When Painting Collapses, You Have Beautiful Sculptures does not refer to another chapter of Painting within History of Art, but explores Cedric Christie’s personal endeavour to transform one medium into another.

This exhibition of new sculpture showcases two new bodies of work: Christie’s sculptural response to a gallery space, and recent work developed during a residency in Kleve, Germany.

Christie challenges and responds to a gallery environment. Deceptively simple curves create a rhythmic and dynamic composition in constant interaction with the space, while on the wall is drawn a discreet red grid. The colours of Christie’s painted steel tubes seek a disciplined and harmonious abstract display.

Expanding on his previous scaffolding-like sculptures; he liberates the lines and composition of each individual sculpture and creates a dialogue between pieces. Christie defines When Painting Collapses, You Have Beautiful Sculptures as he incorporates the principles of Russian Constructivism with his use of building materials, dynamic rhythm and tension between the lines of his sculptures.

In 2007 Christie, along with his friends Gavin Turk, Richard Strange, Simon Liddiment and Paul Tucker embarked on a road trip through three of the most important art events in Europe from Basel Art Fair You Have Beautiful SculpturesDocumenta (Germany). In his first solo show with Flowers Gallery Love me or fuck me but don’t do both 2009 the car Christie travelled in was smashed, ‘collapsed’, transformed into a heavy sculpture and hung on the wall of the Gallery. Titled Pink Painting, the sculpture was both an outcome of his journey and a hint of the American artist John Chamberlain’s crushed automobile sculptures.

Cedric Christie has a long-standing interest in emerging art practices and the history of 20th century art. He has curated exhibitions such as: Chinese Open, Q-Park 2013 in London’s Chinatown which gathered 100 artists in a car park and Something I don’t do, Flowers Gallery, London 2009. In 2011 Cedric Christie exhibited Color Movement at Flowers Gallery, New York, in which he drew inspiration from dance - in particular George Balanchine’s ballet, Agon (1957).

Born in 1962, Christie lives in East London and is a visiting professor at Bath Spa University (Corsham). He has exhibited widely in the United Kingdom and internationally. His work is to be found in many collections including the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia; the Anita Zabludowicz Collection; Unilever, London; Derwent Valley Holdings plc, London; Brown Rudnick Freed and Gesmer, London; and Land Securities, London.