Luke George and Elizabeth Rose

www.lukegeorge-elizabethrose.com

George and Rose are the winners of the Griffin Art Prize 2013.

George and Rose, who are both a couple and united artistic force, have investigated  the particular properties of the madder root and its use as an artists’ pigment. They have experimented with madder pigment development to create a new body of work that captures the physicality and explosive nature of the precipitation process.  Smoothly sanded gesso surfaces collide with violent splashes and drips of pink, red and brown, crystallised into intricate filigree patterns across the surface of the canvas. George and Rose have allowed the process and the material to dictate the direction of the work, yet taking control of the final product – much in the way Winsor & Newton have developed the unmatched Rose Madder pigment for over a hundred and fifty years.

This body of work is as much an exploration of history and tradition in colourmaking as it is a vision of the future – these two young and extraordinarily committed artists carry the canon of art history on their shoulders, but they wear it lightly, delicately picking their way through the stories of others to create a new vision of their own.

‘We see painting as a means to discovery.

The act of painting together allows us to create beyond ourselves, entailing that we relinquish our individual sense of control.  Through our practice we translate our shared experiences into a poetic visual language played out in painterly exchanges across the surface.

We use matter that forms a part of our heritage such as earth, plant and metal pigments, natural glues and gesso. We find the ritual of preparation important in that it allows us the opportunity to understand the properties of the medium prior to application.’

 

Solo exhibition at Griffin Gallery ‘Madder’ in September 2014.

 

EDUCATION

BA (Hons) Painting - City and Guilds of London Art School, 2013

(Last updated 28.03.2016)

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