Deck: First Cut

 

 

There is a lightness and freshness to Neil Dawson's new sculpture at Jonathan Smart Gallery. Playing cards, so humble and everyday, have been given a gentle sculptural tweak.

The exhibition is called 'Deck: First Cut', a title that hints at further possibilities. Dawson has taken six cards from different packs, screenprinted onto stainless their detail front and back, powdercoated the steel, then cut and rolled the works using their patterned backs as his starting point. Patterns of wheel, filigree and diamond have been immaculately reproduced on .7mm thin stainless, then flexed and opened up. The sculptures have a playfulness on the floor, as if they've been curled, dropped or placed casually, blown in by the latest breeze.

We see six cards twice, each being an edition of 6. Hence their print-like status, presented with genuine material ease. Now, there's experience for you.