The New Topography of Modern Literature: Malcolm Green

Gallery Gudmundsdottir is delighted to present "The New Topography of Modern Literature'' a solo exhibition of Berlin based British artist Malcolm Green, b. 1952.

 "The New Topography of Modern Literature” provides an insight to Malcolm Green's body of work, including earlier works from 1976 to the present. 

With a background spanning professional dance, publishing and translation, Green emerges as a keen observer and mediator of contemporary culture. His works not only construct a new topography between objects, ideas, and etymology but also present a visual narrative (of our modern visual literature) that reflects his multifaceted identity as an artist.

 The "Wurst series," created between 1999 to 2001, comprises glossy paintings (elasmos) of sausages on pedestals in the most intriguing positions. Each painting is accompanied by a title that sets the scene, such as "Blauwurst am Rosen Montag” or “Weisswurst am Blauen Montag." Inspired by the works of Francis Bacon and the recently deceased Günter Brus, these sausage depictions, resembling limbless humans, employ figurative distortion and abstraction. However, Malcolm Green diverges from the themes of social isolation and existential angst typically seen in Bacon's and Brus's works by infusing his pieces with humour. In Green's works, the sausages serve as metaphors for hidden truths and ongoing speculation, injecting a playful twist into the exploration of inner complexities.

Furthermore, Green's use of a painting-by-numbers style adds an additional layer of meaning to his sausages, teetering on the edge of humour and ridicule. This technique enhances the ambiguity of identity and blurs the distinctions between inside and outside. As a result, the sausages become representations of the intricate and multifaceted nature of individuals, challenging conventional ideas of identity and self-definition.

Another series showcased in the exhibition is titled "Towers 1 –16," spanning from 2001 to 2023. These towers are built from layers of hardened gloss paint, accumulating over the artist's daily studio routine. Evolving over time, they adopt varied forms and colour schemes, becoming integral to Green's body of work. Symbolising the passage of time, routine regularity, and the value of consistency, each tower represents the artist's patience, meticulously layered with different paint shades challenging viewers to question conventional norms, prompting them to reevaluate their perceptions and immerse themselves in a rich tapestry of ideas and interpretations.

In the series of boxes and sculptures containing found objects and sentences, spanning from 1976 to the present, Green indulges in the childlike joy of collecting and exploration. Finding beauty in items discovered on the streets or in flea markets, he reveres them as treasures, leaving their original state or essence untouched. By placing them in a new context within customly made boxes, he archives them - granting them a second life as he transformes these ordinary materials into time capsules.

Through his art, Green humorously navigates translation intricacies, deftly blurring the line between sense and nonsense while skilfully mapping the meaning of everyday objects, words and thoughts. "The New Topography of Modern Literature" aligns with the ethos of elevating the mundane to the extraordinary, encouraging viewers to ponder the intricate interplay between the ordinary and the exceptional; he presents us with his colourful exceptional take on contemporary art.