Sutton Gallery is pleased to present Chalk and Clay, an exhibition of new works by Nick Selenitsch that continue his ongoing interest in the idea of play and the relationship of function to frivolity. This new series explores the potentiality of the urban brick wall with a series of studies on paper accompanied by three substantial chalk wall drawings.

In Chalk and Clay, Selenitsch expands upon a series of artworks he created for his exhibition Play at the Shepparton Art Museum. For Selenitsch, an unadorned brick facade holds the promise for creativity and play, ‘they reminded me of a lifetime spent around modernity-inspired sports halls, playgrounds and civic buildings, and bouncing balls against such walls.’ Selenitsch skillfully animates solid functional brickwork and highlights an inherent lucid decorative capacity.

Rearranged into a series of improvised semi-abstract visual compositions these repetitious works speak of the origins of the urban brick wall while simultaneously challenging those boundaries, giving freedom and fluidity to its typically rigid nature. This rhythmic series of brickwork studies on paper titled, Dancepiece, takes its name from the title of Philip Glass’ 1987 album of compositions.

Drawing upon imagery from a variety of sources including games and sport, Selenitsch transforms the markings, colours and forms of these activities into works that playfully subvert the rules of the source. With three large scale site specific wall drawings, he explores both the potential for play through the simplicity of line, and the temporary nature of drawing through his use of chalk, ‘The presence of a drawn chalk line signifies a yet-to-be completed project; a state before actualisation.’ The cues are provided with everyday objects, chalk or bricks, though it is the line markings that activate this media both with game play, though equally with formal geometric abstraction. Selenitsch creates an invitation to study and rediscover our relationship with the urban environment that surrounds us.