Vitrine Bermondsey Square and The Ister are pleased to present the first solo exhibition in London of Gaillard & Claude.

Troubles for a French horn and a bongo is part of a series of formal researches entitled "Le groupe et la famille", started by the artists in 2010. It questions the relationships between different ensembles of individuals that swing from the personal to the impersonal and vice versa.

Gaillard & Claude's recent works can be perceived as mixed objects, sculptures and representational props. The artists' approach is developed on a conversational tone, through their own specific vocabulary materializing different psychological and socio-economical worlds.

Troubles for a French horn and a bongo, conceived especially for Vitrine Bermondsey Square, revolves around one main element: a 160-foot long piece of industrially printed textile. The pattern represented is a duplicated replica of a unique artwork made of marbled paper by Gaillard & Claude in 2012. The chosen fabric is a quilted, economical, popular and unisex material. Its abstract motif alludes to the human psyche and could be perceived as an emotional mark. Within this context, minds are in permanent motion between the belonging notions of group and family, which eventually provide the subjects with a social definition.

The textile - which acts as a binder - folds, strains and unfolds around the space through a set of diverse metallic pieces. Emerging from this network, a full-frontal duo of sculptures has pride of place on two speaker stands. A marrowbone inspires their look at once hearty and formally detached. They coexist in the space as guardians of the ensemble, facing the square. The global construction of Troubles for a French horn and a bongo suggests a graphic notation meanwhile highlighting the 2-dimensional character of the Vitrine.

Gaillard & Claude were born in France. They live and work in Brussels, Belgium. Recent exhibitions include: Inside 15 (curated by Jean Paul Jacquet), 2013, Brussels, Belgium ; We get lighter and lighter (curated by Francis Mary), 2013, CNEAI, Chatou, France ; Celluloid Brushes - an anthology of the filmic perception of the artist rom 1267 till today (a project by Etablissement d'en face at Ludlow 3), 2013, Goethe institut, NYC, USA ; De Belles Sculptures Contemporaines, 2013, FRAC Pays de la Loire, Nantes, France ; Repeated Affinity (curated by Constance Barrère Dangleterre), 2013, MOTInternational, Brussels, Belgium ; Our friend's units with several other units, 2012, galerie Loevenbruck, Paris, France.

All images: Gaillard & Claude, Troubles for a French horn and a bongo, installation view at Vitrine Bermondsey Square, 2014, plaster, metal stands, printed fabric, aluminium, variable dimensions, courtesy of Vitrine