Art: Tom Ellis
Louisa Elderton previews artist TOM ELLIS's new exhibition at The Wallace Collection
As autumn leaves outside shift into shades of orange and red, the artist Tom Ellis will exhibit his works at The Wallace Collection. With Tom elegantly interweaving his figurative painting and his handmade furniture, the show will reflect the holdings of The Wallace Collection itself, which comprises pictures and miniatures, ceramics, furniture, sculpture, and arms and armour. Spread across three spaces - the Front State Room, the exhibition galleries and the front lawn - the affinity between the objects will take centre stage. 'I am interested in the way in which their juxtaposition can open up and transform how we engage with any particular object,' says Tom.
With walls of deep-red silk damask, Tom's paintings will be placed on horizontal runners in front of the wallpaper itself. An image of a faceless, seated shoemaker recurs throughout his series of paintings, blankly staring down at the viewers as they move through each room. Reminiscent of Rembrandt's figures and interiors, iterations will range from renderings rich with deep shadows to sketches that appear rough but energised. On the lawn outside, the bronze and steel work Lawn Sculpture will greet passers-by with shining patinas. Elsewhere, a traditional hybrid chair-table will see a cedarwood chair folding into a table, creating a functional surface that is then covered in coloured fabric.
Tom's combination of painting and furniture activates a striking duality. 'The fact that they are object types of such a different order allows me to move freely between ostensibly art and non-art activities,' he says. 'The furniture serves in part to "depressurise" the painting practice by creating a more culturally blurred setting for its display - a painting above a sofa is a very different proposition to a painting isolated on a pristine gallery wall.' Tom says he feels that The Wallace Collection brings art closer to the 'unruly multiplicity of real life', and here we have life in all of its wild and wonderful facets.
'The Middle - Tom Ellis at The Wallace Collection' runs from September 15 to November 27.
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Inside Living with Art 2016
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