David Mach "Iconography" Solo Exhibition

(Image) New Collage Series - French Flag 200x200cm, 2007. David Mach's "Iconography" solo exhibition is on display at Jerome de Noirmont Gallery from September 21 to November 17. Born in Scotland in 1956, David Mach is one of the most representative sculptors of Britain in the 1980s. He was initially famous for his dramatic large-scale installation sculptures (in fact, he neither carves nor molds, but forms them with found objects). To this day, he continues to create figurative statues surrounded by symbolic imagery, all within the feeling of the great Western sculptural tradition.

David Mach has a special affection for consumer objects in daily life. His past sculptural works were constructed from series of books, magazines, tires, carpets, plastic sheets, home appliances, televisions, cars, ceramic animals, furniture, and matches, always building extraordinary imaginative artworks from insignificant materials. Since the 1990s, he has continued to explore these sensitive and emotional materials (such as matches, wire hangers, painted postcards, and photographs), often unconventionally constructing his remarkable statues and image paintings.

In the "Iconography" solo exhibition, David Mach presents three major series of his latest creations. First are contemporary society's most representative and popular icons, such as the Bodhisattva, Mao Zedong, Lenin, boxing champion Ali, rock 'n' roll icon Elvis, and the sensual Marilyn Monroe. These figurative painted statues initially appear to be composed of colorful beads; upon closer inspection, these mesmerizing statues reveal themselves to be constructed from series of painted matchsticks under the artist's excellent and superb craftsmanship. What surprises people is not only the technical skill but also the lifelike images, providing an unusual space for imagination.

Next is a giant life-sized nude female seated statue, "Sitting Woman." This remarkably sensual nude statue is constructed by overlapping everyday iron hangers that go unnoticed. It is unexpected and somewhat contradictory; it is not just about turning the ordinary into magic, but also about its exceptional technique. David Mach ingeniously transforms these cold everyday objects like iron hangers and matchsticks into breathtaking bodies and statues, profoundly conveying an extraordinary sensibility and poetry that traditional statues find hard to rival.

Finally, there is the artist's latest creation—the new image collage series (2m x 2m), such as the French flag, figures, nudes, and Paris's remarkable cityscapes. These image paintings are constructed from layers of identical scenic postcards and photographs. Under the artist's extraordinary imagination and exquisite skills, these extraordinary images can only be viewed as a whole from a distance; up close, one sees only a pile of overlaid and juxtaposed small painted card images. This highly dramatic new image painting series shares a similar effect with sculpture and has become David Mach's most innovative new style.