amuse bouche at the two jonnys

20/05/2009 by Karen Ay.

Mike Goddard, Not Quite Sunset

AMUSE BOUCHE a two Jonnys taster
23 May – 27 June 2009
Private view Friday 22 May 6.30 – 9pm
The Two Jonnys
191-205 Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green
(Entrance at rear on Buckhurst Street)

Giulia Ricci — James Balmforth — Jo Addison — Leo Fitzmaurice — Robert Filby — Ruairiadh O’Connell
Commissions by / Mike Goddard (flyer edition) & Andrew Marsh (text)

The Two Jonnys are extremely pleased to present AMUSE BOUCHE a two Jonnys taster, a sampler show setting the scene for the spaces future ideas and artistic predilections - a concise group showing of six emerging artists at the Two Jonnys project space in Bethnal Green

Amuse Bouche
Amuse Bouche is an intriguing title for a first show in a newly launched project space. On one hand it carries with it an air of sophistication; with its origins in Nouvelle Cuisine the name represents a small signature hors d’oeuvre served, not from the menu, but by the chef’s selection alone. On the other hand an Amuse Bouche is not a dish, it does not even count as a course and is in many ways a culinary trivial aside from the main meal (the direct translation being an amusement for the mouth).

In many ways this is the perfect title for The Two Jonnys’ first show. In recent years the term project space has been increasingly overused, and until recently, with the art worlds increasing commercialisation, these ‘project spaces’ have merely become gallery extensions exhibiting highly finished works in glossily curated shows. On the contrary Amuse Bouche is not polished. It is faithful to what a project space should be in that it is a space in which ideas are explored and tested, without necessarily knowing what the finished outcome might be. The selected works in this exhibition are a form of research made visual, an on-going investigation into how these works interact both conceptually and visually, not only with each other but also within the space they inhabit. In the same way as an Amuse Bouche the combination of the selected artworks in this exhibition produces a unique juxtaposition of artists who reflect this process of investigatory, research-based practice.

So, while, as with its namesake this show may at first seem a trivial aside it retains at its core a very sophisticated taste of the artists and shows to come.
- Andrew Marsh

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