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Charles Avery
The Taile of the One-Armed Snake, Frans Halsstraat 26, Amsterdam (NL), Other locations, 29 February - 25 April 2020

Charles Avery: The Taile of the One-Armed Snake

Past exhibition
  • Works
  • Installation Views
  • Press
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  • Press release
  • Related content
Works
  • Charles Avery Untitled (Market Stand #5), 2019-2020 Charles Avery with Studio Barreda Stand with hand-blown glass animals in various containers approx: 92 x 260 x 110 cm | 36 1/4 x 102 3/8 x 43 1/4 in
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (Market Stand #5), 2019-2020
    Charles Avery with Studio Barreda
    Stand with hand-blown glass animals in various containers
    approx: 92 x 260 x 110 cm | 36 1/4 x 102 3/8 x 43 1/4 in
    Sold
  • Charles Avery Untitled (City Wall market scene), 2020 Pencil, acrylic, ink and watercolour on paper 220 x 350 cm | 86 5/8 x 137 3/4 in (unframed) 248.8 x 368 x 10.4 cm | 98 x 144 7/8 x 4 1/8 in (framed)
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (City Wall market scene), 2020
    Pencil, acrylic, ink and watercolour on paper
    220 x 350 cm | 86 5/8 x 137 3/4 in (unframed)
    248.8 x 368 x 10.4 cm | 98 x 144 7/8 x 4 1/8 in (framed)
  • Charles Avery Untitled (Market Stand #3), 2019-2020 Charles Avery with Studio Barreda Stand with hand-blown glass animals in various containers approx: 120 x 170 x 80 cm | 47 1/4 x 66 7/8 x 31 1/2 in
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (Market Stand #3), 2019-2020
    Charles Avery with Studio Barreda
    Stand with hand-blown glass animals in various containers
    approx: 120 x 170 x 80 cm | 47 1/4 x 66 7/8 x 31 1/2 in
    Sold
  • Charles Avery Untitled (Market Stand #6), 2019-2020 Charles Avery with Studio Barreda Stand with hand-blown glass animals in various containers approx: 125 x 160 x 85 cm | 49 1/4 x 63 x 33 1/2 in
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (Market Stand #6), 2019-2020
    Charles Avery with Studio Barreda
    Stand with hand-blown glass animals in various containers
    approx: 125 x 160 x 85 cm | 49 1/4 x 63 x 33 1/2 in
    Sold
  • Charles Avery Untitled (Market Stand #5), 2019-2020 Charles Avery with Studio Barreda Stand with hand-blown glass animals in various containers approx: 92 x 260 x 110 cm | 36 1/4 x 102 3/8 x 43 1/4 in
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (Market Stand #5), 2019-2020
    Charles Avery with Studio Barreda
    Stand with hand-blown glass animals in various containers
    approx: 92 x 260 x 110 cm | 36 1/4 x 102 3/8 x 43 1/4 in
    Sold
  • Charles Avery Untitled (Study for the Taile of the One-Armed Snake), 2020 Watercolour, gouache and acrylic on card 83.8 x 57.1 cm | 33 x 22 1/2 in (unframed) 90 x 63.6 x 4.3 cm | 35 3/8 x 25 1/8 x 1 3/4 in (framed)
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (Study for the Taile of the One-Armed Snake), 2020
    Watercolour, gouache and acrylic on card
    83.8 x 57.1 cm | 33 x 22 1/2 in (unframed)
    90 x 63.6 x 4.3 cm | 35 3/8 x 25 1/8 x 1 3/4 in (framed)
  • Charles Avery Untitled (Saltimbanques practicing underneath the arches), 2020 Pencil, ink, acrylic and watercolour mounted on linen, framed 114.1 x 83.8 cm | 44 7/8 x 33 in (unframed) 129.7 x 99.5 x 5.7 cm | 51 1/8 x 39 1/8 x 2 1/4 in (framed)
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (Saltimbanques practicing underneath the arches), 2020
    Pencil, ink, acrylic and watercolour mounted on linen, framed
    114.1 x 83.8 cm | 44 7/8 x 33 in (unframed)
    129.7 x 99.5 x 5.7 cm | 51 1/8 x 39 1/8 x 2 1/4 in (framed)
    Sold
  • Charles Avery Untitled (Red-headed girl with weak chin), 2018 Acrylic, ink and pencil on paper mounted on linen 72.5 x 50 cm | 28 1/2 x 19 3/4 in (unframed) 80.5 x 58.3 x 5.8 cm | 31 3/4 x 23 x 2 1/4 in (framed)
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (Red-headed girl with weak chin), 2018
    Acrylic, ink and pencil on paper mounted on linen
    72.5 x 50 cm | 28 1/2 x 19 3/4 in (unframed)
    80.5 x 58.3 x 5.8 cm | 31 3/4 x 23 x 2 1/4 in (framed)
  • Charles Avery Untitled (The gates of Onomatopoeia with landform in background), 2020 Pencil, acrylic and ink on board 121.8 x 162.8 cm | 48 x 64 1/8 in (unframed) 126.4 x 167.5 x 6.4 cm | 49 3/4 x 66 x 2 1/2 in (framed)
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (The gates of Onomatopoeia with landform in background), 2020
    Pencil, acrylic and ink on board
