Yoonjin Jung Kate Terry Littlewhitehead John Wynne

Rochelle School, Arnold Circus, London E2 7ES
September 9 – October 7

Air I Breathe completes the circle of our exploration of the classical elements prior to ‘Bodhi’ (enlightenment) in November. Air I Breathe celebrates the contradictory nature of this most divine and pure substance; seen as both superficial and representing the intelligence of the soul, air was also believed to own the twin properties of heat and moisture in ancient Greek medicine and was associated with blood as one of natures ‘humours’.

Air I Breathe is a unique and exciting opportunity to see the ambitious work of five diverse young artists whose work unfolds and plays with the freedom of installation based sculpture. At turns provocative and simply beautiful, Air I Breathe will be a thoughtful counterpoint to our usual concept of what a commercial gallery exhibition can be.

Craig Little and Blake Whitehead have worked together as Littlewhitehead since studying together at the Glasgow School of Art in 2007. Notorious for their darkly humorous conceptual pieces which simultaneously un-nerve and provoke laughter, they are best known for installations which employ life-size, realistic models of people in situations which are surprising and sometimes terrifying. Their statement of intent, ‘We want to beat you up visually’, is eloquently demonstrated in recent work which has employed mechanical sculpture as well as transforming culturally significant objects, including the Bible and Mein Kampf, by deep-frying or committing to ash. Littlewhitehead have exhibited to acclaim at the Saatchi Gallery, Gimple Fils in London and Marine Contemporary in Los Angeles.

John Wynne’s stunning installation for 300 speakers, Pianola and vacuum cleaner was one of the outstanding works in the Saatchi gallery’s 2010 survey of new British art, ‘Newspeak’. The first piece of sound art in Saatchi’s collection, this work of "frail monumentalism" (Charles Darwent) united critics as disparate as Adrian Searle and Brian Sewell in its praise.  John’s disparate practice includes a project based on highly endangered click-languages in the Kalahari Desert and another with heart and lung transplant patients in the UK. His work with alarm sounds of his own design includes a work banned by the City Council of Copenhagen for allegedly “frightening and confusing the public” and another described as “an ambient, ghost-like presence”. John has a PhD from Goldsmiths and his award-winning work has been exhibited and broadcast widely around the world. He will create a new site-specific installation for ‘Air I Breathe’.

Kate Terry’s quietly spectacular installations employ simple materials such as thread and pins to dramatically map and transform the spaces into which they are installed. Recalling images of harmonic structures such as harps or the tightly ordered interiors of a piano, her meticulous installations reveal themselves slowly to the viewer and offer a seductive and sensational re-working of the spaces they inhabit. Kate’s work has been shown to acclaim internationally and has been purchased for public collections including the National Gallery of Canada.

Yoonjin Jung is a recent MFA graduate from the Slade. Her beautiful site-specific sculptures and installations explore the concept of 'Seeing the Unseen’ and are inspired by the emptiness in oriental painting and the definition of invisibility in relation to space. Every aspect of her work is carefully considered and planned, including the seemingly ‘empty’ or ‘unused’ spaces which are in fact an essential element of her approach to sculpture. Yoonjin attempts to aid the viewer to an appreciation of the ‘unseen’ and to stimulate a discovery of what lies between the fragile boundary of invisibility and the visible. She has been a finalist at the London Art Award (UK) and E-Media Art Festival (Seoul, SK).

Air I Breathe will be complemented by a programme of talks and workshops which underline our ongoing commitment to deliver an inclusive and lively setting in which to view and appreciate new and often challenging art. Air I Breathe: Seminar chaired by Dr. Jean Wainwright will take place on the 10th of September. Artists John Wynne, Kate Terry and Yoonjin Jung will discuss their site-specific, installation based works for the exhibition. A catalogue will accompany Air I Breathe with an essay by Jean Wainwright and forward by Mila Askarova.

Notes to editors
1. ‘Air I Breathe’ is the 4th exhibition in the inaugural programme of exhibitions for Gazelli Art House, a new commercial art organization founded in 2010 by Mila Askarova. All exhibitions are curated by Mila Askarova.
2. The 5th and final exhibition for 2011 ‘ Bodhi’ (enlightenment) will take place in November, the London location will be announced in June.
3. Our opening programme is designed as an introduction to Gazelli Art House which will launch a permanent gallery space in London in 2012. The location will be announced in autumn 2011.
4. Mila Askarova’s biography:
Mila was born and raised in Azerbaijan and educated in Turkey. She studied at the LSE, Central St Martins and Christies and has curated exhibitions in Baku and Istanbul as well as working as a private dealer in London. In 2011 she coordinated the Azerbaijan Pavillion at the 54th Venice Biennale.
5. Catalogues, designed by Ted Lovett and with essays by curators and writers including Emilie Trice, Ana Finel Honigman and Jean Wainwright accompany each exhibition and will form one publication at the close of the project.

For further information, artists’ biographies and images please contact us at [email protected] www.gazelliarthouse.com