September 9 – October 15, 2022
Swan-Road, Stephen Polatch’s first solo show in the US, is announced by Margot Samel. The exhibition’s name is derived from the Old English term swan-rād, a lyrical and literal kenning for the word “sea.” In his recent works, Polatch dismantles the intricate system of natural, architectural, and social orders that are embedded in Glasgow’s urban environment. His miniature egg tempera paintings use divergent registers. The harmony of his works is frequently disturbed by unsettling viewpoint points and weird twists. He blends his pigments together on the surface of the canvas to provide sensitive portrayals of the micro and everyday. From the lyricism and symbolic imagery of medieval illuminated manuscripts to the brilliant lighting of Les Nabis to the repetitive mechanics of Futurism, Polatch’s works combine a variety of historical references. Within the interconnected systems of Polatch’s compositions is the promise, the rushing fluidity, of discovering the new in the familiar.
About Stephen Polatch
Stephen Polatch (b. 1990, London, UK) lives and works in Glasgow, UK. Polatch received his BFA from at The Ruskin School of Art, Oxford, UK in 2013, and went on to study at the Royal Drawing School in London. Recent exhibitions include: To be a giant and keep quiet about it, Margot Samel, New York, US (2022); Clyde, Soft Opening, London, UK (2022); Prestwick II, New Glasgow Society East, Glasgow, UK (2022); Peepers, K Halstead, London, UK (2021); A Many Voiced Argument with Life, Glasgow International/Market Gallery, Glasgow, UK (2021); Prestwick, New Glasgow Society East, Glasgow, UK (2021); The Amber Room II, Amber Room, London, UK (2020); Eigenheim, Soft Opening, London, UK (2020); Graven Images, New Glasgow Society, Glasgow, UK (2019); Drawings of Iasi, Lasi, RO (2019); Bilder, New Glasgow Society, Glasgow, UK (2018), and Unswept House, Unit 42, Glasgow, UK (2017). Upcoming group exhibitions include: To be a giant and keep quiet about it, Yee Society, Hong Kong; Viscereal, Althuis Hofland, Amsterdam, NL.
Margot Samel
295 Church Street
New York, NY 10013
+1 212 597-2747
[email protected]
https://www.margotsamel.com