Viewing Spencer Sweeney, Queue at Gagosian Davies Street

For more than 20 years, the New York-based artist, musician and DJ Spencer Sweeney has explored the physical and psychological spaces occupied by the body. His depictions of the human figure, ranging from semiabstract reclining nudes to surreal self-portraits, are characterised by his bright palette and distinctive impasto. Described as a ‘Downtown Renaissance’ man, Sweeney is inspired by everything from surrealism to Russian expressionism and jazz.

In 2019, Sweeney had his first solo show at Gagosian in Paris. Now he returns to Gagosian, but this time in London, with an exhibition of new paintings made in his Manhattan studio over the past year. Taking centre stage is the human face, which he has enlarged beyond-life size and reduced, in most cases, to a set of geometric forms and free-flowing lines.

Take a tour and you’ll come face to face with Abraham the Poet, an abstracted visage in blue, and a theatrical mask-like face painted in high contrast with stark crimson shadows. Look closely and you’ll notice certain shapes — such as a triangular nose in vivid red and pink— appear again and again. For this series, Sweeney has pushed the limits of figuration, challenging notions of social identity and individuality. It’ll make you stop and stare.