DIALOGO | DIALOGUE: GREIG BURGOYNE AND REENA MAKWANA

18 March – 16 April 2011

dalla Rosa Gallery is pleased to present Dialogo | Dialogue, an exhibition featuring wall drawings by Greig Burgoyne and Reena Makwana.

Working side by side the artists juxtapose styles and visions while exploring the transitional nature of the space, tracing movements through it and accentuating the contrast between solid versus fluid bodies. 

The concept at the heart of Dialogo | Dialogue is based on accumulation, which results in the constant flux of images filling the gallery's white walls, Greig and Reena create overlapping and echoing shapes inspired by both the interior and the exterior of the building. 

Reena's gallery of Hackney characters and locations stems from an interest in the area's history: “My work is influenced by characters, eccentrics, people, relationships and social history. I like the way a memory or incident can attach itself to a place. The body of drawings I am producing in dialogue with Greig's work is concerned more with the exterior than the interior of the space. I have looked into the social history of the area, truth and folklore, past and present to learn more about it. Some of the drawings are a product of my imagination, whilst others are inspired by photographs taken while walking around Hackney on a single day. Starting from Broadway Market, down Westgate Street, Mare Street, and on the 38 bus down Graham Road to Dalston Lane, walking around observing the hustle and bustle of Hackney's inhabitants and the variety of architecture all the way to Mortimer Road and the ruins of Mole Man's house.”

Responding to Reena's imagery, Greig's work captures “the flux of energy that moves through the interior of the building: it's a process of making marks – images – then partly erasing them – blocking them out – as though they are there and then not, their status is not secure, and then joining the images to Reena's quirky figurative drawings of Hackney and its characters.”

About the Artists

After studying at the Royal College of Art (London) and HAK (Vienna), Greig Burgoyne has embarked in various projects and exhibitions, most recently Slipstream a solo show at Five Years (London, 2011), Back to the Future (Hastings Museum and Art gallery, 2010), The Future of Nostalgia (Jerwood Project Space, 2009).

Reena Makwana studied Illustration at Camberwell College of Art and Design (London) and runs Nest Gallery, a project which involves organising events and exhibitions showcasing the work of female artists. She has also presented her work in a number of group shows, including They Is Us (Sasoon Gallery, 2010), 20x20 magazine’s Collected Visions (Madame Lillie’s, 2010), Decorators at Wieden Kennedy (2010), Golden Hands (Hibbleton Gallery, Fullerton, USA, 2009).