Elsa Rouy
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Overview
All of Rouy’s works are pervaded by a certain unknowability, an abject ‘inbetweenness,’ they refuse to be constrained to any one specific meaning. Rouy’s works are provocative, they interrogate perceived notions of gender, sex and feeling and they intrude and stick themselves irreversibly onto the psychology of their viewers.
London based artist Elsa Rouy creates images of intense psychological depth. Rouy describes her work as “a visual portrayal of abstruse emotions.” Through painting, Rouy attempts to get to the heart of her own personal experience as a woman.
Throughout her oeuvre, physical boundaries seem to dissipate: bodies split and rupture, separate skins seep and melt into one another and leaking bodily fluids drip and mingle together. For Rouy, bodies are in a constant state of ‘becoming,’ they are never static or inert, instead, they are a site of process and flux. Critical theorist Mikhail Bakhtin’s formulation of the grotesque body is one that “is not separated from the rest of the world.” For Bakhtin, this kind of body is not “a closed, completed unit;” instead “it is unfinished, [it] outgrows itself, transgresses its own limits.” Rouy’s grotesque bodies constantly extend and exceed beyond their own physical bounds. By stressing the parts of the body that represent the osmosis between the exterior, outside world and the interior, bodily world, (the breasts; the genitalia, the mouth and the eyes) Rouy creates a world in which the strict delineation between different bodies is wiped away and effaced.
Many of Rouy’s works are also tinged with feelings of extreme tenderness. Bodies fuse together in transfigured sex acts, weeping, desperate eyes look out blankly beyond the viewer and supple hands clutch at and caress other shoulders and torsos. These are human beings portrayed at their most vulnerable. Throughout Rouy’s oeuvre, figures constantly occupy situations that sit uncomfortably between that of suffering and that of pleasure. Faces could be contorted in pain, distorted and misshapen, with tongues writhing under the unspeakability of suffering or they could be thrown back in carnal rapture; succumbing to the throes of sexual abandon. All of Rouy’s works are pervaded by a certain unknowability, an abject ‘inbetweenness,’ they refuse to be constrained to any one specific meaning. Rouy’s works are provocative, they interrogate perceived notions of gender, sex and feeling and they intrude and stick themselves irreversibly onto the psychology of their viewers.
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Works
Elsa Rouy
A Comedy of Errors, 2022Acrylic, ink and bleach on canvas
153 x 132 cm
60 1/4 x 52 inPhoto: Rob HarrisExhibitions
2022: Elsa Rouy, I Could Always Crack a Joke, Guts GalleryLiterature
2022: The Evening Standard: London Gallery Weekend: the emerging galleries shaking up the capital’s art scene.
2022: 10 Magazine: TEN’S TO SEE: ‘I COULD ALWAYS CRACK A JOKE’ BY ELSA ROUY AT GUTS GALLERY.
2022: Dazed: ART SHOWS TO LEAVE THE HOUSE FOR THİS MAY - LONDON GALLERY WEEKEND, LONDON, UK.Contact FormSend me more information on Elsa Rouy
Biography
Courtesy of Brynley Odu DaviesB. 2000, Sittingbourne, UK. Based in London UK.
