Nick Gentry

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Nick Gentry
Nick Gentry

Nick Gentry, at the Collective Memory exhibition in Miami
Born (1980-05-29) 29 May 1980
London, England, UK
Nationality British
Field painting, found art, social art
Training Central St Martins College of Art and Design
Works The Entity D2, Digital Montage Number 2, Blink, Still

Nicholas James Gentry (born 29 May 1980) is a British artist from London. Much of his artistic output has been generated with the use of contributed artefacts and materials.[1] He states that through this process "contributor, artist and viewer come closer together". His art is influenced by the development of consumerism, technology, identity and cyberculture in society, with a distinctive focus on obsolete media.

He is best known for his floppy disk paintings[2] and film negative artworks,[3] placing an emphasis on recycling obsolete media and the reuse of personal objects as a central theme. Such artistic works of social commentary have been featured in galleries in the UK, USA and in cities throughout the world. His work has been exhibited alongside established street artists, such as Banksy, Shepard Fairey and Blek Le Rat.[4] As a result he has been linked to the urban art scene in London.

Life and career

Nick Gentry was born in London and grew up in the nearby city of St Albans. From an early age he spent a lot of time drawing and sketching. He attended Parmiter's School in Garston, Hertfordshire and during a troubled time he came close to being expelled on numerous occasions. He specialised in Sculpture in GCSE Art, but trapped air in the clay caused his entire exhibition to be destroyed in the kiln. He continued to study art at Ridge Street Art School and the University of Hertfordshire. During this time he was inspired by a visit to the famous Sensation (art exhibition) at the Royal Academy of Art,[5] signalling the arrival of the Young British Artists. He was later refused admission to Liverpool College of Art when he first applied, but attended the college after a subsequent successful application a year later. From there he progressed to successfully graduate from Central Saint Martins in London in 2006.

Works

"Digital Montage Number 2" by Nick Gentry
Nick Gentry Digital Montage Number 2.
"Still" 2012 by Nick Gentry.
Nick Gentry Still.

Street Artworks

Little is known about the street activity of Gentry. In earlier years before gallery representation the artist would often leave paintings in the streets for passers-by to pick up as gifts. This 'free art' practice draws comparison to the early activity of fellow London-based artist Adam Neate,[6] challenging the notion of art as a commodity and its worth in society.

Floppy Disk Paintings

A series of Generation X portraits on canvases made from used computer disks, whose metal hub serves as the subject's profoundly un-humanlike eye. Adding to his haunting renderings are the handwritten labels, along with the disks' original blue, black, or grey colour contributing to the composite form.[7] The disks are sourced entirely from public donation and this series represents Gentry's first foray into what has been described as 'social art'.[8]

Film Negative and X-ray Artworks

A series of portraits created from used film negatives and X-rays which have been contributed by members of the public. The negative selection process is based on tone and by layering the film he creates the contrast and shape of the faces. Gentry has also used X-rays for the darker tones, noticeably in the hair section of the images which are back lit with LED.[9] The use of these materials alludes to a collective identity that can be viewed from both emotional and biological perspectives. He observes that "today we go to great lengths to create a digital identity in addition to the actual lives we live, with the belief that these online records are only growing in importance and will outlive us".[10]

Critical responses

"Increasingly making a name for himself internationally with his distinctive works." Martin Newman, The Mirror.[11]

"What happens to floppy discs, music cassettes and other outdated storage media once they've outlived their usefulness? Nick Gentry uses them as a canvas for his paintings." The Daily Telegraph.[1]

"His paintings are at once archaeological and haunting... a social art project that turns form and function inside out." Sydney Edelist, Huffington Post Arts.[12]

