Vigo Gallery

Le Tigre | Jordy Kerwick @ Luke Irwin

Luke Iwrin, 54 Pimlico Road, London


In collaboration with Luke Irwin, Vigo is proud to present Le Tigre by Jordy Kerwick.

Self taught Australian artist Jordy Kerwick in collaboration with Luke Irwin and Vigo Gallery has created a series of limited edition hand knotted recycled sari silk rugs referred to as the Tiger Rug Painting Tiger Rugs in reference to the Tiger Rug Paintings which made him famous, classic within his oeuvre. Their transformation into hand woven carpet/tapestries is a playful twist on this theme taking these fantasy images of make believe carpets and rendering them real. They are hung on the wall as a tapestry or used on the floor as a carpet.

Kerwick explores domestic family frivolity through the lens of alternative bodies or forms, and his playful works take inspiration from his time in the familial sphere, drawing on the kitchen floor with his children. His brazen, colour-saturated paintings transport you to a dream world of mythology, folk law and misadventure that feel like a grown man’s reinterpretation of his 10-year-old self’s dreams, fantasies and fears. His raw, expressive canvases have caught the attention of collectors, museums and fellow artists ranging from from Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía and the Thyssen Museum (Blanca and Borja Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection) in Madrid, to the ICA in Miami, and the collections of important fellow artists like Mark Grotjohn and Richard Prince. Playful in style, they are redolent of the exuberance and carefree qualities of childlike creativity and mark-making, and quasi-mythic in content, depicting scenes populated by strange, fictive, creatures. The hybrid double headed trophy beasts are a loving nod to Kerwick's two young sons Sonny and Milo who wanted to be in his paintings.

Kerwick released the first TRPT rug at Masterpiece Art Fair in 2022. The edition of ten plus two ap's promptly sold out save one artists proof, which we showed at the 2024 Eye of The Collector Fair. At the same time at Luke Irwin’s eponymous gallery in Pimlico Road five new editions were shown for the first time alongside one original Tiger Rug Painting.

For more information please email anna@vigogallery.com.