Bringing meaning to the term multifaceted, even in death, is the philosopher, sculptor, poet, and gardener Ian Hamilton Finlay (1925-2006). From June 10-July 31 Victoria Miro Gallery I will exhibit the works of the late artist as “Ian Hamilton Finlay | 1789 1794,” featuring pieces responding to the French Revolution and Greek mythology. The exhibition marks the 90th anniversary of the artist’s birth and the first time an exhibition in the UK has focused solely on this body of work.Finlay’s oeuvre showed a deep interest in the French Revolution, with his work “A View to the Temple,” a guillotine installation, as one of the most iconic of his career. The dates of the exhibition correspond to the founding of the National Assembly and the storming of the Bastille in 1789, and subsequently the Thermidorian Reaction, which saw the fall of Maximilien Robespierre in 1794.An 11-meter carved relief titled “The Sound of Running Water,” 1990, shows the multidimensional skill of Finlay with the line, “The sound of running water heard through the chinks in a stone dyke: revolution.” The line serves as a primer to the themes of poetry and politics of Finlay and ties into the overarching theme motif of the exhibition.With “Aphrodite of the Terror,” 1987, Finlay draws attention to the Reign of Terror by adorning the plaster sculpture of Aphrodite with a red string. The string is a symbol worn by women whose loved ones had been executed during the Terror, thus adding layers of historical significance to this classical statue.Finlay’s paintings will also be on show with highlights including “Apollo and Daphne, After Bernini,” 1991, based on the work of sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The wall painting, as the name suggests, depicts the story of Daphne fleeing from Apollo and transforming into a tree. According to Victoria Miro gallery the work “stands as a comment on the French Revolution, in which, arguably, the revolutionary pursued ideals to the point of destruction.”Victoria Miro Gallery I will exhibit “Ian Hamilton Finlay | 1789 1794” from June 10-July 31.
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