Chisenhale Gallery presents a new body of work by London-based painter, Caragh Thuring, and her first solo exhibition in a public gallery. Through her paintings, Thuring examines the speed at which images are consumed, asking exactly how much information is required to satisfy intention and how slowly the process of looking can unfold. With this new body of work Thuring explores pertinent questions surrounding contemporary image making such as the value of time and how this contributes to the generation of meaning.

Several paintings are derived from large picture windows in Dutch suburban homes, where idiosyncratic displays of vases, plants and knick-knacks are often arranged in pairs. Thuring perceives the windows as self-portraits of their owners. Considering the dual function of the windows as devices for observing and for being observed, in these works the objects become substitutes for traditional portraiture. The images are interrupted by reflection, surface and a constant reversal of interior and exterior space, disrupting straightforward readings of psychological perspective, as marked by the boundary of the window frame.

Further works emphasise the canvas as a territory to be mapped. Two paintings, shown back to back, list all the churches within the Square Mile of the City of London. Each name is sprayed with industrial line marking paint and packed densely within the fixed limits of the canvas. The words sit solid and immovable as the churches: timeless and untouchable buildings, which appear as unintentionally rebellious spaces, standing defiant amongst the constant flux of London’s overdeveloped financial centre.

Absent of hierarchy in subject matter or use of materials, Thuring’s paintings are loosely constructed exploring recurring motifs, including pyramids, brick work, volcanoes and the human silhouette. These speculative environments are rendered with an economy of means and leave large tracts of empty linen. For Thuring, the process of making work can be likened to editing film. Her paintings unfold in time: images stall and stutter, giving way to silence and space for thinking and looking.

Caragh Thuring (born 1972) lives and works in London. Recent solo exhibitions include Anthony Meier, San Francisco (2013); Simon Preston Gallery, New York (2011); and Thomas Dane Gallery, London (2010). Group exhibitions include Live and Let Die at Modern Art, London; July at The Approach, London (both 2014); Performer As Curator, The Lowry, Manchester (2013); The First Rebellion is History, Next Week Rome Falls, Simon Preston Gallery, New York; Troubling Space, Zabludowicz Collection, London (both 2012); and Newspeak: British Art Now, Saatchi Gallery, London (2010).

With thanks to Thomas Dane Gallery.

Chisenhale Exhibitions Partner 2014: Fiorucci Art Trust.

A coffee morning and special viewing of the exhibition with cakes generously provided by the East End Women’s Institute.