Labour As Refuge

18th July – 12th September

Jo Dennis, Desmond Lewis and Mike Ballard

Labour As Refuge brings together artists united by found objects and personal contemplations on urban landscapes.

This exhibition represents distinct perspectives from artists within our community, Jo Dennis, painter and member of our Artists Council, Desmond Lewis, USA based sculptor, and Mike Ballard, London based sculptor.

Using found objects as a starting point, each of the artists transform items that have previously occupied a different space or contributed to society and culture in a specific way. Through their process of material exploration and surface manipulation, these artists offer a reimagined narrative beyond the original object based on the artists’ own lived experiences. 

The labour of transformation is one that provides an outlet for communicating complex and personal stories; an act that can be therapeutic and offer some respite from the external world despite the physical demands of the process.

At the AGBI we work with artists carefully and confidentially to support them to return to their studio practice after injury, illness, or taking on significant caregiving responsibilities. Artists frequently declare that they are particularly disturbed when they are prevented from making their work and contributing to their practice.  AGBI grants and artist-led support help artists return to their practice. This is where we, at the AGBI, understand that for an artist, labour is refuge.

works:

Desmond Lewis: Lined Out to Show Out, 2024, Mild steel, paint, hymn board slide letters, graphite, 50h x 30w x 6d CM

Jo Dennis: Those Tall Towers, 2024, Oil and acrylic paint, marble dust and paper on military surplus tent fabric, 161 x 180 CM

Sherbet Kali, 2024, Oil, acrylic and spray paint and marble dust on military surplus tent fabric and steel, 105.5 (h) X 83 (w) X 16.5(d) CM

Monster, 2024, Oil, acrylic, spray paint, marble dust, drop cloth and yarn on military surplus tent fabric. Diptych 200h X 261w (individual panels are 140×200 and 120 ×200)

Mike Ballard: The Accursed Share, 2024, Found wooden hoardings

Artist Bios:  Desmond Lewis (b. 1993, USA) is a sculptor who explores political, social, religious, and economic issues regarding race and class in the United States. His work uses industrial materials to correlate the invisible appearance of structural materials in buildings with the concealed structural importance of Black Americans in the United States. Lewis was born and raised in Nashville, TN and currently resides in Memphis, TN. He earned his BS from Tennessee State University, an MFA in Sculpture from the University of Memphis and an MBA from The University  of Tennessee at Martin. Desmond has completed residencies at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Vermont Carving and Sculpture Center, and Pittsburgh Glass Center. Desmond’s work can be found in several public and private collections around the US including: Penland School of  Crafts, Carolina Bronze Sculpture Park, City of Hickory, NC, Vermont Carving and  Sculpture Center, The University of Memphis, Soulsville USA, NexAir LLC, Skowhegan Parks and Recreation, Orange Mound Neighborhood and Veterans Association, and the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. Desmond is currently on the Board of Directors of the Metal Museum.  

Jo Dennis (b. 1973, UK) is a British artist based in London. Her practice spans two decades working across painting, sculpture, photography, and installation. Dennis explores our emotional connection to place and memory, specifically in relation to ruination, surface, and decay, and how these themes link with notions of mortality. Dennis received her MA Painting at The Royal College of Art London (2022) and BA Fine Art and Contemporary Critical Theory at Goldsmiths College London (2002). Recent exhibitions include; Dallas Art Fair 2024, PM/AM Gallery (solo), Town Hall Disco, Newchild Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium, 2024 (solo); Matter, Flowers Gallery, London, 2023 (curator & artist); Absent without Leave, Sid Motion Gallery, 2022 (solo) Ares, OHSH Projects, Cromwell Place, London, 2023; Positions, Alma Pearl Gallery, London, 2023. She is the co-founder of several artist lead projects; Pigeon Park (2021-22) Peckham 24 Photo Festival (2016 - 2024) AMP Gallery (2015 - 2018) and Asylum Chapel (2010 - current). She collaborated with Sid Motion Gallery on five solo projects (2017-2023) including the launch of her first artists book ‘I touched this with my hand, I touched that with my eye’ (2020).

Mike Ballard (b. 1972, London) is a British artist working across sculpture, installation, painting and video. Ballard’s work invites viewers on a compelling journey through the intricate dynamics of visibility and invisibility embedded within the urban landscape. His work transcends the boundaries of public and private space, expanding its significance to envelop the tangible world and the concealed narratives interwoven within metropolitan spaces. Ballard graduated from Central Saint Martins MA Fine Art (2007). His recent exhibitions include, Stanza at Split Gallery London, Sculpture in the city 11th/12th editions, Shadow Ban at Schtager gallery London, Studio Response IV at Saatchi Gallery, Territorial Gestures at OHSH projects London. He adeptly captures the nuanced processes of negation, displacement, and corrosion.  The erratic nature of the city unfolds vividly in these overlooked spaces, where Ballard focuses on the remnants, residue, and serendipitous layering of signs and symbols.