The Future Can Wait

Zavier Ellis and Simon Rumley with their backs to the future [Photographer Charlotte Tolhurst].  

Seminal moments in art history don’t happen every day, but a new exhibition at the Atlantis Gallery in London’s East End is promising to be just that. The New London School is the idea of gallery owner, curator and filmmaker Simon Rumley – the man behind the film Strong Language; and fellow gallery owner and curator Zavier Ellis – also an artist, whose work involves using DIY products such as woodstain, spray paint and cement. Angela Meredith met the new men of British contemporary art in Brick Lane’s Vibe Bar to discover why the future is right here, right now.

Simon Rumley and Zavier Ellis arrive at the Old Truman Brewery in London’s Brick Lane clutching their mobiles to their ears and looking pleasantly harassed.

Such is the buzz about their forthcoming exhibition at the brewery’s Atlantis Gallery that backers are demanding to see them right now – to give them more money.

Settling in a quiet(ish) corner with a pint (Arts Hub nobly abstains), Rumley & Ellis or Ellis & Rumley – they sometimes speak as one – explain why the future can wait and what’s so special about their forthcoming art event.

They agree to split the first question and Simon explains how the exhibition came about.

Rumley was founder of New London Kicks in 2005 and has been curating and promoting shows in NY for the past three years. He was attending shows in the UK before then and began collecting as well as curating.

He knew a few people involved in the art world who shared his ideas and enthusiasm and the notion of the exhibition was born.

Originally, the plan was to stage a bigger exhibition – even bigger than the 42 artists currently lined up – and to make the show more multinational. Timing and location dictated the remit for the show, however.

The scale of the exhibition aims to overcome the constraints of group shows “in relatively small spaces”, says Simon.

“It would be great to see people’s work in bigger spaces. In group shows, one of the things that I find frustrating is you often see an artist with just one piece there – and you like their work and think it’s interesting and you want to see more. But often the spaces dictate that that can’t happen.”

The Atlantis Gallery is a cavernous space when empty. The pair have asked all their artists for between three and five works. Graffiti artist James Jessop will provide a five-metre piece and Alex Gene Morrison will submit two pieces both one metre wide. All the works on show will be new.

“The aim was to do something that hadn’t been done before, rather than stage another group show in a small space,” adds Simon. “Next year we hope to make it even bigger and more international.”

The idea of identifying the group as a school came about because many of the artists were connected in some way – either through working or having studied in London, collaborating together, sharing studio space or simply through knowing each other.

Simon and Zavier admit the school is a happy family – their favourite expression when talking about the artists and their work is “interconnected”.

Zavier explains why the feeling is that the show will be a seminal moment in the history of British contemporary art.

“There is such a strong network of artists in London currently, who have done a certain number of exhibitions – many self-organised – but a bigger and better showcase was needed to emphasise the wealth of talent among London-based and London-educated artists.”

Any suggestion that The New London School is simply clever branding for commercial purposes is refuted by the pair.

“I think it’s fair to call it a school because these people are in an age bracket of about 25 to 35, have worked together and there is a group ethic,“ says Zavier. “And they are new and they come from London.”

“They have come from schools like the Royal College, Royal Academy and St Martin’s – and a lot of them have curated each other into shows, although not all of them know each other.

“I think the last time something like this happened was in the case of Freeze, when the artists in Freeze became a school – or you could call them a school.”

Simon – the garrulous one of the pair – joins the argument.

“Since the YBAs [Young British Artists] really came on the scene there has really been no one who has taken up that mantle. But the artists’ work is different from that and eschews the shock tactics of the previous generation.”

The role call of The New London School boasts Sarah McGinity, Tom Hackney, Miho Sato, Gavin Nolan, Stella Vine, Tessa Farmer, Richard Moon – and Robin Mason, Zavier’s former mentor at art college – among others.

But how helpful is it to bracket a generation of artists together into a school and what restrictions might this impose on them artistically?

Zavier points out that, within the collective group, there are many sub-groups – and the artists themselves are grateful for a chance to show in a space that releases them from the cramped confines of other shows, often in a non-curated environment.

“This is an art fair-scale show or a museum-scale show, so we’re offering something of an equivalent of that, but curated. It’s the way the artists want to be shown and it’s more exciting for us as curators being in the space and working on getting the show looking good.”

With such a diverse range of work – from Miho Sato’s gentle, near-monochrome, sooty portraits to Gordon Cheung’s fantastical landscapes and Gavin Nolan’s grotesquely distorted human images – how will they hang exhibition?

“Quickly,” is Zavier’s reply. “We’ll establish a rhythm throughout the space – and there will be a performance artist and video installations.”

They have been working on the look of the show for three months – and have worked particularly closely with the artists in the last month.

Simon stresses that the body of work being shown is technically very impressive – and there will be some surprises.

Artist Tom Hackney has a reputation for photorealism – and in the past has produced beautifully delicate “photographic” paintings of his own studio and wooded landscapes.

Since commencing his MA at London’s Goldsmith’s College, however, his work has ventured into surreal landscapes more associated with Dali and Ernst.

Zavier says the progression is a natural one, and not triggered by the show’s remit.

“He’s going through the process of re-appraising his entire work, but is looking at ways to develop and vary it.

“The hyper-real techniques Hackney is using are the same, but he’s looking at undoing his subject matter.”

Zavier feels that “surrealist” would be the wrong term to apply to Hackney’s new work, despite the primitive feel to the landscape; but emphasises that the show will be an opportunity to discover how young artists are developing. Hackney is one of the artists to be found at Ellis’ own curatorial dealership CHARLIE SMITH London.

The title of the exhibition – The Future Can Wait – is intended to emphasise that the work the artists are making should be noticed “right now”, says Zavier.

Many of those exhibiting already have work in major collections and galleries, such as the Saatchi Gallery – and both Simon and Zavier are convinced that the time for contemporary art in Britain is “right now, not the future”.

“Don’t hold out – come and see how exciting things are now,” says Zavier.

“The show is designed to be spectacular. It is an event. We really believe in these people.”

“No one’s really waiting for a big gallery to come along,” adds Simon. “They’re just doing it for themselves. And we share that ethos – and take pleasure in other people sharing in it as well.”

Editor's note: Read more about Zavier and Simon in Arts Hub career profiles.

The Future Can Wait will be at the Atlantis Gallery, The Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL, from 9-14 October.

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claphamartgallery.com
simonrumley.com
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