Art Clash at CCA Galleries International

For the Art Clash project, Yulia clashed with two works by Patrick Hughes.

As many Surrealism-inspired artists, Patrick Hughes gives bodily presence to inanimate objects within a distorted perspective, he uses cliches and sentimental symbols from pop culture, such as Rene Magritte’s distinctive clouds, rainbow and heart shape, isolating them in ‘human’ interiors and plays with the titles to challenge the viewer’s perception.

It appears to me that Hughes approaches work with the precision and excitement of a brain and vision scientist. I see his work as very cerebral, which is only substantiated by the following quote: “I don’t particularly like what Margitte’s paintings look like, I like what they think” (P. Hughes). On the contrary, what is appealing in Margitte’s paintings to me is their tactility and the way they feel. In my sculptures made in response to Hughes’s work, I am in dialogue with him about his response to Surrealism and Surrealism itself.
Whereas Hughes plays with the mind to make the body move and reconsider conventions, I want to engage with bodily reactions to the visual tactility of sculpture, seeing sculpture as a consolidation of touch (artist touching materials when making, materials touching each other, their transition and becoming a new One, viewer’s response based on the imagined touch based on familiarity of materials and their previous experiences and expectations).
I am interested in how these objects will behave and take up space, encouraging viewers to watch them rather than look at them.

Works assigned: Patrick Hughes