JUNE 21, 2012 - JULY 21, 2012
Frontier responds to the fight, flight and drive of the human spirit. With reference to Umberto Boccioni’s early 20th century sculpture Unique Forms of Continuity in Space, Rachel Coad’s new body of work alludes to the Futurist preoccupations with dynamic movement and speed. The fighter jets, with their aerodynamic forms pay homage to the Futurist’s fixation on technological advancements in speed, locomotion and warfare.
Coad’s skillfully painted figures emulate aspects of a military training regime and depict human physiology pushed to its extreme. However, by using a young female model rather than a soldier, the artist represents a more universal image of human potential. The paintings create a whirlpool of energy around the gallery. The sequenced running movement in Drill reads as a filmstrip capturing movement suspended in time, much like the early chronophotography with its stop-motion technique.
In a world that seems to be gaining speed like never before, Coad’s paintings arrest time and allow us to reflect on singular moments.
