Sarah Rapson - The Buddhist Trader

T1+2 Gallery | HIVE Projects is proud to present an exhibition of work by the British artist Sarah Rapson as the inaugural show at our new project space in west London.

Born in London in 1959 Sarah Rapson has spent the past 25 years working and exhibiting in Paris and New York. Since her return to the UK in 2004 Rapson has lived in semi-isolation in Dorset growing, as Agnes Martin once put it, “as wise as a Chinese hermit.” T1+2 | HIVE is proud to present Rapson’s first solo show since her return to the UK. The show will present a comprehensive overview of Rapson’s work to date, as well as exhibiting new pieces developed during her time as HIVE’s artist in residence in early 2010. 

Rapson walks the boundary between minimalism and abstract expressionism, working in film, paint and mixed media and photography. Early pieces such as the Brooklyn studio paintings have a gloss and sheen that has led to them being exhibited alongside work by major figures of the minimalist movement. Over recent years Rapson’s work has developed a rougher edge, using layering and slicing to create deeply textured works. She has moved away from large painted canvases, working more in collage and mixed media, and increasingly in photography. The influence of Agnes Martin and early Frank Stella is strongly evident in Rapson’s work. Recent pieces mine an interest in the dynamics of space and the relationship between body and place.

Rapson’s work is strongly influenced by eastern philosophies and in particular by the heightened awareness and attention demanded by the ancient tradition of the tea ceremony. Her pale, almost dusty works use ash from the artist’s own hearth and the yellowing news-type of old art newspapers to create a quiet space for contemplation. Perhaps incongruously, Rapson is fascinated by the dichotomy between the ‘humble’ physical nature of the artwork; its value as a transcendental, almost religious icon; and its monetary value. Her interest is conceptual rather than moral: she is interested in the value that is given to arduous intellectual labour, and the difference between the ancient Christian value of art and the contemporary value system based on monetary ‘worth’.

The Buddhist Trader, Rapson’s first solo London show since 1984 opens at the new T1+2 | HIVE project space on Wednesday February 10th.