Biography – Brian Ord | ne-arts – Brian Ord and Val Close

As the critic David Thorp observed in his recent review of the American contemporary artist Sherrie Levine,

“Where is the artistry in the representation of a facsimile? It is the act of selection, in the moment of choice, in the significance of the act of the artist”

Brian Ord’s work in both 2 and 3 dimensions has always been about appropriation.

Brian Ord works with the reappropriation process in both two and three dimensions. The photograph’s & objects that Ord uses are rarely his own. He appropriates objects, images, cards and photographs from a variety of sources in the mass media or the public domain. Like Sherrie Levine, his reuse of this original material of others, both subverts and recontextualises them. The material on the canvases for instance, may have originally belonged to someone else, but he has made them his own via a convoluted process of restructuring involving various materials and processes. This experience highlights the significance of the reappropriation process to the art works themselves, as well as commenting on the hidden significance of the original material involved.

While the sculptures utilise carefully chosen ready made objects, the new paintings rely on similar appropriated photographic imagery. Originally made from paper collages, they are then digitally printed on to canvas before being transformed using oil paint & polyester resin.

‘Impossible Interiors’

This title attempts to describe the nature of the most recent work.
The works originate as small scale hand worked collage, appropriated from a wide variety of printed sources.
These collages are then photographed at high definition & then digitally printed, sometimes on a different scale, directly onto canvas.
The canvases are then worked on with a wide range of materials and techniques, including resin, oil paint, print & collage.
The original starting material often involves recent architectural imagery or interiors of various kinds.
The illusionistic end products attempt to comment on issues involving the contemporary house & home, and are in particular, a political comment on the futile pursuit of domestic perfection.
The ‘Impossible Interiors’ echo the unattainability of domestic utopia.

Brian Ord studied at Chelsea School of Art, he has exhibited widely throughout the UK and the World, including; –

ArhusKunstforening-Dernmark,
Bronwen White Gallery-New Orleans,
Arts Council Gallery-Belfast,
Galerie Noran-Germany,
Centrum BeeldendeKunst-Gronongen/ Holland,
Bergens Kunstforening-Norway,
Tampera Taidemuseo-Finland,
Central House of the Artists-Moscow,
Latvia Academy of Art-Riga,
King Plow Art Centre-Atlanta/Georgia,
Lewers Gallery-N.S.W./Australia,
Artists Union Gallery-Bratislava/Slovakia,
Webster University-St Louis/Misourri,
University of Maryland-Baltimore,
Thomas K. Laing Gallery-Vienna.

Residencies include; –
Atlanta-Georgia/USA,
Western Sydney University-Australia,
Schleswig Holstein-Germany.

He has recently been working on a series of works called ‘Impossible Interiors’

Recent Shows of this work include –

‘Objects & Interiors’ Lacey Contemporary Gallery, London, January 2015

‘Impossible Interiors’ Newcastle Art Centre, July 2015

‘Home Comforts’ Lacey Contemporary Gallery, London, December 2015

Brian Ord was a featured artist in –

‘Paint Pulse Magazine’ Boston, USA, May 2015

Shortlisted for –

Gemini Art Prize, Mener Gallery, London, September 2015,

Featured in the Singapore Affordable Art Fair, Singapore,November 2015.

Shortlisted for the Marchionni Prize , June 2016, MAGMMA Museum,

Sardinia, Italy.

‘Sweet Dreams of Contentment’, Brian Ord, Val Close, Pete Scott

The Customs House , Tyne & Wear, June / July 2016

Arts Council Award

Arts Gemini 2016, Asia House, London, September 2016

The Discerning Eye, The Mall Galleries, London, November 2016

‘House & Hotel’, Lacey Contemporary Gallery, November 2016

‘CanCan’, LemoArt Gallery, Berlin, Germany, May 2017

The Annex Collection Acquisition Award – Shortlisted Artist (April 2017)

Featured artists in A5 Magazine June 2017.

‘Disponere’, 5th Base Gallery, London, November 2017

Featured Artist ‘Murze Magazine’ Issue 5, April 2019

‘Walk of Art’, ARTBOX.PROJECT Zurich, Swiss Art Expo, Aug 2019

Arts Depot Open 2019, Apthorp Gallery, London, July / August 2019

Article about Brian Ord in the current edition of LandEscape Art Magazine. Vol 51 /26
https://issuu.com/landescapeartpress/docs/vol-51/26

‘Reverie’, at Espacio Gallery, 159 Bethnal Green Rd, ( off Brick Lane ) London E27DG. Tuesday 25th February – Sunday 1st March. 2020

June 2020 – Online exhibition – IMPACT
Theme: The impacts of Covid 19 around the world,.
https://chaiyaartawards.co.uk/impact

‘The virus that came to tea’ Online Exhibition, March 2021 – https://roisinprojects.wixsite.com/tvwct

01 May – 28 August 2021 – Virtual Art Fair – Prize Exhibition http://thevirtualartfair.co.uk/

Shortlisted for the Chaiya Art Awards, Oxo Gallery, Oxo Tower, London May 2021

Interview with Brian Ord – Refresh Arts Awards

https://www.refreshartaward.com/post/wet-resin-illusion-and-impossible-interiors May 2021 –

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May/ June 2021 -The Artists Story – First Edition – Artiste Culture

Emerging & Mid Career Artists from 15 Countries.

’Sonora Exhibition’ ( Sound & Visuals ), November 18^th – December 18^th, 2021 , Echo Studio, Rue Pelotas 400, Vila Mariana, Sao Paulo, Brazil

‘Interlude Exhibition’ 30^th July – 13^th August 2022, Espaco Ira Rebella, R. Il Sogno Di Anarello,88. Sao Paulo , Brazil

Quality Art Foundation, Group Exhibition, August 25^th – 29^th, 2022. 340 Kings Rd, Chelsea, London SW3 5UR

QAF, Hidden Talent Arts Award Finalists Exhibition, Prizewinner, September 1^st – 5^th, 2022. 340 Kings Rd, Chelsea, SW3 5UR

UK -Japan Artists Group Exhibition, Design Festa Gallery, 3 Chrome-20-18, Jingumae, Shibuya City, Tokyo150-0001, Japan, 24th May – 30th May 2023, https://designfestagallery.com/about/

Art Gemini Prize 2023 – Zari Gallery, 73 Newman St, London, 20^th September – 28^th September 2023.