Patrick Heide Contemporary Art is delighted to present “Fox Hunting”, the first solo exhibition of German painter Pius Fox in London.
Pius Fox will be the first artist to be profiled in a solo presentation from the gallery’s “Breeder” program, a platform dedicated to young artists and talents fostered by the gallery.
Pius Fox was featured at TEFAF Showcase in Maastricht and Drawing Now Paris this year as well as other group shows and fairs throughout the past few years. Though prolific in his production, nearly the complete oeuvre found its way into private collections worldwide with a growing collector base constantly requesting newer and bigger works.
The title “Fox Hunting” ironically comments on this development and its ambivalent effects on contemporary artists and an art market that is increasingly elitist and undemocratic.
To be constantly “on the hunt” for the next hot talent is fashionable amongst contemporary collectors, whose intentions can be sincere and passionate, but may also turn out to be trend-ridden or purely commercial and ultimately devastating.
The irony of the title is heightened by the fact that all works are mostly abstracted interiors that depict neither animals nor nature, once the most popular English subject matters.
Further is Pius Fox, despite his English sounding birth name, a native of Berlin, where he was born and raised, where he studied and still lives and works.
Pius Fox's ouevre moves between painting and drawing, between form and content, always on the verge of the non-objective.
At first glance seemingly paintings, most works to date are executed on paper, though, for the first time, a small selection of larger canvases will form part of the presentation.
All compositions venture into various configurations of spatial expression created by the superimposition of layers of paint.
Fox's subject matter originates from the interior of his studio, windows, doors, curtains, facades - introspective in atmosphere, yet formally looking outwards.
Firmly rooted in modernism departing from constructivism and cubism, Fox branches out into more painterly styles reminiscent of Diebenkorn and Hockney while evolving his very personal language. His newer works like “Felder” or “Mond” display "framed" structures in subdued tonalities that move between opacity and transparency, ultimately exploring the boundaries between figuration, imagination and abstraction.
Pius Fox was born in 1983 and graduated from UdK (University of the Arts) in Berlin with a BA under professor Frank Badur and a master class under professor Pia Fries in 2010.
The Berlin painter has had solo exhibitions in Paris and Berlin and is already featured in many international collections across Europe and the US.