Education
2018-2021 Camberwell College of the Arts (UAL), BA First Class Hons Painting, London
2016-2018 University for the creative arts, Level 3 extended diploma in art and design
Solo Exhibitions
2024 A Screaming Object, Guts Gallery, London, (UK)
2024 Ephialtes, GNYP Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium
2023 The Only Daughter, Steve Turner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, (USA)
2022 I Could Always Crack a Joke, Guts Gallery, London, (UK)
2021 A Demon in a Sundress, Guts Gallery, London, (UK)
2020 Plastic Doesn’t Sweat, Guts Gallery, London, (UK)
2020 Platform, Unit London, London, (UK)
Art Fairs
2023 Untitled, Miami Beach, Steve Turner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (USA)
2023 Steve Turner, Future Fair, New York, NY (USA)
2023 Wrinkles in My Sheets, Ye Collective, Hybrid Art Fair, Madrid, Spain
Group Exhibitions
2024 Obsidian Upset, Des Bains, London, (UK)
2024 JITTERS, Nathalie Karg Gallery, New York, NY (USA)2024 Aperitif, Palazzo Monti, Italy
2024 Softer, Softest, Guts Gallery, London, (UK)
2024 The Body Electric, Larsen Warner, Stockholm, Sweden, (SE)
2024 NEW NOW: Part 2, Guts Gallery, London, (UK)
2023 Bye Bye Cowboy, Arusha Gallery, London, (UK)
2023 Saints and Sinners, Guts Gallery, London, (UK)
2023 Elsa Rouy & Emil Urbanek, EIGEN + ART Lab, Berlin, Germany
2023 The Artist is Present, Guts Gallery, London, (UK)
2023 (It's My Party) I Can Cry if I Want to, Guts Gallery, London, (UK)
2022 Human In Training, Tuesday to Friday, Valencia, Spain
2022 There Goes the Neighbourhood, Castor Gallery, London, (UK)
2022 ‘…and kneeling at the edge of the transparent sea I shall shape for myself a new heart from salt and mud.’, Kupfer Projects, London, (UK)
2022 Out of Nowhere, Soho Revue, London, (UK)
2022 Two Sisters, Roman Road Gallery, London, (UK)
2022 Damned If I Do, Gallery 46 Whitechapel, London, (UK)
2022 CACOTOPIA, Annka Kultys, London, (UK)
2021 Brain Food Charity Auction, The Auction Collective, London, (UK)
2021 I Have My Eye On You, Everyday Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium
2021 Reality Check, Guts Gallery, London, (UK)
2021 Don't Go South, Studio Berkheim, Stuttgart, Germany
2021 A New Art World, Guts Gallery, London, (UK)
2021 Introducing, The Shop at Sadie Coles HQ, London, (UK)
2021 For The Many Not The Few, Guts Gallery, London, (UK)
2020 Limbo, Everyday Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium
2020 Begin Again, Guts Gallery, London, (UK)
2020 When spiders unite they can tie down a lion, Daniel Raphael Gallery, London, (UK)
2020 Drawn Together, Unit London, London, (UK)
2020 No time like the present, Public Gallery, London, (UK)
2020 Guts Gallery Claps back, Guts Gallery, London, (UK)
2020 When Shit Hits The Fan, Guts Gallery, Guts Gallery, London, (UK)
Exhibitions-
Elsa Rouy
A Screaming Object 2024年11月29日 - 12月21日Read more -
Softer, Softest
2024年4月26日 - 5月21日Read more -
NEW NOW
Co-curated by Ell Pennick and Brynley Odu Davies 2023年12月1日 - 2024年2月6日Read more -
Saints and Sinners
2023年6月9日 - 7月7日Read more -
(IT’S MY PARTY) I CAN CRY IF I WANT TO
2023年1月13日 - 2月2日Read more -
The Artist is Present
2022年10月7日 - 11月3日Read more -
ELSA ROUY
