This week, Cooke Latham Gallery open their doors to the public with their newest exhibition Seen!, presenting a selection of collages from South London-based artist and musician Cato. Impressed by the artist's natural flair for the medium, art and culture editor Christina Donoghue went to find out more.
There is one similarity that draws all of my favourite isms together. From Futurism and Cubism to Dadaism and Popism (if Pat Hackett can use the made-up word on the front cover of her sell-out Andy Warhol memoir: Popism: The Warhol Sixties, then so can we), with the foundation of each movement sharing one key principle which, after its introduction to artistic circles through the European Dadaists, altered the course of art for the remaining 20th century. Taken a guess yet? The clue lies in common everyday objects so grab yourself some scissors and a pritt stick and see what comes of it...yep, you guessed it: collage.
One young musician acquainted with the medium is South-London based artist and man-of-the-moment Cato, whose debut UK solo exhibition at Cooke Latham Gallery Seen! opens today. Viewing the process of making music as synonymous with the act of painting, Cato's all-round artistic talents have culminated in a series of larger-than-life portraits, all of which skilfully combine acrylic paint with airbrush techniques to create collaged works that bite. 'Collage is something I learned from my older sister Jazz', Cato tells me ahead of the show's opening. 'It is one of the funnest ways to make an image as the pieces find their own way to tell a story. It's always a surprise where they end up and the scene is open to be changed until it sparks your imagination and collapses into place'.
