Through careful observation of the contemporary world around him, British artist Luke Newton has succeeded in integrating technology and sociology in his artworks. Graduating from Saint Martin's School, he brings a fresh perspective on society with a whimsical dose of humor characteristic of his home country. By combining items that are part of our daily routine, Newton questions their place in our lives and the societies' choices that led to them. He produces heterogeneous paintings, sculptures, and collages that push the viewers' imagination to jump from one image to another.
Conventional and firmly established rules, whether in society or art, are there to be questioned, decompartmentalized, and not taken for granted. For Newton, everything is open for reexamination that culminates in subversive artworks that combine colors, symbols, and objects: a dynamite stick made out of pencils, iPods transformed into weapons, QR codes with hidden iconic images, canvas with red stickers. All of these aim to make us take a step back and see what lies behind the curtain of consumerism that is such an integral part of our daily lives. Newton says:
We are torn between our constant desire for entertainment and novelty and our need for safety and routine.
Through rigorous research, Newton is able to go beyond the usual function of common objects and illuminate their symbolic value. Between the material and the idea, he creates a space of communication that brings forth freedom of interpretation.
Luke Newton has taken a closer look at our insatiable thirst for entertainment, a driving force that shapes our daily choices. He expressed this in the exhibition titled !, where artworks were positioned in such a way that there was no recognizable connection or meaning, just like the news feed on various social networks. Newton questions the values of products manufactured because of consumerism, creating artworks that are almost childish in their delivery yet imbued with derision and gravity.
Luke Newton lives and works in Paris, France.
Featured image: Luke Newton - Colts 2 (detail), 2019. 26.5 x 32.5 x 6 cm; Sculptures And Ceramics. Courtesy DAVID PLUSKWA ART CONTEMPORAIN
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