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
Education	Central St Martins College of Art and Design
Known for	painting, found art, social art
Notable work	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

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.^[12]

"Magical montages made from floppy disks and scans...brings new hi-tech humans to life." The Guardian.^[13]

Exhibitions

2015

• Absolute Art Gallery. "Memoryscapes", solo show, Knokke, Belgium.^[14]
• Opera Gallery. "Urban Art", group show, Singapore.^[15]
• Galeria Impakto. "Teknology", group show, Lima, Peru.^[16]
• Opera Gallery. "British Contemporary", group show, Singapore.^[17]

2014

• Robert Fontaine Gallery. "Synthetic Daydreams", solo show, Miami, USA.^[18]
• C24 Gallery, "YELL-O", group show, New York, USA.^[19]
• Robert Fontaine Gallery. "Insiders", group show, Miami, USA.^[20]
• Opera Gallery. "Urban Renewal", group show, Hong Kong.^[21]
• Showcase Gallery, Southampton Solent University, "Forward Looking", group show, Southampton, UK.^[22]

2013

• Opera Gallery. "The Many Faces of David Bowie", group show, London, UK.^[23]
• Absolute Art Gallery. "Tra-SH-art", group show, Knokke, Belgium.^[24]
• Robert Fontaine Gallery. "XChange" solo exhibition, Miami, USA.^[25]
• The Cass Gallery. "Misuse: Creating Alternatives", group show, London, UK.^[26]
• Galerie Flash. "London Portraits", group show, Munich, Germany.^[27]
• Art Walk. "Contemporary Masters", group show, Cannes, France.^[28]
• Florida Gulf Coast University Gallery. "Mo•tor Cor•tex", Group show, Fort Myers, Florida, USA.^[29]

2012

• Opera Gallery. "Urban Masters", group exhibition, London, UK.^[30]
• Rook and Raven Gallery. "Interface", group exhibition, London, UK.^[31][32]
• 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.^[33][34]

2011

• Robert Fontaine Gallery. Solo show, Miami, USA.^[7][35][36]
• Whisper Gallery. "Dataface", solo show, London, UK.^[37][38]
• Selfridges. "Artefacts", pop-up solo show, London, UK.^[11]
• Whisper Gallery. Group show, London, UK.^[39]
• Absolute Art Gallery. Art Paris, Paris, France.^[40]
• Pantocrator Gallery. "La Pan Stage", residency and solo show, Barcelona, Spain.^[41]

2010

• Adam Lister Gallery. "Untagged", group show, Fairfax, USA.^[42][43]
• 2R Art. "In/Human", group show, London, UK.^[44]
• Studio55 Gallery. "Auto-Emotion", pop-up solo show, London, UK.^[45][46][47]
• Robert Fontaine Gallery. Verge Art Fair, Miami Art Basel, Miami, USA.

2009

• T & P Fine Art. "Cut-Copy", group show, Philadelphia, USA.^[48]

Publications

Books by Nick Gentry

• Synthetic Daydreams by Nick Gentry, 2014
• 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^[49]

References

External links

• Daily Telegraph: Nick Gentry, an artist who uses floppy disks, cassettes and VCR tapes to make pictures
• BBC Brasil: Artista transforma fitas cassete e disquetes em retratos
• Nick Gentry @ Robert Fontaine Gallery
• AOL On: Using floppy disks as art canvas
• Floppy disk e vhs: l'hi-tech retrò rivive nell'arte
• Floppy Disk Artwork: Obsolete technology makes a comeback
• Huffington Post: Nick Gentry Turns Obsolete Technology Into Beautiful Art
• Wooster Collective: The Art of Nick Gentry
• Interview, Nick Gentry: A Floppy Disk Artist
• 1800 Recycling: Dead Floppy Disks Reincarnated as Artistic Masterpieces
• Style/Vanity Fair Italy: La seconda vita degli oggetti quasi estinti
• Artnet: Nick Gentry
• Nick Gentry official website