I Could Always Crack A Joke 2022年5月5日 - 5月26日‘I Could Always Crack a Joke’ showcases a new body of work by Elsa Rouy that ridicules, empathises with, and...Read more -
REALITY CHECK
2021年9月23日 - 10月3日Opening: Thur 23 Sept 6-9pm Exhibition Location: Anderson Contemporary, Carpenter’s Wharf Studios, 4b Roach Road, ...Read more -
ELSA ROUY
A DEMON IN A SUNDRESS 2021年8月19日 - 8月26日Private View: 19th August 6-9pm Location: 147 Stoke Newington High Street, London, N16 0...Read more -
A NEW ART WORLD
A NEW ART WORLD IS POSSIBLE. 2021年7月22日 - 7月29日Private View: Thursday 22 July 6-9pm Opening Hours: Tues - Sun 11am - 6pm __st...Read more -
INTRODUCING
London Gallery Weekend at The Shop at Sadie Coles HQ 2021年6月4日 - 6月6日London Gallery Weekend 4-6 June 2021 11am - 8pm (Opening day) 11am - 6pm (Regular hours) ...Read more
Press-
The Radar: Elsa Rouy, Julia Kowalska and Clark Keatley
Plaster, 2024年8月13日 -
This Exhibition Explores the Sinister Side of Being a Girl Online
Sofia Hallstrom, AnOther Magazine, 2024年8月13日 -
This exhibition is a Tumblr-inspired, neo-noir tale of modern girlhood
Ayla Angelos, Dazed, 2024年8月9日 -
Elsa Rouy: In conversation with the artist championing the grotesque
Izabelle Pullin, Shift, 2024年5月16日 -
Elsa Rouy, the Painter Turning Her Worst Nightmares Into Art
Emily Steer, AnOther Magazine, 2024年3月5日 -
How to nail your next art fair
Amah-Rose Abrams and Josephine Binta Judd, GQ Magazine, 2023年10月11日 -
Elsa Rouy Talks About Her Art, Shame and Guilt The female Sexual Gaze, Creative Process & More
Rubén Palma, Overstandard, 2023年9月21日 -
10 Emerging Painters Born in the 2000s to Watch Now
Bella Bonner-Evans, Artsy, 2023年8月10日 -
MUST-SEE EXHIBITIONS BY QUEER ARTISTS
Marni McFall, FLANNELS, 2023年6月15日 -
Reflections and Resilience: The Bold Spectrum of LGBTQIA+ Artistry at the ‘Saints and Sinners’ Exhibition
Vanity Teen, 2023年6月13日 -
The defiant new queer art show fuelled by ‘disgust at the world’
Zoe Whitfield, Dazed, 2023年6月9日 -
"SAINTS AND SINNERS" AT GUTS GALLERY DEPICTS A JOURNEY OF LGBTQIA+ RESILIENCE
Sofia de la Cruz, Hypebae, 2023年6月8日 -
Saints and Sinners
Art Plugged, 2023年6月8日 -
Art shows to leave the house for in June 2023
Ashleigh Kane, Dazed, 2023年6月5日 -
‘Saints and Sinners’ platforms LGBTQIA+ artists during Pride Month.
QX Magazine, 2023年6月1日 -
The art of the artist portrait, with photographer Brynley Odu Davies
Olivia Hingley, It's Nice That, 2023年5月30日 -
The artist and the work: Portraits capturing creative solitude
Ry Gavin, Hunger Magazine, 2023年5月5日 -
Portraits of young British artists in the seclusion of their studios
Gilda Bruno, Dazed, 2023年5月4日 -
Exploring the depths of the human experience with Elsa Rouy's figurative paintings
Joey Levenson, It's Nice That, 2023年5月2日 -
Sex, sci-fi and Scottish patriotism: 200 UK artists caught at work
Jade Wickes, The Face, 2023年4月26日 -
SUPERHEROINES
Christiane Meixner and Clara Zimmermann, Weltkunst, 2023年4月19日 -
103: Show Us Your Guts (Gallery)
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Share this article Email Facebook Twitter It’s Our Party and We’ll Cry If We Want To
Tahney Fosdike, Plinth, 2023年1月27日 -
The exhibition about femininity, sexualisation, & crying on your birthday
