Unit London is excited to announce the opening of Gill Button’s solo Platform show, which is now live in the online viewing room (click here to view).
The Platform exhibition series offers focussed presentations that concentrate on topical social, political or cultural issues. In keeping with the core principles of the exhibition programme, 10% of all sales proceeds are donated to a charity or non-profit of the artist’s choosing. Gill Button’s chosen charity is Mind. Mind provide advice and support to those experiencing issues with mental health. They work and campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding. Mind believe no one should have to face a mental health problem alone.
Gill Button is a London based painter known particularly for her ethereal and intimate portraits. These images frequently capture moments of wonder, melancholy, strength and vulnerability, encouraging us to question how we engage with ourselves and others around us. Button’s large canvas works often convey contemplative experiences, reminiscent of far-off dreamscapes and distant memories. The body of work that the artist presents for her Platform exhibition, entitled Edge of Time, is not concerned with exact representation. Instead, these paintings, depicting wraithlike figures, are evocative of thoughts, feelings and sensations, alluding to the ineffable aspects of lived experience.
Gill Button, Caesura, 2021, oil on linen, 105 x 210 cm
The series of faces and figures that comprise this new body of work appear almost glazed over and out of our reach. They never meet our gaze, but rather stare past us or through us. They are seemingly lost in their own thoughts, sorrowful and perhaps weary. However, as the viewer, we are unable to interact with them and unable to know their true thoughts. These lone figures seem to contemplate their past, waiting for the next chapter of their lives to begin.