Carole Ebtinger & Esther Gatón at South Parade

phosphorescence of my local lore

Carole Ebtinger & Esther Gatón

South Parade

November 23, 2023 - January 13, 2024

South Parade is pleased to present a duo show of new paintings by Brussels-based artist Carole Ebtinger and sculpture by London-based artist Esther Gatón, with an accompanying text by Lucy Rose Cunningham (overleaf). The show pairs new painting and sculptural work by Ebtinger and Gatón, both practices exploring the potential to reside between spaces, to enter into shifting landscapes and then retreat back.

Through Carole’s works, daubs of blue, purple, gold and green wash across the room, conjuring the depths of a pool or a meadow haze. Such surfaces could also be emotional ones, recalling to past lives; of moments spent with loved ones, of heart break, of reconciliation with the self through such meditative motions.

Gatón’s shifting shapes accompany Ebtinger’s imagery, suspended and wrapped in bioplastic evoking natural forms suggestive of moss, mould and sprawling fungi. A makeshift ark, drifting towards - or away from - another world, another time and presence. With a self-imposed unregulated process, Esther makes use of found objects and materials gathered from daily meanderings and encounters, pointing to the notion of environments, atmospheres and lived moments, of opportunity and change.

Carole Ebtinger (b. in 1995, in Vietnam) is a Vietnamese-French artist who lives and works in Brussels. Recent solo exhibitions include Tous Mes Jardins, Sarah Brook Gallery (Los Angeles, 2023) and Les Terres Rares, Eeckman Art Prize, Bozar (Brussels, 2021). Recent Group Exhibitions include The Room, South Parade (London, 2022) and Stealing Thunder, Barbé Urbain Gallery (Gent, 2022). Carole graduated with a Masters in Drawing from La Cambre (Brussels, 2018) and was awarded the Eeckman Art Prize by Art on Paper, Brussels (2021).

Esther Gatón (b. in 1988, in Valladolid,) based between Madrid and London, works across film, sculpture and writing. Esther holds the prestigious PhD cum laude title from the Faculty of Arts at the Complutense University of Madrid in Spain, where she is an Honorary Fellow in the Sculpture Department. Esther completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts between Saint-Luc Liège, the University of Barcelona and the Complutense University of Madrid. Recent solo and duo exhibitions in 2023 include My Jaw is on The Floor, Cibrián Donsotia-San Sebastián; Asleep on a feather bed with black curtains around him, an inverted torch (the earth was full of poppies), C3A Córdoba; and Emil Lime, CA2M, Museum Madrid. Recent group exhibitions in 2023 include STRAY Voltage, KINGS Melbourne; Concretos, MUSAC León and CAVE, Fondations312 Brussels. Gatón recently launched her publication Emil Lime at Institute of Contemporary Arts, London (October 2023), as well as presenting talks this year at Istituto Europeo di Design, Madrid and WIELS Book Fair, Brussels.

Esther Gatón, You insist, there is nothing abject about you, 2023. Wood, wire, fish line, biodegradable glitter, stickers, and vegan bioplastic dyed with turmeric, charcoal, chia seeds, fake grass, paprika, food colourants and paint on silk and mesh, 40 (W) x 80 (H) x 280 (D) cm
Esther Gatón, You insist, there is nothing abject about you, 2023. Wood, wire, fish line, biodegradable glitter, stickers, and vegan bioplastic dyed with turmeric, charcoal, chia seeds, fake grass, paprika, food colourants and paint on silk and mesh, 40 (W) x 80 (H) x 280 (D) cm
Installation shots, Carole Ebtinger and Esther Gatón, phosphorescence of my local lore, 2023 at South Parade
Installation shots, Carole Ebtinger and Esther Gatón, phosphorescence of my local lore, 2023 at South Parade
Carole Ebtinger, Tous mes jardins XXII (left) and Tous mes jardins XVIII (right)
Carole Ebtinger, Tous mes jardins XXII (left) and Tous mes jardins XVIII (right)
Esther Gatón, Alive post-shower, 2023. Wood, wire, fish line, vegan bioplastic dyed with turmeric, charcoal, chia seeds, paprika, food colourants and paint on natural silk and mesh, 30 (W) x 70 (H) x 230 (D) cm
Esther Gatón, Alive post-shower, 2023. Wood, wire, fish line, vegan bioplastic dyed with turmeric, charcoal, chia seeds, paprika, food colourants and paint on natural silk and mesh, 30 (W) x 70 (H) x 230 (D) cm
Installation shots, Carole Ebtinger and Esther Gatón, phosphorescence of my local lore, 2023 at South Parade
Installation shots, Carole Ebtinger and Esther Gatón, phosphorescence of my local lore, 2023 at South Parade
Carole Ebtinger, (Detail) Tous mes jardins XVII, 2023
Carole Ebtinger, (Detail) Tous mes jardins XVII, 2023
Installation shots, Carole Ebtinger and Esther Gatón, phosphorescence of my local lore, 2023 at South Parade
Installation shots, Carole Ebtinger and Esther Gatón, phosphorescence of my local lore, 2023 at South Parade
Esther Gatón, (Detail) Alive post-shower, 2023
Esther Gatón, (Detail) Alive post-shower, 2023