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Spiritus Mundi

​An exhibition of artworks by Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize 2021 Overall Winner 

​Charles Inge

Curated by Conrad Carvalho
​
On display at the Ashurst Emerging Artist Gallery, 25th October 2021 - 7th January 2022
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Surely some revelation is at hand;
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight.
​

- W.B. Yeats, The Second Coming

The work of Charles Inge is replete with paradox: contradictory yet interrelated elements that appear rational and recognisable when considered in isolation but illogical when placed together. Self-contained, intermingling agglomerations of shape and form cross-contaminate in bell jars or in the form of larger explosive configurations. The push/pull between containment and the drive to escape or expand evokes our history-defining moment, Spiritus Mundi... the unique socio-cultural environment and outlook that defines the present. The bell jars, which form the core constituents of the exhibition speak to the anxiety and discombobulation that comes with quarantine restrictions. However, observing Inge’s canvases as simply a response to the pandemic would be an oversimplification and disservice to his practice. 

The bell jars displayed throughout the exhibition space each hold their own personalities but remain united in their elicitation of uneasiness and scientific experimentation. Ideas, fleeting moments, and events are sealed in place as much of the world has been over the past two years. News media associated with the pandemic, filled with images of microscopic viral matter and the slogans “contain the virus” and “shelter in place” gave new impetus for Inge’s multi-faceted painterly experiments. Often working on several canvases at once, the artist developed his work instinctively with energy whose final “containment” came only from the jar itself, always painted last. While the bell jars isolate an age of angst, they also distil relics of art history itself. Op art, abstract expressionism and cartooning all come to mind alongside the rich history of Dutch floral still lifes from the 17th century. For the latter, one notices fruits, flies and other rotting organic matter - contemporized pastiches from the artist’s frequent visits to the National Gallery here in London.

Sources of inspiration came to Inge from other old masters as well. The supposed painter of another Mundi – Salvator – Leonardo da Vinci used his knowledge as a natural scientist and biologist to study and portray the laws of physics. The movement of water as it was expunged or absorbed from the leaves of plants was fastidiously transferred into the polymath’s paintings, showcasing breathtakingly realistic elemental movements. In Inge’s works like After Leonardo, explosions, undulating ribbons, and the dispersion of matter take da Vinci’s studies and transpose their abstract essence. It could be said that this work along with Yucca Flats and Rockeye, could perhaps symbolize the explosive aftermath after months of being contained or, inversely, the raw energy that had to be contained as a result of the pandemic. Nonetheless, they represent big bang moments for the artist, a creative release that might signal the physical destruction of his studio in Soho last year. Indeed, enigmatic meanings and hidden messages are key to Spiritus Mundi and in the work of Charles Inge. With newly imposed lockdowns still happening today, what will the long term consequences be when it comes to this cycle of containment and release?
Click the artwork images for prices and further details
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Miscreation # 1
Oil on canvas
90 x 120 cm
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Miscreation # 2
Oil on canvas
90 x 120 cm
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Miscreation # 3
Oil on canvas
90 x 120 cm
Bell jars are often used in scientific research or as vessels for display. Inge’s Miscreation highlights the fragility, chaotic nature, and precarity of modern life but at the same time signposts its significance as something that is worthy of exhibition, scrutiny and preservation. The artist has described this body of work as a form of modern-day Vanitas painting, showcasing the transience of life. Like many 17th century Dutch painters, Inge has opted to use rotting fruit and vegetation to symbolise our ephemeral existence however these objects have been infused with floating and dripping strokes of paint and indecipherable patterns, adding a hint of surrealism and contemporary cartooning to an age-old genre.
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Miscreation # 4
Oil on canvas
90 x 120 cm
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Miscreation # 5
Oil on canvas
90 x 120 cm
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Miscreation # 6
Acrylic on canvas 
​101 x 152 cm
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Miscreation # 7
Acrylic on canvas 
​101 x 152 cm

Yucca Flats
​Oil and acrylic on canvas 
150 x 190 cm 


​In Inge’s canvas, a colourful explosive form expands widthwise prismatically, recalling the work of Sonia and Robert’s Delauney whose modernist paintings hold rhythmic and vibrant striations of colour. The present work depicts unconstrained and un-restricted energy above what could be conceived of as a small house. A creative bloom or psychedelic mushroom cloud casts a shadow over this tiny structure. Perhaps it’s the same energy that the bell jars have contained, or released into existence.
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Rockeye
Oil and Acrylic on canvas
116 x 160 cm
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After Leonardo
Oil and Acrylic on canvas
120 x 160 cm

About Charles Inge

Charles Inge (b.1961) is a British painter who lives and works in the Isle of Wight. After completing his BA in Fine Art at the Ruskin School of Fine Art, Oxford University in 1983, the artist was offered a place at the Royal College of Art which he turned down due to financial constraints. Over the next three decades, he worked in the advertising industry before returning to painting full time and giving it his full focus. Working in advertising had a subtle effect on his practice as a painter, encouraging an approach to the medium that strips the image to its essence and presents it on canvas. The industry also gave him the opportunity to collaborate with, source inspiration from, some of the finest artists, musicians, photographers and film directors in the world. Inge becoming a painter could hardly be considered a career change, he was always destined to become an artist. 

Prior to the pandemic, the artist worked out of a studio in Soho, London which was unceremoniously demolished on short notice, forcing a relocation. Inge recently honed his skills at one of the most well-regarded artist-led painting programmes in London, the Turps Studio Programme 2017-19 and Turps Offsite 2019-20. Inge’s painting has been exhibited as part of the BP Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery, the Royal Society of Marine Artists, the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters.  His painting has been featured in Vogue and is in the collection of Art UK. He is the recipient of the Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize, and Spiritus Mundi is his first solo exhibition.  ​
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Head on over to his website:
https://www.charles-inge.com

And make sure to give him a follow:

About the Curator

Conrad Carvalho is an expert in emerging art, having started Oaktree & Tiger in London to launch a diverse selection of international emerging artists, organising exhibitions and placing their artworks with private clients around the world.  

​Conrad has also given lectures, at Sotheby's Institute of Art and University of the Arts London, and various talks on art and business.  He is currently advising artists on promoting their own work to gain new collectors and attract gallery representation for themselves.  He works on a wide range of art projects and places carefully chosen emerging artists in a variety of projects and spaces, including corporate and commercial spaces. He also gives art investment talks to private and corporate clients.

Conrad recently launched a new corporate collection of emerging artists for Ashurst LLP, and more details can be found at www.ashurstart.com. 




www.oaktreeandtiger.com
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See more...

​See more about Charles Inge's practice in the Shortlist 2021 Uncovered videos on The Art Prize's YouTube channel. 

Stay tuned to learn more about Charles' exhibition Spiritus Mundi also coming to The Art Prize's YouTube channel soon!

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  • Home
  • Exhibitions
    • Five Times More - Margaret Scott
    • Hold Me Closer - Thomas Hjelm
    • Perpetual - Sueyon Yang
    • Disembody - Thiago Sancho
    • Liminal Spaces - Maryam Hina Hasnain
    • AEAP2021 Winners >
      • Spiritus Mundi - Charles Inge
      • Moving:Still - Alexandra Harley
      • Topographies of Fragility - Ingrid Weyland
      • Tartarus - Grete Hjorth-Johansen
    • AEAP2021 Shortlist
    • The Rio Series - Caio Locke
    • Meridian Skylines - Caio Locke
  • Contact
  • Purchase Artwork