“The Investment Show”, solo exhibition by Richard Woods. Installation view at L21.
“The Investment Show”, solo exhibition by Richard Woods. Installation view at L21.
Investment Sculpture (LM), 2021. Acrylic on wood. 222 x 121 cm
“The Investment Show”, solo exhibition by Richard Woods. Installation view at L21.
“The Investment Show”, solo exhibition by Richard Woods. Installation view at L21.
Down (JA), 2021. Acrylic on wood. 88 x 72.5 cm
Up (LA), 2021. Acrylic on wood. 67 x 58 cm
“The Investment Show”, solo exhibition by Richard Woods. Installation view at L21.
“The Investment Show”, solo exhibition by Richard Woods. Installation view at L21.
Pie Chart (JJ), 2021. Acrylic on wood. 121 x 121 cm
Investment Sculpture (AL), 2021. Acrylic on wood. 184.5 x 184.5 cm
Investment Sculpture (ML), 2021. Acrylic on wood. 183 x 185 cm
Up (MM), 2021. Acrylic on wood. 134 x 91 cm
Timber Geometry ( AA), 2021. Acrylic on wood. 78 x 71 cm
Pie Chart (LA), 2021. Acrylic on wood. 121 x 121 cm
Pie Chart (MM), 2021. Acrylic on wood. 121 x 121 cm
Pie Chart (MJ), 2021. Acrylic on wood. 121 x 121 cm
Over the past twelve months, Richard Woods has become increasingly aware of graphs and diagrams that illustrate elements from our intimacy, such as health or finances, as well as very abstract concepts like happiness.
These visual data representations have infected his creative process and, as result, “The Investment Show” displays how his work has been developed using his own familiar woodblock printing technique that hybridises the information overload with which we are bombarded by the media. Drawing from his experience as a carpenter in the construction industry, Woods gives to his works a ‘hands on’ quality that is both appealing and simplistic by alluding to the very material that they are made of: wood. The use of vibrant colours and cartoonish lines contributes to the feeling of making and playing, while generating a kind of self-referential shape, like a fish finger manufactured in the shape of a dolphin.
The references contained in the works remain ambiguous, in a way that we do not identify the source they represent. For example, ‘Pie Chart (MJ)’ could allude to “The most popular pets in Palma de Mallorca” or “The average income of residents in Rome”, but their origin is completely opaque and, therefore, the fiction of their numbers depends on one’s imagination, as well as the interpretation of the cataloguing system used by the artist in the titles of the pieces.
Both Woods’ architectural commissions and his wall-based works are characterised by their strong political and social significance. Such is the case of the commission “Small, medium and large”, for which Woods has built three houses of different sizes considering the different preferences that people have for housing, while others have no place to occupy. The work is the result of an observational exercise during a walk from the artist’s studio in East London to the West End area, where the site of the commission is located. As the artist was leaving behind the eclectic neighbourhood of Bethnal Green, he encountered larger houses, culminating in the Buckingham Palace. “Small, medium and large” resonates with everyday life decisions (where should I live?, what kind of flat can I afford?) which ultimately have an impact on the lives of others and the environment we inhabit. Reducing these decisions to an absurdly simplistic level, “The Investment Show” reflects on the unbalanced nature of our existence, as the graphs are a scheme to illustrate that someone is at a disadvantage.
Taking further the engagement with the context that Wood’s practice inhabits, the colours he employs belong to famous brand logos that are advertised on billboards near his studio. The colours are mixed in a paint shop using an industrial machine, therefore containing a synthetic feel that contrasts with the natural pattern of the boards. While the linguistic meaning of a pie charts unfolds in many ways in the work of Woods: not only as a colourful piece of information but also as a portion of a cake easily eaten, absorbed and diggested like we metabolized the headlines in the news.
Cristina Ramos
Richard Woods (Chester, England, 1966) has trained as a sculptor at the Slade School of Fine Art in London in 1990, where he lives and works. Woods is known for his architectural installations and for re-surfacing structures that propose an absurd twist on the cult of DIY aesthetics. Recently, he has been commissioned to make a public sculpture in Lower Grosvenor Gardens, London (2020), received an architectural commission in South Korea for the 2018 Winter Olympics, designed an interior for Comme des Garçons’ flagship shop in Osaka, and transformed the interior of Cary Grant’s former Hollywood residence for its new owner, art dealer Jeffrey Deitch. In 2003, his reconstruction of a cloistered courtyard was the centrepiece of the Henry Moore Foundation’s exhibition at the 50th Venice International Art Biennale.
His work has been exhibited at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Yorkshire (2019); Frieze Sculpture, London (2018, 2013); Chelsea Space, London (2017); Folkestone Triennial (2017); Eastside Projects, Birmingham (2016); Festival of Love, Southbank Centre, Londres (2015); Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff (2015); Albion Barn, Oxford (2015); Bloomberg Space, London (2012) y Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2009). Wood’s works can be found in collections such as Saatchi Collection, London; Arts Council England, London; Victoria and Albert Museum; London; British Museum, London and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
EN / ES
Richard Woods was born in Chester, England, in 1966 and graduated from the Slade School of Fine Art, London in 1990, where he trained as a sculptor. Woods is well known for his architectural installations and re-surfacing of structures that propose an absurd twist on the cult of home improvement and DIY aesthetics. His works are characterised by cartoon-like decorative surfaces, bold patterns and vibrant colours. Woods completed a major architectural commission in South Korea for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, designed an interior for the Comme des Garçons’ flagship store in Osaka, orchestrated the mock Tudor overhaul of a private residence in New York and transformed the interior of Cary Grant’s former Hollywood residence for its new owner, Jeffrey Deitch. In 2003, his re-paving of a cloistered courtyard was the centrepiece of The Henry Moore Foundation’s exhibition at the 50th International Venice Biennale of Art.
