Tomorrow or Tomorrow or Tomorrow - the first solo presentation of Sam Lock (b. 1973, United Kingdom) at Patrick Heide Contemporary Art, Brussels - brings together a series of abstract works on paper through which the artist explores states of transition and the sense of uncertainty that accompanies them.
The exhibition title draws on a line from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, in which Macbeth reflects on the monotony and relentless passage of time: “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day…”. In Lock’s interpretation, however, the everyday still holds space for transformation, elusiveness, and the unknown.
At the centre of the exhibition is a series of small works on paper, presented as an installation under the working title Up/Down/Across, which reflects the artist’s process. During their making, Lock imposed a set of self-defined rules that combine restriction with spontaneity. The structured aspect is visible in the use of horizontal, vertical, straight, and diagonal lines, while spontaneity emerges through colour choices and compositional decisions. The drawings in this series are made on found, disused pages from an old photo album - surfaces from which images have been lost or removed. By marking these remnants of personal history, Lock reactivates traces of past presence, allowing past, present, and future to converge within a single object.
In works such as Meeting Point II, Lock extends this approach by disassembling vintage books and using their covers as the starting point for his abstract compositions. He is drawn to their yellowed, sometimes marked, thickly textured surfaces, which carry visible traces of time. His marks respond to and build upon these histories, layering new gestures onto existing narratives.
Sam Lock (b. 1973) lives and works in the UK. Recent exhibitions include solo presentations at Cadogan Gallery in London and Milan; a group exhibition at Settantotto Gallery, Gent; a solo exhibition at Anima Mundi Gallery, St Ives and the group exhibition Tearing, Punching, Squeezing, Drilling at Patrick Heide Contemporary Art, London.