JEREMY LAWSON: WITH FEVER COMES ATTENTION

Carl Kostyál is delighted to present “WITH FEVER COMES ATTENTION”, the debut solo exhibition of Jeremy Lawson in Milan.

November 21 – December 13, 2024

George Baselitz described abstraction as “an intelligent and sympathetic response to an unconscious manoeuvre.” With these words, Baselitz directly captures the process in the studio and how one might navigate the world.

While Lawson is influenced by art history and the works that first drew him to painting—such as the Scandinavian COBRA artists of the late ’50s, Howard Hodgkin, Philip Guston’s late ’60s abstractions, early Dubuffet, Arte Povera’s use of simple materials, and Cy Twombly’s Ferragosto paintings—he approach the studio with a focus on a direct interaction with the work, untethered by references from the past. It’s a long, improvisational process that concludes when the painting has said what it needs to say.

Lawson begins with an automatic drawing made with his hands dipped in paint. He then continue responding to it, either with his hands or oil paint poured onto paper pallets, which he smear or stamp onto the canvas over several months until a composition emerges. For the past three years, he’d followed this process, intentionally making the marks difficult to control or predict. The accidents that arise become the content of the paintings.

Last September, Lawson had the opportunity to visit Carl and Katharine in their home, and the idea of placing paintings within such a dynamic, historic space intrigued him. He’d never given much thought to the context of his works—they are deeply personal and leave the studio to find their own path. However, the high ceilings and intricate floor details inspired him to create his largest piece to date, Night Swim.