Surprises Are Rarely Unexpected at “The Pink Panther Show”

Arnaud Desjardin, Untitled (Pink Panther), 2018, Ink on paper, fan, and mixed media, variable dimensions. Photograph by Ekphrasis © dateagleart 2018.

Distinctly mysterious, this group show’s works are as diverse as the character itself.

The term “emerging artist” is an open term. While it can suggest a promising artist just graduating from art school, it can also mean an artist who has an extensive exhibition career. Based in London, dateagleart is dedicated to both of these groups of artists. They are a team of independent curators launching as a creative agency in March 2018, founded by Martin Mayorga and Vanessa Murrell. Combined, they have worked for Sotheby’s, as well as other major London galleries such as Saatchi Gallery, and Gagosian Gallery. With their combined experience, they expose London’s emerging artists through their podcast, blog, interviews, and studio visits, which are posted online. 

Now, dategleart is curating their first exhibition titled “The Pink Panther Show” alongside artist Evangeline Ling. It’s made up of emerging artists such as Laurence Greenberg and Fiona Grady, and mid-career artists such as Liam Scully and Tanya Ling at the kaleidoscopic Gallery 46. The idea from this show started from an Instagram story, and Martin and Vanessa share the story of how it all started.

Article by Martin Mayorga and Vanessa Murrell of dategleart

“The Pink Panther Show” is an experiment as much as it is an exhibition. For this group show, there is no gender, political, age, mediums, or even artistic career categories. It is not an exhibition arranged by artists from the same age-spam, concerns, backgrounds, or even curated by a connection of similar artistic approaches, themes, narratives or concepts. No artist is informed of the rest of the artists in the show, and dateagleart was tricked into curating the show without even being aware of it. 

It is an exhibition about trickery, misconceptions, revealing, and unrevealing, which initially sparkled from artist Evangeline Ling’s performative approach on her Instagram story, in which she openly shared her idea of anyone interested in making a sculpture, painting or drawing of the pink panther to be in a show, and to call it “Crap Painting Ideas” which she later decided to rename “The Pink Panther Show”, playfully disrupting the principles of curating.

Fiona Grady, Mancini Moments, 2018, Hand cut vinyl window installation, variable dimensions. Photograph by Ekphrasis © dateagleart 2018.

Suitably, the versatile character of the Pink Panther allows for surprises and even welcomes them. Fiona Grady’s transitory window drawings are derived from Henry Mancini signature theme song by using the repetition of a motif in her window drawings, that at times are very static but in the right light produce beautiful colour filtered light around the room, invading the gallery with rhythmic waves of colour. 

On another note, movement and rhythm are explored by Arnaud Desjardin’s fan-blown reproductions of the Pink Panther’s notable art history representations. Tom Hardwick Allan immortalises the character of the Pink Panther into a rotating fossilised icon, while Liam Scully brings it to motion in his on-going series of television drawings. 

Daniel Burley, Norridge Portal, 2017, Sculpture, Panther Pink frame, lava lamp, dices and wooden board, variable dimensions. Photograph by Ekphrasis © dateagleart 2018.

Michael Murphy plays with anthropomorphism and Jade Chingyuk Ng prints live in between fantasy and reality. On another note, Daniel Burley encourages us to interact with a drinking game that leads us to the Pink Panther gem. 

Callum Nixon, Delilah Olson, and Niamh Roberts works draw inspiration from the violence and notions of economic value from the real-life crime stories, exploring the Pink Panther jewel’s significant value based on it’s structural anomalies caused by plastic deformation during crystal growth. Contrastingly, Laurence Greenberg gives visibility to these anomalies in his translucid resin sculpture. 

Hetty Douglas,You Are, 2018, Acrylic, oil, spray paint and polly filler on canvas, 77x92 cm. Photograph by Ekphrasis © dateagleart 2018.

A series of panther portraits are explored in the works of Evangeline Ling, Hannah Tilson, and Tanya Ling, who respond to the cartoon’s character emphasized by it’s teasing expression given it’s mute quality. Contrastingly, India Nielsen and Hetty Douglas use language to describe the otherwise voiceless panther. 

Paralleling the Pink Panther character, whom instantly confuses us with it’s solely appearance in the opening and closing credit sequences of The Pink Panther film, this show enables an ephemeral quality by lasting just enough to let the works engage in a dialogue within the space.

Delilah Olson, David Beckham, 2018, Stroboscopic lamp and gelatin paper, variable dimensions. Photograph by Ekphrasis © dateagleart 2018.

If you live in London, “The Pink Panther Show” exhibits from February 21st - 28th at Gallery 46 in London. They are located at 46 Ashfield St, Whitechapel, E1 2AJ, London. 

Artist List:

Daniel Burley: @daniel_burley

Jade Chingyuk Ng: @jade.chingyuk.ng

Arnaud Desjardin: @bunker_basement

Hetty Douglas: @hettydouglas

Fiona Grady: @fiona_grady

Laurence Greenberg: @laurencegreenberg

Tom Hardwick Allan: @tomhardwickallan

Evangeline Ling: @evangelineling

Tanya Ling: @tanya_ling

Michael Murphy: @lovely.michael_

India Nielsen: @indianielsen

Callum Nixon #callumnixon (no instagram)

Delilah Olson: @delilaholson

Niamh Roberts: #niamhroberts (no instagram)

Liam Scully: @badrenalin

Hannah Tilson: @hannahtilson64