DAVID MACH

‘THE STATE OF HEADS’

New Postcard collages

17 OCTOBER – 17 NOVEMBER 2006

Jill George Gallery is delighted to announce the latest solo exhibition by David Mach, who has been showing at the Gallery since 1995. This exhibition will present a selection of new collage works. 

The works Mach will be showing are large-scale reworkings of well known portrait icons. Intricate and dazzling, they are created using hundreds of – usually - postcards, setting up a dramatic tension between the image on each card and the completed work, or ‘the icon within the icon’. Recent examples of these striking works have been exhibited at the Royal Academy and include the Mona Lisa, constructed from postcards of the Queen, and a Vincent van Gogh self-portrait, as well as Vladimir Tretchikov’s Green Woman, both made from multiple postcard portraits of Prince William.

For this exhibition, Mach has produced a spectacular new series of familiar portraits and images. Postcards of both Marilyn Monroe and Mao Tse Tung will be used to construct each other’s face, with a beautiful Marilyn emerging from hundreds of Mao postcards, and the Chinese premier morphing from a sea of Monroes. Likewise, the iconic children’s doll, Barbie, will be formed from sentimentally ‘cute’ images of pussycats, and a huge putti will be generated from multiple Dianas. Using other source material, Michelangelo’s David has been made from playing cards, an image of the Buddha from tarot cards, and a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II is fashioned from I-Ching cards.

David Mach became known for creating some of the most ambitious and elaborate sculptural installations displayed in galleries and museums throughout the world, and possibly the most striking public sculptures seen anywhere. Recycled newspapers and magazines have swept through galleries like colourful tsunamis, incorporating furniture, cars and even small aircraft, whilst his spectacular public sculptures have become striking and well-loved landmarks. 

Although primarily associated with his remarkable sculpture, Mach’s exploration of collage and drawing has led to increasing acknowledgement of his work in these media. In 1999 he completed Self- Portrait of Britain, a 75 metre-long collage made from thousands of photographs collected from people all over the country and installed in the Millennium Dome. This work toured the country in 2001.

Mach’s new work for this exhibition promises to be as surprising and ambitious as ever.

Notes for Editors

• Born in Methil, Fife, in 1956, David Mach studied at the Duncan Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee and at the Royal College of Art.  His ‘Train’ (1995/1997), funded by the National Lottery, was the largest piece of contemporary public sculpture when it was commissioned, and he was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1988.  Elected a Royal Academician in 1998, and in 1999 was appointed the Royal Academy of Art’s Professor of Sculpture. In 2002 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Dundee University.
• His work has been exhibited in solo exhibitions over the last 25 years throughout the UK, Europe, USA, Canada, Latin America, Japan and Australia.  
• David Mach’s work can be found in many public collections in the UK, including Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, National Portrait Gallery, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art, Aberdeen Art Gallery, Dundee Art Gallery, Hull Ferens Art Gallery, Manchester City Art Gallery and Wolverhampton Art Gallery.
• His work can also be found in many international collections, including San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, Auckland Museum of Art, University of Seattle,  Microsoft Corporation Seattle, Tokyo Kawasaki City Museum and Musee d’art contemporain, Dole, France.
• Jill George Gallery began by exhibiting the work of recent graduates and new artists and now shows selected painting and sculpture from a roster of international artists. 

If you require any further information or images please contact Jill George Gallery on 020 7439 7319 or email press@jillgeorgegallery.co.uk  

Jill George Gallery is open weekdays 10am – 6pm, Saturdays 11am – 5pm, Thursdays until 8pm.            www.jillgeorgegallery.co.uk