ANDREW ROGERS

‘I am interested in primal evidence. In physical processes such as breath, strength, and touch. I build a slow connection between a viewer and a piece.’

Andrew Rogers makes powerful and controlled marks on surfaces of white gesso, brass and paper. These convey stillness and purity. His circular impressions, scratchings and indentations resist narratives for thoughtful contemplation.

Andy scores his surfaces with a variety of sharp, automated or traditional tools, creating a pattern that contains latent, inert energy. He is inspired by natural elements like rain, trees and light, and the latter takes an important role as it plays across the imprints when the viewer moves around the gallery. This creates interactions that are never the same twice. At times, on the polished surfaces, we see our own reflections. The effort of looking beyond these represents the importance of being able to overcome distraction and move to a more mindful state. ‘The viewer must make a conscious effort to remove themselves,’ he says.

Andy also takes a fluoroscopic approach to some pieces by spreading colour and graphite across the surfaces to reveal marks that would otherwise be invisible. ‘As with church brasses, there’s a rubbing out of the past in this, to leave a ghost of something. A resonance of feeling.’ 

Each of the paintings is a record of the artist’s presence, and a sign of both self-determination and engagement. There is the trace of a held breath or the reminder of a deft touch in the scraping of a line. His marks, if studied, reveal some of the contradictions between creation and perception. While the works on paper look delicate, making each mark involves great physical pressure. ‘An intense process for the lightest result,’ Andy explains.

In shape and size, the pictures recall sacred texts, such as those found in temples and churches. Their surfaces link us back to skills such as cloisonné and intaglio, as well as to the intensive labour of early stone-masons, glass-makers, lithographers, and engravers. Andy’s works are also a response to the irreproducibility of precious objects, and an invitation to reassess what we value most in our culture during a time of uncertainty and threat. 

The artist is inspired by traditional Japanese woodcuts, as well as by the canvases of Lucio Fontana (1899-1968), Jackson Pollock (1912-1956), Robert Ryman (1930-2019), and the photography of Hiroshi Sugimoto (1948-).

He trained at St Martin’s and Winchester Schools of Art and lives and works in London. Alongside his practice, he is a creative director for clients including Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen (McQ), Reiss,
and Fred Perry.

The artist was interviewed by writer Annie Friedlein

‘Materiality’ runs from 20 April to 08 June 2024.
Please contact us for available works and price lists.