COME SEE COMME CA at INNSiDE by Melia, Manchester

1 FIRST STREET | MANCHESTER | M15 4RP | EX DATES: 02.12.20 - 31.05.21

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We are very excited to announce a brand new collaboration with hotel, INNSiDE by Melia Manchester as Comme Ca Art launches it's latest Gallery space within the hotel. 

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This cool, contemporary hotel is the perfect backdrop for exhibiting artworks by up and coming Manchester based artists and for the first exhibition we have chosen four artists whose works although very different, create a dynamic show for the premier exhibition in the brand new gallery space. Two of the artists, Jamie Jones and Amanda Mulquiney-Jones will be exhibiting with Comme Ca for the first time alongside our established artists, John Cake and Phil Constable. All are welcome to drop by the hotel to view the exhibition and we will be hosting an exhibition party in January 2020 where you can 'socially distanced' meet the artists. 

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Comme See Comme Ca at INNSiDE by Melia! 

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JOHN CAKE

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John Cake is a child of 70s/80s North West England, where punk was a spirit, not a pose. Where Hip Hop, House and Techno resonated and thrived (DIY, scally, remix, laugh).

 

John’s paintings plunder the symbols of conservatism, capitalism, class, masculinity and religion, to deconstruct the images and language of the societal systems that attempt to define and control us.

 

He mines this wealth of source material, revelling in its leftovers, errors and redundancies. John flip’s between digital and analogue techniques to abstract, clip, glitch and layer these elements. They coalesce into a wild-style-graffiti-map, a calligraphic, vibrant web of visual snippets that resist and relinquish power.

 

Wilting pepper plants employ the colours of a hospital ward at Xmas, a pair of old-skool Filas stomp though the bedroom in Arles, his scalpel cut-and-pastes an abusive tutor’s lemon.

 

John largely makes the paintings for himself, to create an absurd nonsense, to refocus his intentions. But, for you, John wants his paintings to induce a state where your certainties are thrown off-kilter yet inspire optimism and hope.

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PHIL CONSTABLE

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Artist and printmaker Phil Constable works by layering images via screen print, utilising half-tone photography, symbols, mark making with gold and silver gilding on various surfaces including paper, board, and glass.

 

Documenting industrial sites and spaces, often focusing on trace images created by construction markings and/or graffiti that has often been covered or ‘painted out’ poorly. Phil finds these images and incorporates them as part of a readymade dialogue between the mediums of the mechanically reproduced image and the brush.

 

Multi-layered imagery encourages the viewer to visually explore the surface, the texture, and depth within the work echoing time and memory.

 

Having worked through the medium of printing and drawing on glass for sometime, the process of working backwards relates to the mapping of thoughts then sealing them by the encapsulation of silvering. When viewed as a finished piece, the distorted reflection of the silvering creates tension, an interaction between the viewer and negative space.

 

Born in Canterbury, Kent in 1971 Phil Constable graduated from Liverpool John Moores University in 1995 with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art followed by a MA  in Creative Technology at Salford University in 1998.

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JAMIE JONES

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Jamie Jones is an 80's kid who obsessed over cartoons, toys, skateboarding and hip-hop - you'll probably see that in his work.

 

Jamie has been inspired by countless artists all his life, but his real love of art is nostalgic references - building on the familiar and creating something new.

 

Street art and pop art are big influences, but he has always been fascinated with anatomical illustrations and their incredible details. Looking under the skin gives a surreal insight in to what’s hidden beneath, and this has been a focal point for Jamie’s recent work.

 

If it wasn’t for lock down, Jamie probably wouldn’t have picked up his pens and brushes, as it had been almost 21 years since he last did so. Whilst at school in Yorkshire, art was his favourite subject and earned him an art scholarship to buy art materials in last last year of school.

 

After finishing school Jamie returned to his home town of Chester and enrolled in art college, studying multimedia and design. He ended up dropping out and working fill time for M&S until starting a very successful career in the drinks industry at the age of 22.

 

In 2016 whilst running the global drinks programme for a Michelin starred restaurant group, Jamie launched Mirage, the worlds first Augmented Reality cocktail menu. 18 months of development and planning, the menu was an immersive journey through art with drinks paired to arts styles and artists.  This was Jamie’s opportunity to bring his love for art in to the drinks industry but didn’t go without its issues. As a badge of honour, he was issued with a cease & desist from the Warhol Estate!

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AMANDA MULQUINEY-BIRBECK

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Amanda Mulquiney-Birbeck is a British figurative painter. Her vibrant works often feature young, strong and glamorous women set in shallow  spaces. Often with an air of attitude yet tinged with melancholy.  

 

Her works combine candy colours with gold leaf, incorporating refined  blended painting techniques with looser, gestural brush marks. Often  contrasting bright, neon backgrounds with muted earthy and surreal  tones. 

 

Influenced by Gustav Klimt, Peter Doig, Jonathan Yeo, Martina  Johanna and Peter Monkman amongst many more contemporary  painters. Mulquiney-Birbeck approaches her work using source imagery  from the internet and fashion magazines - creating a tension between  realism and painterly abstraction.  

 

Born in Berkshire, in 1987, she went onto graduate from Central Saint  Martin’s College of Art & Design London in 2009 with a first class  honours degree. Since graduating, her work has been shown in  galleries, event spaces, and published in industry-leading magazines.  Mulquiney-Birbeck has exhibited extensively throughout the UK and  has sold her work to both art-lovers and private collectors in the UK  and internationally. 

 

EDUCATION 

Fine Art (BA Hons), Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design,  University of the Arts London. First Class Honours Degree.

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PLEASE CONTACT COMME CA ART DEALERS FOR ANY ENQUIRIES. 

 

CLAIRE TURNER | claire@commecaart.com | T: +44 (0) 161 273 5495

 

CCA GALLERY 5TH FLOOR | HOPE MILL | POLLARD STREET | ANCOATS | MANCHESTER | M4 7JA

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