Belmacz Gallery is pleased to present ‘Dumb Rocks’, an exhibition of diverse new works by Tim Berresheim, Jess Flood-Paddock, Camilla Løw, Oliver Osborne, Travess Smalley, Oliver Sutherland, including pieces by David Nash and Ettore Sottsass. The show is curated by Ben Newton.

“...Well Frank, as we know billions of years ago the world was a molten mass, and over time and for reasons unknown to man, the earth cooled and formed a hard crust, this crust is what we today call ''rock'' ' - Scientist Ted Olson explaining to Detective Frank Drebin the forensic report on an offending rock used by the mob to smash his Locksmith shop window. Police Squad, Episode 5 'Rendezvous at Big gulch'

As an exhibition 'Dumb Rocks' intends to set out a discussion between the works, centred around a phenomenological inquiry into the essence of Art. What is the relation between the objectivity of an Artwork - that is, its material being as an 'object', and its nature as an 'artwork'. To what extent is the material 'objectivity' of the work essential or incidental to the work? And how does its form carry the work’s concept or lack thereof?

As viewers we bring our own sense of 'subjectivity' to the gallery or exhibition space - It is our own 'internal voice' that tries to make sense of or form concepts of the Artwork presented. One could say that mute or dumb material is activated into being by this voice. Powers of cognition/recognition equip us with the tools to make value judgments on the objects before us. The seemingly immutable has the potential to become Mutable. Nature’s boulder can become a table, a bench, and a pedestal whilst remaining all along merely the stuff of geological intrigue.

Tim Berresheim lives and works in Aachen, Germany. Besides making visual digital art, Berresheim also makes music with fellow established contemporary German artist, Jonathan Meese. He has exhibited at Galerie Thomas Flor, Tarnen & Täuschen- too long; didn’t read SOS, 2012 and at Patrick Painter, Condition Tidiness (Rude), 2009.

Jess Flood-Paddock lives and works in London. She has exhibited at Art Now: Jess Flood-Paddock, Tate Britain, London, 2012, 'X', Grimm Gallery, Amsterdam, 2012, Bold Tendencies 5, Peckham Multi-Storey Car Park, London, 2011, Hayward Gallery Project Space, London, 2010.
Camilla Low graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 2001, she lives and works in Oslo. Low exhibited Spring Rain, Elastic Gallery, Malmo, 2013, See Through, group show at Belmacz, 2012; a solo show at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Oslo, 2012, Gallery Aho, Oslo, 2009, Pier Art Centre, Orkney, 2008, at Dundee Contemporary Arts, 2008.

David Nash born in 1945, lives in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Wales. Significant exhibitions of his work have been displayed at A Natural Gallery, Kew Gardens, 2012-13, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, 2010-11, Pyramids rise, Spheres turn and Cubes stand still, Annely Juda Fine Art, 2005.

Oliver Osborne lives and works in London. A recent solo exhibition was Buy A Good Bed And Good Shoes, If You Are Not In One You Are In The Other, Peles Empire, London, 2010; and in group exhibitions at Galerie Eva Winkeler, Cologne, The Call, Peles Empire, Cluj, 2011, Men, OrtonNL, Rotterdam, Premiums, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2010, Lucky pdf @ Bold Tendencies III, Peckham Rye, London, 2009.

Travess Smalley lives and works in New York. He has held solo exhibitions at Capture Physical Presence - Higher Pictures, New York, 2013, Rendered Aura, Gloria Maria Gallery, Milan, 2011; and in the following group exhibitions in 2013; Xstraction, The Hole, New York, Space Whole Karaoke, Middlemarch, Belgium, Secondo Anniversario, Seventeen Gallery, London, Guide To The Galaxy, Decenter, Abrons Arts Center, New York, 1:1, Steve Turner Contemporary, Los Angeles.

Ettore Sottsass Italian 1917-2007. Exhibited in 2006 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art , Design Museum, London, 2007.
Oliver Sutherland has exhibited at Brand Innovations for Ubiquitous Authorship, Carroll/Fletcher, London, 2013, Hashfail - Open File, Grand Union, Birmingham, 2012-13, Chimera Q.T.E, Cell Projects, London 2012, Sound Spill, Seventeen Gallery, London, 2012, RCA Graduate Show, Royal College of Art, London, 2012, Primo Anniversario, bubblebyte.org/Sunday Painter/ Lucky pdf, Peckham, London, 2012.