Exhibitions

2013

  • Opera Gallery. "The Many Faces of David Bowie", group show, London, UK.[13]
  • Absolute Art Gallery. "Tra-SH-art", group show, Knokke, Belgium.[14]
  • Robert Fontaine Gallery. "XChange" solo exhibition, Miami, USA.[15]
  • The Cass Gallery. "Misuse: Creating Alternatives", group show, London, UK.[16]
  • Galerie Flash. "London Portraits", group show, Munich, Germany.[17]
  • Art Walk. "Contemporary Masters", group show, Cannes, France.[18]
  • Florida Gulf Coast University Gallery. "Mo•tor Cor•tex", Group show, Fort Myers, Florida, USA.[19]

2012

  • Robert Fontaine Gallery. SCOPE Art Fair, Miami Art Basel, Miami, USA.[20]
  • Opera Gallery. "Urban Masters", group exhibition, London, UK.[21]
  • Galerie Flash. ART.FAIR, Cologne, Germany.
  • Rook and Raven Gallery. "Interface", group exhibition, London, UK.[22][23]
  • Galerie Flash. "1 Jahr", group show, Munich, Germany.
  • Robert Fontaine Gallery. "9", group show, Miami, USA.
  • Robert Fontaine Gallery. "Collective Memory" solo exhibition, Miami, USA.[24][25]
  • Robert Fontaine Gallery. SCOPE Art Fair, New York, USA.[26]

2011

  • Robert Fontaine Gallery. SCOPE Art Fair, Miami Art Basel, Miami, USA.[27]
  • Robert Fontaine Gallery. Nick Gentry Solo show, Miami, USA.[7][27][28]
  • Whisper Gallery. "Dataface", solo show, London, UK.[29][30]
  • Selfridges. "Artefacts", pop-up solo show, London, UK.[11]
  • Whisper Gallery. Group show, London, UK.[31]
  • Absolute Art Gallery. Art Paris, Paris, France.[32]
  • Galerie flash. Munich Contempo, Munich, Germany.[33][34]
  • Pantocrator Gallery. "La Pan Stage", residency and solo show, Barcelona, Spain.[35]

2010

  • Adam Lister Gallery. "Untagged", group show, Fairfax, USA.[36][37]
  • 2R Art. "In/Human", group show, London, UK.[38]
  • Studio55 Gallery. "Auto-Emotion", pop-up solo show, London, UK.[39][40][41]
  • Robert Fontaine Gallery. Verge Art Fair, Miami Art Basel, Miami, USA.

2009

  • T & P Fine Art. "Cut-Copy", group show, Philadelphia, USA.[42]

Publications

Books by Nick Gentry

  • Collective Memory by Nick Gentry, 2013
  • Artefacts by Nick Gentry, 2011
  • Obsolete by Nick Gentry, 2010