Recent exhibitions and projects include Frieze Sculpture, London (2018, 2013); Chelsea Space, London (2017); Folkestone Triennial (2017); Eastside Projects, Birmingham (2016); Festival of Love, Southbank Centre, London (2015); Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff (2015); Albion Barn, Oxford (2015); Bloomberg Space, London (2012) and Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2009).
His works are held in major collections including the Saatchi Collection, London; Arts Council England, London; Victoria and Albert Museum; London; British Museum, London and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
EDUCATION
Slade School of Fine Art, London 1990.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022
The Small House. Southwark Cathedral, London (UK)
I Beams. Andreas Siegfried Gallery, London (UK)
Super size grain. 26th may 2022 – 18th may 2023, A year long solo public project at Oriel Davies museum (UK)
2021
The Investment Show. L21 Gallery, Palma de Mallorca (ES)
2020
Small , medium and large. Alter Projects, Lower Grosvenor Gardens, London (UK)
Holiday Home, Milwaukee (US)
2019
I Never Felt So Much Alike Alike Alike. With Szabolcs Bozó. L21. Palma de Mallorca (ES)
Estate. Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Yorkshire (UK)
Dream Homes. Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, Penzance (UK)
Sculpture Milwaukee (US)
Kensington + Chelsea Art Weekend, London (UK)
The Object Library. Graduate Center, City University of New York (US)
2018
The Ideal Home Exhibition. Alan Cristea Gallery, London (UK)
Frieze Sculpture Park, London (UK)
Upgrade. Skip Gallery, London (UK)
Hyundai commission XXIII winter Olympics (SK)
2017
Albion Barn. Oxford, UK Folkestone Triennial, Folkstone (UK)
Richard Woods, David Risley Gallery (DK)
2016
Richard Woods: Work Tables, Friedman Benda Project Space, New York (US)
Duckweave. Eastside Projects, Birmingham (UK)
2015
Festival of Love. Southbank Centre, London, UK Inclosure Acts, Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff (UK)
Country Life, Albion Barn, Oxford (UK)
2014
Post Pop: East meets West, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK 2013 Richard Woods, Alan Cristea Gallery, London (UK)
Frieze Sculpture Park, London (UK)
Thirteen, Alan Cristea Gallery, London (UK)
2012
LOGO NO. 106, Bloomberg SPACE, London (UK)
LOGO NO.109, Immediate Media, London, UK 2011 The Red Brick Sculpture Show, Milan (IT)
Richard Woods: Handmade Modern, Work/Projects, Bristol (UK)
2009
Flat Pack Nature, Galleria S.A.L.E.S, Rome (IT)
WRONGWOODS, Victoria and Albert Museum, London (UK)
The Nature Show, Perry Rubenstein Gallery, New York (US)
Superabundance, Turner Contemporary, Margate (UK)
WRONGWOODS, New Design Product launch, Milan (IT)
2008
Liverpool Biennale, Liverpool (UK)
Wood & Bricks & Bricks & Wood, Works, Projects, Bristol (UK)
Stone Clad Cottages, Fermyn Woods, Thrapston, Northamptonshire (UK)
Solo Show, Grieder Contemporary, Zurich (CH)
2006
Galleria S.A.L.E.S, Rome (IT)
2005
Mock Tudor Painting, Sadler’s Wells, London (UK)
2008 Liverpool Biennale, Liverpool (UK)
Irony & Gesture, Kukje Gallery, Seoul (SK)
2005
Representative Artist UK Pavilion Aichi, Nagoya (JP)
2003
Retinal Stain: Mat Collishaw, James Hopkins, Richard Woods. Cosmic Galerie, Paris (FR)
Import/Export sculpture in Stopover, The Henry Moore Foundation Contemporary Projects, 50th International Venice Biennale, Venice (IT)
2002
Two cockatoos (red) and various pouring and leaking sculptures. Modern Art in The Galleries Show,
Royal Academy of the Arts, London (UK)
2000
Epilogue. Yorkshire Sculpture Park, UK
1999 Papermake, Modern Art, London, UK
6min.3sec, ABF Konstskola, Umea, Sweden
Cruise Control, Cristinerose Gallery, New York, USA
1998 Show Me The Money, Dukes Mews, London, UK
Superstore, Arnolfini, Bristol, UK
1997
New York Drawers, Brooklyn Museum, London, UK
Superstore Deluxe, Up and Co., New York, UK
Home, Margaret Harvey Gallery, London, UK 1996 Being There II, C.B.K. Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Gallery ‘M’, Stockholm, Sweden
Whitechapel Open, Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK
SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
IT Residence du Parc, Turin
UK Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Arts Council Collection, London
British Museum, London
Grosvenor Museum, Chester
The Saatchi Collection, London