Kevin Kavanagh is pleased to present an exhibition of new work by Mark Swords.
In Mark Swords’ work, ideas and materials have a symbiotic relationship. Ideas suggest materials, which in turn suggest the form or nature of a piece of work be it painting, drawing or object. The American artist Richard Tuttle has said, “There’s is an intelligence in the hand.” Swords’ work refers to this simple yet complex idea, the handmade object having, by its nature, an intelligence which is not cerebral.
Swords’ latest work demonstrate a curiosity with materials and their relationship to both art making and the real world. The conception of his pieces occurs outside of the studio, and always involves a notion of its material properties. These ideas are worked through in the studio and often rely on some unforeseen addition for their completion, the physical act of realising an idea altering and giving new possibilities to the original concept.
Mark Swords was born in Dublin in 1978. He graduated with an MA from the National College of Art and Design in 2003. He has had solo shows in the Ashford Gallery, Dublin and John Martin Gallery, London. Most recently he was invited to show at Eigse Carlow 2006. He currently lives and works in County Wicklow.
