Militant

Merlin Carpenter is an artist and painter who lives in London and Berlin.He studied at St. Martins School of Art in London 1986-89 and lived in Cologne 1991-94. This is his second solo show at Christian Nagel Gallery and his third in Cologne. He has exhibited worldwide since the early nineties. Recent shows include the Vienna Secession, Magnani in London and Max Hetzler Gallery in Berlin.
For this exhibition Carpenter presents eleven large square oil paintings, three Cor-Ten Steel sculptures and a catalogue. The space between these three parts is militant.
A totally new feature comes into Carpenter’s paintings: Cubism. It is respectfully introduced to the other stuff he often paints, entering into relationships with elements like realistically-painted fashion models, and changing them.
The series of three indoor/outdoor floor sculptures touch on American Minimalism of the 60s. Cubism and Minimalism, key moments of Twentieth Century art history, are used to get to the future.
The catalogue includes many colour images and a discussion between Merlin Carpenter and Isabelle Graw, which gives further information on the paintings.
http://nagel-draxler.de/exhibitions/militant/