Books featuring Nick Gentry

  • Artaq 2011, Editions Suty, 2011[43]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Art of Recycling - Tribute to Mona Lisa". The Daily Telegraph. 2 February 2010. Retrieved 4 April 2010. 
  2. ↑ "Shit We're Diggin: The Art of Nick Gentry". The Wooster Collective. Retrieved 2 October 2011. 
  3. ↑ Emocling, Erin. "New Art / Nick Gentry". Lost At E Minor. Lost At E Minor. Retrieved 9 July 2012. 
  4. ↑ "Exhibition preview: Urban Masters". The Evening Standard. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012. 
  5. ↑ Jury, Louise (30 December 1997). "Royal Academy's `Sensation' proves to be a shockingly good crowd- puller". The Independent. Retrieved 30 December 1997. 
  6. ↑ "Artist to give away 1,000 works". BBC. 10 November 2008. Retrieved 10 November 2008. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 McCorquodale, Amanda (23 August 2011). "Artist Nick Gentry Finds the Human Remains of Dead Technology". Miami New Times. Retrieved 21 November 2011. 
  8. ↑ Benowitz, Shayne. "Artist Nick Gentry's 'Social' Media Brings Dead Technology Back To Life". Societe Perrier. Retrieved 9 April 2013. 
  9. ↑ Lindberg, Aaron. "Nick Gentry’s Manipulated Film Artwork". F Stoppers. Retrieved 18 April 2013. 
  10. ↑ Tsolaki, Magda. "Nick Gentry's 'Xchange' Exhibition". Delood. Retrieved 23 April 2013. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Newman, Martin (2 July 2011). "Old media master Nick Gentry to create art installation in Selfridges". The Mirror. Retrieved 21 November 2011. 
  12. ↑ Edelist, Sydney (28 August 2011). "Nick Gentry Paints Art On Floppy Disks". Huffington Post Arts. Retrieved 28 August 2011. 
  13. ↑ "The Many Faces of David Bowie exhibition". www.davidbowie.com. Retrieved 16 October 2013. 
  14. ↑ "TRA-SH-ART Group Exhibition". TRA-SH-ART. Absolute Art Gallery. Retrieved 2013-07-29. 
  15. ↑ Saati, Briana (1 April 2013). "Nick Gentry Brings Floppy Disks Back to Life at Robert Fontaine Gallery". Miami New Times. Retrieved 1 April 2013. 
  16. ↑ "London Portraits Group Show". Galerie Flash. Retrieved 16 October 2013. 
  17. ↑ "Contemporary Masters". www.artwalk.no. Retrieved 16 October 2013. 
  18. ↑ Sturdivant, Anica. "Mo•tor Cor•tex". Florida Gulf Coast University. Retrieved 16 October 2013. 
  19. ↑ Benowitz, Shayne. "4 Local Galleries Representing During Miami Art Week". Societe Perrier. Retrieved 29 November 2012. 
  20. ↑ "Exhibition preview: Urban Masters". Evening Standard. Evening Standard. Retrieved 8 November 2012. 
  21. ↑ Cross, Leah. "Nick Gentry's Interface". Dazed Digital. Dazed Digital. Retrieved 4 July 2012. 
  22. ↑ Khan, Tabish. "Art Review: Interface @ Rook & Raven". The Londonist. The Londonist. Retrieved 7 July 2012. 
  23. ↑ "Scope NY is Hosting a Global Exploration of Cutting-Edge Work". Arts Observer. Retrieved 11 March 2012. 
  24. ↑ Mason, Shana Beth (29 August 2011). "Nick Gentry @ Robert Fontaine Gallery". Retrieved 21 November 2011. 
  25. ↑ Newman, Martin (14 September 2011). "Nick Gentry's Dataface at Whisper Fine Art". The Mirror. Retrieved 21 November 2011. 
  26. ↑ "Nick Gentry DATAFACE at Whisper Gallery Art Opening Thursday 15th September 2011". FAD. Retrieved 21 November 2011. 
  27. ↑ "Whisper Gallery Launch". Topman Blog. Retrieved 21 November 2011. 
  28. ↑ Porkay, Geraldine. "Nick Gentry Artworks". Galerie Flash. Retrieved 21 November 2011. 
  29. ↑ "Munich Contempo". ArtMagazine.cc. Retrieved 21 November 2011. 
  30. ↑ Neodim. "Nick Gentry: floppy’s art". Recyclart. Retrieved 21 November 2011. 
  31. ↑ "In/Human". 2R Art. Retrieved 21 November 2011. 
  32. ↑ Suffocake. "Nick Gentry Exhibition at Studio55". The Daily Street. Retrieved 21 November 2011. 
  33. ↑ Art Nectar. "Nick Gentry Exhibition ‘Auto-Emotion’ at Studio55/55DSL London". Art Nectar. Retrieved 21 November 2011. 
  34. ↑ "Nick Gentry Auto-Emotion". Coolography. Retrieved 21 November 2011. 
  35. ↑ Ziegler, Tina. "T & P Fine Art gallery presents Cut Copy". Hunt and Gather Art. Retrieved 21 November 2011. 
  36. ↑ Artaq, Yves. Artaq 2011. Editions Suty. p. 159. ISBN 978-2-9534253-2-1. 

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