Here & Now

JD Malat Gallery's forthcoming group exhibition, Here & Now, will bring together both represented artists, and new artistic voices from outside of the gallery's roster. Presenting a convergence of diverse practices and creative visions, Here & Now seeks to demonstrate the multifaceted approaches of contemporary artists working today, capturing a vivid picture of identity, the human experience, and the raw vulnerabilities of modern life.

Here & Now strives to amplify the socially engaged nature of diverse artistic practices by bringing together recent work by previously exhibited artist Marcel Rusu and gallery artists Emily Gillbanks, Sophie-Yen Bretez, Georg Oskar, Celine Ali, Ayanfe Olarinde, Yann Leto, Ur Kasin, Ed Moses, Andy Moses, Santiago Parra, Luis Olaso, and Conrad Jon Godly. The exhibition will also present works for the first time by artists Horacio Quiroz, Hattie Malcomson, Mehmet Cevik and Mark Jenkins.

The selection of works due to be exhibited will provide a glimpse into what it means to create and capture life in this contemporary age. From the semi-corporeal-topographical realms depicted in the oil paintings by Mexican artist Horacio Quiroz, to the eye-biting sculptures by American street artist Mark Jenkins, Here & Now reveals how different mediums offer vessels for contemplating a multitude of themes surrounding the human body such as, beauty, the grotesque, the absurd and performativity. Founder Jean-David Malat remarks: "To me Here & Now is an excellent representation of how we as people use creative methods to express and release our reactions and our feelings living at this point in time. It also marks an opportunity for new artists to come and bring forth their work, introducing them to the gallery space, and allowing them to showcase their work in tandem."

The exhibition also coincides with Women Artists Art World (WAAW), an initiative founded by Annya Sand and Catherine Hunt to draw awareness to female-identifying artists within a predominantly male industry. In honour of WAAW, new work by Vietnamese-French artist Sophie-Yen Bretez will invite viewers into the complex narrative of the artist's personal history in which she navigates notions of femininity while growing up in her adoptive family in Southern France. Equally emotive and socially charged is the work of British artist Hattie Malcomson, whose vibrant compositions explore themes of sexuality, womanhood and defiance.

The breadth of artistic styles and mediums due to be presented in Here & Now will spotlight the bold and diverse contributions that contemporary artists are making to today's visual culture, as well as attest to contemporary art's essential role in strengthening cross-cultural dialogue.