Nick Knight Reveals New Unseen Artwork Butterflies I

by SHOWstudio on 18 October 2021

Albion Barn's latest exhibition Douglas Gordon…and his friends features a never-before-seen work by Nick Knight.

Albion Barn's latest exhibition Douglas Gordon…and his friends features a never-before-seen work by Nick Knight.

Revolutionary fashion image-maker Nick Knight continues to turn his eye to the natural world with Butterflies I, 2019 a new unseen artwork on display as part of Albion Barn's latest exhibition Douglas Gordon…and his friends.

From his arresting images of the Cornwall coastline - melancholic landscapes which capture the passing of time and changing weather - to the on-going series Roses from my Garden, first exhibited with Michael Hue-Williams and Albion Barn in 2019, Knight's fascination with nature offers a distinctly new viewpoint into the world.

Nick Knight, 'Butterflies I, 2019', hand-coated pigment print, (print 44 x 64 inches), 2019

Butterflies I, 2019 is on show as part of an exhibition of paintings by the multimedia Turner Prize-winning artist Douglas Gordon at Albion Barn. Gordon's work explores the concept of loss; degradation over time, the 'taste of...something undefined' says a press statement. Here, Knight's work sits in good company; the Roses series draws on the history of the still life Vanitas painting popular in the 17th century, meditating on the concept of life and the certainty of death and decay. In Butterflies I, 2019, the delicate wings of the insects are scorched and burnt, revealing the intricate scaffolding of their exoskeletons. The work was created in response to the global wild fires in 2019, and Knight's belief that it is his duty as an artist to respond to the devastation human beings have inflicted on the earth. Knight previously devoted a series to the January 2020 wildfires in Australia, having first explored the concept of burnt insects for the Sarabande Foundation, established by Alexander McQueen and of which Knight is a patron, when he photographed a flaming moth for the organisation's logo.

Tony Oursler installation artwork

When the exhibition opened on Saturday 16 October, three works by Tony Oursler were installed in the grounds of Albion Barn featuring sound and lightbulbs which reacted to one another, also playing on these concepts of place and time.

Douglas Gordon...and his friends is open to the public 18 October 2021 - 28 February 2022.

For limited edition enquiries for Butterflies I, 2019, please contact bex.cassie@showstudio.com.

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Video: Roses From My Garden

04 July 2020
Nick Knight explains the process behind his on-going series of roses shot on his iPhone, and creating a new language for image-making.
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Nick Knight's first major still life exhibition in the UK opens at Albion Barn, Oxford.
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After having a solo exhibition of their own, the image-maker's roses have gone on to be included at a photography exhibition at the Dulwich Picture Gallery.
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