work has been included in major institutional group shows at National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid, and International Center of Photography, New York. Lynes is included in Institutional collections, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Centre Pompidou, Paris The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, and The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
George Platt Lynes (b. 1907, New Jersey, d. 1955, New York) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. His work has been included in major institutional group shows at National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Museo Reina Sofía, Madrid, and International Center of Photography, New York. Lynes is included in Institutional collections, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Centre Pompidou, Paris The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, and The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Katie Shannon is a London and Glasgow based artist, musician and performer. Shannon currently presents a resident radio show on NTS and is a founding member of TLC23. She co-organised record labels and club nights Domestic Exile and So Low and performs with band Kübler-Ross. Recent shows include How to destroy Angels, curated by Tai Shani & Anne Duffau, Horse Hospital London (2024); Situational Attempts, The Artist Room, London (2024); A separate space between the thought and felt, South Parade, London (2024); Sicko with Finlay Clark, The Horse Hospital, London (2023). Recent performances include BRICKSHITHOUSELONDON, TLC23, TINA, London (forthcoming, 2024); TLC23 and The Amber Press, TLC23 with Zoe Williams, Dortmund Kunstverein, Dortmund (2024); SUB BINGO, Goldsmiths University of London (2024).
Alessandro Teoldi (b. 1987, Milan, Italy) lives and works in New York. Teoldi received his MFA from ICP-Bard College in 2013. Recent solo exhibitions include Dopo la pioggia, Marinaro, New York (2025); Looking Back, Capsule, Shanghai (2023); Essere Uno, Museo della Ceramica di Savona, Savona (2024); duet, Marinaro, New York (2022). He has exhibited his work in several group shows at venues including FLAG Art Foundation, New York; Magazzino Italian Art, Cold Spring; Klaus Von Nichtssagend Gallery, New York; Assembly Room, New York; and International Center of Photography, New York amongst others.
