I imagine myself in flight when I am painting, hovering above the surface and searching for places to land, touching down and lifting off. I do this again and again until the surface starts to collect information… The painting becomes like a capsule, holding the weight of time. —Megan RooneyBONES ROOTS FRUITS will be Megan Rooney's first solo show at Thaddaeus Ropac. Comprising all new works, the exhibition will present large-scale paintings including one monumental canvas, the artist's largest to-date, alongside a selection of works on paper from Old Baggy Root, the most recent in an ongoing series of surreal portraits exploring figuration and observation.
An enigmatic storyteller, Megan Rooney works across a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, installation, performance and language to develop intense narratives in a striking signature style. The exhibition’s title is taken from Rooney’s recent experiences, with references that address the festering chaos of politics and the violence of our society, while the subjects of her work are drawn directly from her own life and surroundings.
Megan Rooney’s fascinating ability to tell stories and create a narrative is felt through the various media of her multidisciplinary approach. Always in flux, recurring characters speak to a narrative that is never fixed, the artist addresses urgent subjects of our time and presents each iteration of her work as part of her Gesamtkunstwerk.—Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director, Serpentine Galleries