Millen Brown-Ewens, i-D Magazine, 2023年1月19日 -
Sensual and grotesque depictions of modern womanhood
Emily Dinsdale, Dazed, 2023年1月16日 -
Cate Blanchett’s Tàr, getting grotesque with Guts Gallery and a Lychee Martini at Chet’s
Hero Magazine, 2023年1月13日 -
Art shows to leave the house for this January
Ashleigh Kane, Dazed, 2023年1月11日 -
FOUR SHOWS TO OPEN IN LONDON THIS WEEK
Maribelle Bierens, Where's The Frame, 2023年1月10日 -
(IT’S MY PARTY) I CAN CRY IF I WANT TO
Mark Westall, FAD Magazine, 2022年12月29日 -
GUTS 2022 CLOSING EXHIBITION IN SUPPORT OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN IRAN
Mark Westall, FAD Magazine, 2022年12月15日 -
The coolest art and art-adjacent things to buy and fawn over, Elsa Rouy, I Could Always Crack a Joke Limited Edition Pri
Spittle, Elephant Magazine, 2022年10月8日 -
London Gallery Weekend: the emerging galleries shaking up the capital’s art scene
Ben Luke, Evening Standard, 2022年5月10日 -
TEN’S TO SEE: ‘I COULD ALWAYS CRACK A JOKE’ BY ELSA ROUY AT GUTS GALLERY
Paul Toner, 10 Magazine , 2022年5月6日 -
Elsa Rouy in “CACOTOPIA 06” at Annka Kultys Gallery, London
Cecilia March, Flash Art , 2022年2月12日 -
Ten women artists and designers on their love of Louise Bourgeois
Emily Dinsdale, DAZED, 2022年2月22日 -
Guts Director Ellie Pennick and Elsa Rouy interview with The Wick Culture
The Wick Culture, 2022年1月4日 -
FAD Magazine feature Guts latest exhibition REALITY CHECK
Mark Westall , FAD Magazine , 2021年9月23日 -
DAZED features latest Guts exhibition, REALITY CHECK
Emily Dinsdale, DAZED, 2021年9月21日 -
THE FACE INTERVIEWS ELSA ROUY ON HER LATEST SOLO EXHIBITION
TJ SIDHU, THE FACE , 2021年8月24日 -
Guts Gallery featured in The New York Times 'Gallery Weekend Brings London's Art Scene Back to Life '
Scott Reyburn, The New York Times , 2021年6月7日 -
Coeval Magazine Interviews Elsa Rouy
Coeval Magazine, 2021年3月24日 -
Artist Elsa Rouy #01 Art Adventures Podcast
Custorian, Soundcloud, 2021年3月5日 -
Elsa Rouy is the British art scene’s bold new romantic
TJ Sidhu, THE FACE, 2021年2月4日 -
Top Ten Shows from the UK and Ireland
Mimi Chu, Frieze, 2021年2月12日 -
INTERVIEW WITH ELSA ROUY
SAINT MAISON, 2020年9月7日 -
ON VIEW BY FLASH ART: “It’s 2020 For F*ck Sake” Guts Gallery and Soft Punk / London
Flash Art , 2020年12月11日 -
IT’S 2020 FOR F*CK SAKE
ART PLUGGED, ART PLUGGED, 2020年9月30日 -
The London art you can take a virtual tour of right now for free
Lucy Scovell, The Glossary, 2020年3月29日 -
This Instagram-only exhibition is full of London’s best young artists
Eddy Frankel, Time Out London, 2020年3月24日 -
Begin Again: The online exhibition challenging austerity and racial oppression
Scarlett Baker , Love Magazine, 2020年8月13日 -
Scrap that, lets begin again
TJ Sidhu, The Face, 2020年8月13日 -
Ten's to see 'When Shit Hits the Fan', The insta-exhibition by Guts Gallery
Paul Toner, 10 Magazine, 2020年4月2日 -
Art markets find high-tech ways to reach buyers
Melanie Gerlis, Financial Times, 2020年3月27日 -
When Shit Hits the Fan (In the Artworld)
TJ Sidhu, The Face, 2020年3月27日 -
Guts Gallery present ‘When shit hits the fan’ a digital Instagram exhibition
Mark Westall, Fad Magazine, 2020年3月23日 -
Begin Again is the virtual art exhibition tackling racial inequality
Gunseli Yalcinkaya, Dazed , 2020年8月14日
Publications
