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Equator, a new painting made specifically by Louise Giovanelli for Whitechapel Gallery, continues the artist’s interest in hair explored in her solo exhibition at GRIMM Gallery, New York in 2021. As is typical of her luscious and light-filled paintings, Equator delights in texture and sheen. The artist comments: “I am not interested in the human form, per se, but rather the colour meeting the light that meets the texture,” she said. “And sometimes they happen to contain figures.”i
Light plays a central role in Giovanelli’s work, which often appears glittered and glitzy, reflecting the sheen of shirts, hair, gemstones, curtains and glitter derived from images she sources from the cinema and Instagram. While seemingly glamorous, her work also contains a dark underbelly. Giovanelli is interested in thresholds, often cropping her representations of hair or curtains that imply a lack of access – in this case, to the subject. We see the hair but not the person behind it. Who is she? Is she on the stage or off the stage, on display in some way? Is it a wig? The work is intentionally left ambiguous, creating space for a range of narrative possibilities. The artist’s interest in thresholds is further emphasised by the central dividing line – the equator – that suggests a further boundary.
Installation view, Auto-da-fé, GRIMM, New York. Photo: Pierre Les Hors Working in the studio to create her glittering compositions, in each painting Giovanelli builds up five or six layers of paint in a manner reminiscent of Old Master painters:
“My process is quite similar to that of the Old Masters, with a thin glaze of underpainting which, when left untouched, lets light reflect through the white gesso.”ii Each painting requires five or six layers of paint.
Louise Giovanelli in her studio. Photo: Michael Pollard Louise Giovanelli is one of the most exciting painters working in the UK today. Recent exhibitions include Mixing It Up: Painting Today at the Hayward Gallery, as well as solo exhibitions at GRIMM Gallery (2021 and 2020), Workplace (2020 and 2019) and Manchester Art Gallery (2019). Her work is held in numerous international collections including the Government Art Collection, Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Akzo Nobel Art Foundation and Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL. In 2021, Giovanelli was selected as one of 20 artists for The Artsy Vanguard.
i Osman Can Yerebakan, The Artsy Vanguard 2021: Louise Giovanelli, Artsy, 1 December 2021, online
ii Ibid.Description
Image: Michael Pollard
Condition reports, Lot descriptions and information in respect of Lots included in this Online-Only Auction have been prepared exclusively by Whitechapel Gallery following Whitechapel Gallery’s assessment of the Lots. Phillips and its staff are not responsible in any way for such statements, representations or opinions or for any other information provided in respect of the Lots, whether by Whitechapel Gallery, on Phillips website or in any other form.Provenance
Donated by the artist and GRIMM, Amsterdam | New York
1
Equator
signed and dated 'Louise Giovanelli '22' on the reverse
oil on canvas
42.5 x 20.5 cm (16 3/4 x 8 1/8 in.)
Painted in 2022.
Estimate
£6,000 - 8,000 ♠
Sold
Charlotte Gibbs
Head of Sale
+44 20 7901 7993
CGibbs@phillips.com
Whitechapel Gallery Art Icon Charity Auction
Online Auction 16-23 March 2022
1
Louise Giovanelli
Equator
Estimate £6,000 - 8,000 ♠
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2
Caroline Walker
Study for Machining
Estimate £8,000 - 12,000 ♠
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3
Allison Zuckerman
Tea Time
Estimate £30,000 - 50,000
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4
Chloe Wise
A big secret for a lot of people
Estimate £10,000 - 15,000
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5
Lindsey Mendick
Every part of me
Estimate £6,000 - 8,000 ♠
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6
Sophie Barber
Thieviry and songs by gernot wieland
Estimate £2,000 - 3,000
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7
Olivia Sterling
Carnivorous Lunar Activities
Estimate £6,000 - 8,000 ♠
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8
Misheck Masamvu
Twitching Bulb
Estimate £12,000 - 18,000
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9
Exclusive Mougins Collectors Experience, including the Mougins Museum of Classical Art, hosted by collectors Christian and Florence Levett
Estimate £6,000 - 10,000
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10
Kojo Marfo
Midas
Estimate £12,000 - 18,000
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11
Pam Evelyn
Hesitate
Estimate £1,000 - 2,000 ♠
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12
Sahara Longe
Striped Collar
Estimate £6,000 - 8,000 ♠
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13
Tess Jaray
Solomon and the Queen of Sheba III
Estimate £8,000 - 12,000 ♠
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14
Emma Cousin
A Helping Hand
Estimate £1,500 - 2,500 ♠
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15
Dinner with Sir Michael Craig-Martin CBE RA and Whitechapel Gallery Chief Curator Lydia Yee at Townsend Restaurant
Estimate £3,000 - 5,000
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