Alexander Gorlizki: Pre-existing conditions

John Berggruen Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of recent work by Alexander Gorlizki. Pre-existing conditions will open Thursday, July 1st, and will run through Saturday, August 14th. An opening reception will be held for the artist on July 1st, from 5:30-7:30pm.

Pre-existing conditions marks Alexander Gorlizki's first solo exhibition at John Berggruen Gallery. Over 30 recent works on paper will be on view, allowing the characteristics distinct to Gorlizki's work to develop a fascinating dialogue. Gorlizki's style marries the foreign, familiar, bizarre and traditional as it incorporates intricate geometrical abstractions, contemporary magazine cut-outs, and a delicate use of traditional Indian motifs and iconography. The unique qualities of Gorlizki's paintings can be attributed to the process by which these works are created. 

Gorlizki's oeuvre originates from an obsession with Indian Miniature paintings, a tradition he has subverted and applied to his own particular and idiosyncratic visual language. Rather then imitating the style of this traditional art form, Gorlizki established a studio in Jaipur, India with the master painter Riyaz Uddin. Riyaz Uddin and the other artists in his atelier are renowned for painting with a single-hair brush in the Mughal miniature style; a style that was cultivated in India over 600 years ago. Gorlizki spends part of the year in the studio in Jaipur focusing on the conceptual, imaginative and formal aspect of the image whereas the meticulous application of the paint is the domain of the artists he has commissioned. The drawings get passed from one hand to another and elements are added or adapted by Gorlizki. From his studio in New York packages of drawings are couriered back and forth between the two studios and the drawings are often developed over a period of years.

Alexander Gorlizki was born in London, U.K., in 1967 and currently lives and works in New York, NY. Gorlizki received his B.A. from Bristol Polytechnic and his M.F.A. from the Slade School, London, U.K. His work is included in the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, U.K., the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, CA, the Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf, Germany, and the Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO. Recent solo exhibitions include Kudlek van der Grinten Galerie, Cologne, Germany, Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, New York, NY and Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles, CA. Recent group exhibitions include On Paper, Galerie Karsten Greve, Paris, France, 2009.