Sharp: Incident and Accident

From 25th of April until 17th of May you have the possibility to explore the work of artist and architect Tom Pike at the Foundry Gallery.

Pike completes his artwork in a different way than he approaches his architecture. ‘Incidents and Accidents’ explores the interplay between  detailed and sharp formed architectural objects (order) and unpredictable, unsharp art pieces (uncertainty) which are influenced by happy accidents.

“I acknowledge that the end products are very different, my architectural work is all very clean cut and minimalist, whereas my artworks are loaded up with content and have a frenetic energy.  There are other differences too, whereas my buildings and interiors are largely monochromatic, the paintings and collages are saturated with colour.  The main difference however is that I endeavor to create very controlled buildings where nothing is left to chance, every detail is carefully thought through; but when making paintings, drawings collages etc. I am happy to exploit the happy accident; in fact the happy accident is an important part of the process…When I listen to science programmes on the radio and I hear physicists talking about ‘chaos theory’ I get very excited for I firmly believe that in my artwork I am dealing with some variation on ‘chaos theory.’  Controlling and exploiting chaos is perhaps what my work is all about.  This is in direct contrast to my architectural work where I try to prevent chaos from making its presence felt.  The influences on my work are mainly from the USA…artists such as Jasper Johns, Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Richard Diebenkorn and Hans Hoffman.  It is the sheer power and conviction of American painting in the latter part of the 20th Century that has always been an inspiration for me.  British artists who have had a similar influence on me are Peter Lanyon, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham and Clyde Hopkins, all of whom use colour in an uncompromising and bold manner.”

Get down and explore a mixture of sharp planned architecture and the artist’s love with happy accidents.