Drawing on recycled and obsolete technological artefacts as the grounds for his paintings, London-based artist Nicholas Gentry creates a conversation between digital and analog processes. Gentry constructs his painting supports out of materials such as 35mm film negatives, VHS cassettes, X-ray prints, and floppy discs. “These objects are no longer in the spotlight,” the artist has said of obsolete artefacts, “but by placing them there for a second it becomes easier to comprehend the speed and extent of the changes that are taking place today.”
The materials are sourced directly from members of the public in a uniquely collaborative ‘social art’ project. This open working practice is a fundamental starting point of each new work and allows shared histories to form reflections of contemporary society. The rigorous conceptual basis of this work explores the notion of a collective identity, while drawing on references from consumer waste, to pop culture and found art. Known for his portraits and installations that treat the human form not as a subject in itself, but rather as the vehicle to carry the medium. In his art, Gentry questions the fundamental relationship of the human being to both our created world and what we call reality.
Biography
°London, UK, 1980
Nick Gentry is a British graduate of Central St Martins and has exhibited in the UK, USA and Europe. As part of a generation that grew up surrounded by floppy disks, VHS tapes, polaroids and cassettes, he is inspired by the sociological impact of a new internet culture. His portraits use a combination of obsolete media formats, making a comment on waste culture, life cycles and identity. Using old disks as a canvas, these artefacts are combined to create photo-fits and identities that may draw connections to the personal information that is then forever locked down underneath the paint. This has led to an exploration of the ways in which humankind is integrating with technology. As it reaches a tipping point, this new movement is becoming increasingly apparent as a cultural and social transition of our time. Will humans be forever compatible with our own technology?
Exhibitions
2023
‘Skin Deepé’, Robert Fontaine Gallery, Miami, USA
2022
‘Art Miami’, Art Fair, Miami, USA
2021
‘Tusk Lion Trail’, Trafalgar Square, London, UK
“NHS Portraits Solo show” W1 Curates, London, UK
2020
‘Contemporary Istanbul’, Art Fair, Istabul, TR
‘For Beirut With Love’, Opera Gallery, Beirut, LB
2019
‘As a matter of illusion’, Opera Gallery, Beirut, LB
‘Face of London’, solo-show Opera Gallery, London, UK
‘Id-Merge’, Opera Gallery, Paris, FR
2018
Absolute Art Gallery, Group Exhibition, Brussels, BE
Opera Gallery Group Exhibition, Human Connection, London, UK
Tusk Rhino Trail, London Wide Art Installation, St Pancreas Station, London, UK
Robert Fontaine Gallery, Group Exhibition, Post-War meets Today, Miami, US
Robert Fontaine Gallery, Palm Beach, Art Fair, Miami, US
2017
Absolute Art Gallery, Group Exhibition ‘21st Century Portraits’, Knokke, BE
Robert Fontaine Gallery, Time & Place, group show, Miami, USA
3890 Tigers, collaboration with Tiger Beer and WWF, Singapore
Here East, 64 Bits, group show, London, UK
Robert Fontaine Gallery, Art Wynwood, art fair, Miami, USA
2016
C24 Gallery, Psychic Compound, solo show, New York, USA
Opera Gallery, Britartnia, group show, London, UK
Robert Fontaine Gallery, Decadent City, group show, Miami, USA
C24 Gallery, Contemporary Istanbul, art fair, Istanbul, Turkey
C24 Gallery, Art Miami, art fair, Miami, USA
Opera Gallery, group show, Paris, France
2015
“Memoryscapes” Absolute Art Gallery, Knokke, BE
Barbican, What’s in Your DNA?, public display, London
Absolute Art Gallery, Summer Show, group show, Bruges, Belgium
Opera Gallery. Urban Art, group show, Singapore
Galeria Impakto, Teknology, group show, Lima, Peru
Opera Gallery, British Contemporary, group show, Singapore
2014
PAN Amsterdam, RAI, NL
2013
PAN Amsterdam, RAI, NL
Tra-SH-art, Absolute Art Gallery, Knokke, BE
Lille Art Fair, Lille, FR
RAW Art Fair, Rotterdam, NL
“The Many Faces of David Bowie”, group show, Opera Gallery, London, UK
Scope Art Fair, Basel, CH
Scope Art Fair, New York, USA
Art Winwood, Miami, USA
2012
Art Gent, Art Fair, Gent, BE
Scope Art Fair, Basel, CH
Scope Art Fair, New York, USA
Collective, Galerie Flash, München, DE
Opera Gallery. “Urban Masters”, group show, London, UK
Galerie Flash, ART.FAIR, Köln, DE
Bonhams Urban Art auction, Los Angeles, USA
Rook and Raven Gallery. “Interface”, group show, London, UK
Robert Fontaine Gallery. “Collective Memory”, solo show, Miami, USA
2011
Lineart Art Fair, Gand, Flanders Expo
Art Paris, Grand Palais, Foire d’art internationale au Grand Palais
Robert Fontaine Gallery. Nick Gentry Solo show, Miami, USA.
Selfridges. “Artefacts”, pop-up solo show, London, UK
Scope Art Fair, Miami, USA
Munich Contempo Art Fair, München, DE
Stroke Art Fair, Berlin, DE
“Dataface”, Whisper Gallery, London, UK
Soloshow, Robert Fontaine Gallery, Miami, USA
Swab Art Fair, Bercalona, ES
2010
Absolute Art Gallery, Brugge, BE
Art Modern Gallery, Miami, USA
La Pan Stage, Barcelona, ES
In/Human, Group Show, 2R Art, London, UK
Untagged, Adam Lister Gallery, Fairfax, USA
