Harmony Korine
AGGRESSIVE DR1FTER Part II
9 May – 27 July 2024
London
Over the last 30 years, American artist and filmmaker Harmony Korine has cultivated a multidisciplinary practice built upon tireless experimentation. A second chapter to Korine’s 2023 exhibition, ‘AGGRESSIVE DR1FTER’, at Hauser & Wirth Downtown Los Angeles, this exhibition in London features a series of paintings drawn from his newly released film ‘Aggro Dr1ft.’ The exhibition’s acid-hued oils display an unprecedented fusion of Korine’s painting and filmic practices.
Within Korine’s creative output—from paintings to films and photography—the notion of a singularity between forms begins to emerge. As such, ‘every medium gets expanded and de-specified: a film can turn into a painting, a painting can become a film,’ as remarked by Isabelle Graw, German art historian, educator and publisher of the journal Texte zur Kunst, in a conversation with the artist. Wanting to go beyond normal photography-based film, the infrared images capture a world consisting of colors and energy. Translated onto canvas with oils, the resulting paintings capture both a stylized world and an essence, a feeling, as in ‘STILTS ZOON X2’ (2023).
‘I wanted to make paintings that feel like they’re basically alive. I wondered if one can make works and imagery that look like nothing has preceded them? This project is almost closer to a futurist take on visuals, painting and film.’—Harmony Korine
Some paintings, such as ‘Drift XI’ (2023), focus on close-ups of heads, reflecting the importance of details for the artist. In close to mid-range framing, the infrared camera is able to sensitively detect variations in thermal energy, heat, which is then transformed into a more detailed image. Harnessing the aesthetic potential of infrared, Korine explains ‘the closer you get, the more heat is pulled from the image and the more alive it looks.’ The resulting paintings evoke a visceral reaction in which viewers can visualize and almost feel heat from the body, an immersive experience that Korine describes as ‘close to the idea of being inside of a video game’. The technological workings of the camera mean that, within wide shots, lines are softened and the figures’ features are de-emphasized. The further away from objects, the more impressionistic the image, producing an unearthly quality.
‘The colors and the grain structure start to explode the whole idea of lines. They become more about depicting the vibration of the energy.’— Harmony Korine
Harmony Korine
CHILDREN OF ZION
2023
Video
Ed. 1/1 + 1AP
Two Double Sided Monitors
235.5 x 78 x 7.5 cm / 92 3/4 x 31 x 3 in (each)
© Harmony Korine
Photo: Keith Lubow
The artist spent time mixing paints to intensify the strength and luminosity of the pigments, seeing how far he could push paint, the film and the idea of energy. With influences ranging from Martin Kippenberger’s playful paintings to William Eggleston’s vibrant photographs, Korine’s eccentric color palette of blues, greens, pinks and oranges—dictated by the infrared imagery—not only heightens the sense of liveliness but also the element of science fiction.
‘REVELATOR MAXIMUS’ (2023) shows a walking figure, its surroundings marked by overwhelming monochromatic hues. Variations in shade are important here, from teal to cobalt, forming an unnatural yet ethereal environment. For the artist, ‘the colors are so full of life […] At the same time the subject matter and the characters are so grim and dystopian so there’s this interesting discourse between the two.’ Compelled to tell a story with his films, Korine’s paintings offer a more immediate encounter with his fantastical world, their subject matter borne from color and energy.
‘AGGRO DR1FT,’ Korine’s new film from which the paintings in Hauser & Wirth’s exhibition are drawn, premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on 1 September 2023.
The London screening of ‘AGGRO DR1FT’ will take place on Friday 10 May at EartH (Evolutionary Arts Hackney) in London, featuring an experiential film screening, live DJ sets by Harmony Korine/EDGLRD & Evian Christ, and audiovisuals Created by EDGLRD.
AGRESSIVE DR1FTER Part I
Harmony Korine’s first instalment of ‘AGGRESSIVE DR1FTER,’ his debut solo exhibition with Hauser & Wirth in Downtown Los Angeles at the end of 2023, presented a selection of acid-hued paintings drawn from his new film ‘Aggro Dr1ft.’
PAINTING AS AESTHETIC DRUG
In the lead up to Harmony Korine’s first solo show with Hauser & Wirth in 2023, Korine sat down with Isabelle Graw to talk about his hallucinatory new paintings and recent film project that inspired their imagery.
On view in London
‘Harmony Korine. AGGRESSIVE DR1FTER PART II’ is on view alongside ‘Isa Genzken. Wasserspeier and Angels’ until 27 July at Hauser & Wirth London.
The gallery is open Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm. Please visit our location page to plan your visit.
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About the Artist
Harmony Korine
Over the last 30 years, Harmony Korine has cultivated a multidisciplinary art practice that resists categorization and is admired internationally for the improvisation, humor, repetition, nostalgia and poetry that unite the disparate aspects of his output. His practice is built upon tireless experimentation and a trial-and-error path, producing what Korine...
Current Exhibitions
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