Exhibition Learning Notes: ‘George Rouy. The Bleed, Part I’

How does he make his work?
Rouy utilizes found images and material discovered on the internet as sources of inspiration for his work. Often these visual prompts will provoke a mood or certain emotion which he then develops into a series of paintings. His initial starting point often consists of mark making and gestural work in oil paint and acrylic on canvas, done on impulse, from which his abstract figures eventually emerge. Alternatively, initial compositional ideas can start life on his computer with the artist then transferring concepts to canvas. As work progresses, he photographs it and then uses Photoshop to explore further compositional structure and color tones.Charging his paintings with energy and a sense of vibration is a key concern for Rouy and music is a notable feature of his studio practice.

An example of Rouy’s concept of ‘bleed’ can be seen in the painting ‘Formless Being’ (2024).A fleshy mass of figures congeals together, yet their extremities seep and blend into the canvas that surrounds them. Gender and other typical identifiers such as portraiture are deliberately omitted or blurred. It is only the rendering of hands that appear more clearly delineated within the overall composition as they are devices used by the artist to move the viewer’s eye around the canvas and interlink different compositional elements within the painting.

What are his sources of subject matter?
The human body is a constantly recurring subject for the artist. It is important to recognize however, that the forms depicted and the way a viewer may read them, are never autobiographical for Rouy. He prefers more open-ended interpretation and engagement with the figures he paints and the concepts that can be inferred from them.

Human emotions and experiences (both individual and collective) are other important sources of subject matter for the artist, particularly internalised thoughts, behaviours and social experiences that can offer insights into what it means to be human in the current age. Dance is an art form that regularly is a source of inspiration and subject matter for the artist and which he often references in relation to his own painting.

During his most recent solo exhibition, ‘BODY SUIT,’ Hannah Barry Gallery, London, UK (2023), Rouy and leading choreographer Sharon Eyal presented their first joint creation. The outcome of their combined perspectives was a unique, visionary live event with exacting, rigorous, and yet liberated practices in movement, light, sound and environment. ‘BODYSUIT’ will be expanded to a full-length live piece, premiering in London in late 2024.

What are the major themes within the exhibition?
A concept of ‘carrying’
A core theme within the exhibition is the concept of ‘carrying’ which for the artist refers to how an individual experiences life from birth to death and what forms of physical, emotional, or societal support one might encounter on this journey, or not. The paintings provoke questions around societal collective care within a rapidly changing world.

Human identities in the digital age
The way social media and digital technologies have now enabled a reality in which people’s identities and lived experiences are no longer confined to our physical bodies but have ‘bled out’ into the world wide web is an important theme for the artist. How we perceive ourselves and others in such a distorted unreality is a question posed through the paintings.

Impacts of a chaotic world on the human condition
How global phenomenon such as climate change affects people at an individual or collective level is another theme within the exhibition. The uncertainty around environmental collapse induces anxiety and stress for many with implications for mental health, wellbeing and the physical body.

What artists does his work relate to?

Francis Bacon (1909 – 1992) was an Irish-born British painter who primarily used the human body as a source of subject matter in this work. His paintings are renowned for their emotional intensity and often unsettling imagery.

Cecily Brown (b. 1969) is a British painter and makes paintings that give the appearance of being in continual flux, alive with the erotic energy of her expressive application and vivid color, shifting restlessly between abstract and figurative modes.

Lucian Freud (1922 – 2011) was a British painter who captured the psychological states of the figures and people he represented in paint. The physicality of the body and how such bodies occupied space was a key area of interest in his work.

Theodore Géricault (1791 – 1824) was a French painter associated with the romantic movement of the early 19th Century. His work is renowned for its dynamic compositional arrangements and intense emotions.

Jenny Saville RA (b. 1970) is a contemporary British painter and an original member of the Young British Artists (YBA). Saville works and lives in Oxford, UK, and she is known for her large-scale painted depictions of nude women.

Hauser & Wirth artists to consider
Rita Ackermann’s (b.1968) compositions occupy a space between the figurative and the abstract, where human forms simultaneously disappear and re-emerge.

Catherine Goodman’s (b.1961) intensely expressive painting process uses strongly pigmented oil paint, brushwork, oil sticks, drips and washes to create atmospheric and immersive paintings which explore both figuration and abstraction.

Christina Quarles (b.1985) is a Los Angeles-based artist, whose practice works to dismantle and question assumptions and ingrained beliefs surrounding identity and the human figure. She utilizes bodily experience as her subject creating an artistic engagement with the contradictions inherent in one’s own complex, nuanced identity.

Ambera Wellmann (b. 1982) is known for her technical mastery in oil painting, drawing inspiration from renaissance and baroque styles. Wellmann’s work manifests through irrational pictorial space and the depiction of an indeterminate number of bodies, genders, species, all without any predetermined visual hierarchy.

Glossary

Androgynous
A blending of both masculine and feminine characteristics that does not correspond to traditional gender norms.

Autobiographical
Something based on personal life and experience.

Choreographer
A person who devises dance and movement sequences for performances.

Fluidity of identity
A concept that explores how a person’s identity such as gender, sexuality and cultural connections are not fixed and can evolve over time and in different contexts.

Found images
Pre-existing images from digital media, books, magazines and other sources that artists incorporate and recontextualise into their own artwork.

Gestural
A manual style or technique used by artists to create energetic and expressive drawings and paintings.

Monochrome
The use of only one color or variations of a shade of singular colours in an artwork.

Romantic movement
A late 18th and early 19th Century movement in the arts that focused on themes of emotion, imagination and the importance of nature as a powerful entity.

Discussion questions

• Creating a sense of connection and encouraging self-reflection through bodily awareness between viewer and painting is an important element in Rouy’s practice. What are your initial reactions to his work and what emotions do they evoke for you?

• Observe how the artist represents the human body. What do you notice that is different from other artists you might know who work with this subject matter? What messages or themes do you think Rouy might be conveying through his approach?

• In a compositional sense, Rouy’s paintings move between figuration and abstraction. In viewing the works do you read any narrative or aspects of storytelling?

• Music and performance art often influence Rouy’s painterly practice, do you think this is evident in this exhibition and if so, in what ways?

Supplementary research

• Hauser & Wirth: George Rouy in conversation with Ben Luke

• AnOther Magazine: George Rouy profile

• Purple Magazine: George Rouy interview

• Vivienne Westwood: George Rouy in conversation with Kingsley Ifill