Rose Shakinovsky | Unutterable

Goodman Gallery is delighted to present two concurrent exhibitions by members of the duo rosenclaire: Rose Shakinovsky​​​​​​​'s Unutterable, a new series of paintings by Rose Shakinovsky and her first solo exhibition in London. This series stems from internet images gathered over the past four years, covering wars, social unrest, migration and climate devastation.

Through a process of digitally altering found images to mimic traditional abstract painterly qualities, Shakinovsky was able to create the foundation for each work. This unplanned process enabled a reconfiguration of the original narrative into a language of sensation that still retained the essence of the event. Through this a strange visual language of self-generated abstract forms and unexpected compositions emerged. Translating these digital images back into oil paint completed the evolution of the work. The paintings are direct copies of the digital prints with no further manipulation or aesthetic decisions. The process is akin to precise copying of medieval manuscripts with no room for error. The work, therefore, defies traditional artistic conventions that define abstract art as either self-expressive or formal, detached from political and social circumstances.

Rose Shakinovsky’s (b. 1953, Johannesburg) work defies any stylistic category as it consists of work that ranges from the re-presentation and decontextualization of found objects, found images and found situations, to delicately painted abstractions and ironic bronzes. The work concerns itself with current political and social discourses while simultaneously referencing and reconstructing art historical edifices. Her present research is concerned with discourses pertaining to the posthuman, transhuman and the consequences of climate change. 

Shakinovsky collaborates with Claire Gavronsky as the artist  “rosenclaire”, as wives and as dedicated mentors who have run a renowned artists residency program in Tuscany for the past 30 years. 

Notable solo and group exhibitions include: Io e Me. Autoritratti nel Lockdown. Sala 1, Centro Internazionale d’Arte Contemporanea, Rome (2021); Speechless with Claire Gavronsky, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town (2018); Right to the Future, Museum of 20th and 21st Century Art, St Petersburg (2017); COLORI: L’emozione dei COLORI nell’arte, Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Rivoli (2017); Assessing Abstraction, South African National Gallery (2017); Colour Theory with Rose Shakinovsky, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town (2014); Dakar Biennale, Dakar (2010). 

Shakinovsky lives and works in Florence, Italy.