    121.8 x 162.8 cm | 48 x 64 1/8 in (unframed)
    126.4 x 167.5 x 6.4 cm | 49 3/4 x 66 x 2 1/2 in (framed)
    Sold
  • Charles Avery Untitled (Onomatopoeia Harbour Gate, West Tower, with Oarsman in foreground), 2018 Pencil, ink, acrylic and watercolour on paper 217 x 135 cm | 85 3/8 x 53 1/8 in (unframed) 232.5 x 150.8 x 7.4 cm | 91 1/2 x 59 3/8 x 2 7/8 in (framed)
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (Onomatopoeia Harbour Gate, West Tower, with Oarsman in foreground), 2018
    Pencil, ink, acrylic and watercolour on paper
    217 x 135 cm | 85 3/8 x 53 1/8 in (unframed)
    232.5 x 150.8 x 7.4 cm | 91 1/2 x 59 3/8 x 2 7/8 in (framed)
    Sold
  • Charles Avery Untitled (Design for a poster, assorted fruits), 2020 Watercolour, gouache and acrylic on card 83.7 x 57.1 cm | 33 x 22 1/2 in (unframed) 90 x 63.6 x 4.4 cm | 35 3/8 x 25 1/8 x 1 3/4 in (framed)
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (Design for a poster, assorted fruits), 2020
    Watercolour, gouache and acrylic on card
    83.7 x 57.1 cm | 33 x 22 1/2 in (unframed)
    90 x 63.6 x 4.4 cm | 35 3/8 x 25 1/8 x 1 3/4 in (framed)
    Sold
  • Charles Avery Untitled (Gatherers and Water carriers tending Crops), 2019 Pencil, Acrylic, Watercolour and Ink on paper 153 x 240 cm | 60 1/4 x 94 1/2 in (unframed) 169.3 x 256.5 x 8.3 cm | 66 5/8 x 101 x 3 1/4 in (framed)
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (Gatherers and Water carriers tending Crops), 2019
    Pencil, Acrylic, Watercolour and Ink on paper
    153 x 240 cm | 60 1/4 x 94 1/2 in (unframed)
    169.3 x 256.5 x 8.3 cm | 66 5/8 x 101 x 3 1/4 in (framed)
  • Charles Avery Untitled (Plan of fort, era of the Pentagon), 2020 Pencil, acrylic, ink and watercolour on board 122 x 110 cm | 48 1/8 x 43 1/4 in (unframed) 126.3 x 106 x 6.3 cm | 49 3/4 x 41 3/4 x 2 1/2 in (framed)
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (Plan of fort, era of the Pentagon), 2020
    Pencil, acrylic, ink and watercolour on board
    122 x 110 cm | 48 1/8 x 43 1/4 in (unframed)
    126.3 x 106 x 6.3 cm | 49 3/4 x 41 3/4 x 2 1/2 in (framed)
  • Charles Avery Untitled (Bowlers), 2018 Acrylic, ink and pencil on paper 78.3 x 106.1 cm | 30 7/8 x 41 3/4 in (unframed) 90.3 x 118.4 x 5.6 cm | 35 1/2 x 46 5/8 x 2 1/4 in (framed)
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (Bowlers), 2018
    Acrylic, ink and pencil on paper
    78.3 x 106.1 cm | 30 7/8 x 41 3/4 in (unframed)
    90.3 x 118.4 x 5.6 cm | 35 1/2 x 46 5/8 x 2 1/4 in (framed)
    Sold
  • Charles Avery Untitled (Dasein), 2010 Pencil, gouache on paper 85.4 x 57.5 cm | 33.6 x 22.6 inches (unframed) 92.7 x 62.9 x 4.2 cm | 36 1/2 x 24 3/4 x 1 5/8 in (framed)
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (Dasein), 2010
    Pencil, gouache on paper
    85.4 x 57.5 cm | 33.6 x 22.6 inches (unframed)
    92.7 x 62.9 x 4.2 cm | 36 1/2 x 24 3/4 x 1 5/8 in (framed)
  • Charles Avery Untitled (The Momentary Man Gang), 2017 Acrylic and pencil on paper, framed 72 x 54 cm | 28 3/8 x 21 1/4 in (unframed) 89.4 x 62.8 x 3.4 cm | 35 1/4 x 24 3/4 x 1 3/8 in (framed)
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (The Momentary Man Gang), 2017
    Acrylic and pencil on paper, framed
    72 x 54 cm | 28 3/8 x 21 1/4 in (unframed)
    89.4 x 62.8 x 3.4 cm | 35 1/4 x 24 3/4 x 1 3/8 in (framed)
  • Charles Avery Untitled (Axonometric view of concave station, Onomatopoeia City Wall), 2019 Pencil, acrylic, ink and watercolour on paper 99.7 x 69.5 cm | 39 1/4 x 27 3/8 in (unframed) 102.7 x 72.6 x 4.5 cm| 40 3/8 x 28 5/8 x 1 3/4 in (framed)
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (Axonometric view of concave station, Onomatopoeia City Wall), 2019
    Pencil, acrylic, ink and watercolour on paper
    99.7 x 69.5 cm | 39 1/4 x 27 3/8 in (unframed)
    102.7 x 72.6 x 4.5 cm| 40 3/8 x 28 5/8 x 1 3/4 in (framed)
  • Charles Avery Untitled (Drunk serenading Saltimbanques), 2020 Pencil, ink and acrylic mounted on linen on paper 67.5 x 99.5 cm | 26 5/8 x 39 1/8 in (unframed) 84 x 115.4 x 5.8 cm | 33 1/8 x 45 3/8 x 2 1/4 in (framed)
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (Drunk serenading Saltimbanques), 2020
    Pencil, ink and acrylic mounted on linen on paper
    67.5 x 99.5 cm | 26 5/8 x 39 1/8 in (unframed)
    84 x 115.4 x 5.8 cm | 33 1/8 x 45 3/8 x 2 1/4 in (framed)
    Sold
  • Charles Avery Untitled (Che Sara Sara Sara), 2019 Lithograph on 315gsm paper 83.7 x 57.1 cm | 33 x 22 1/2 in (unframed) 90 x 63.6 x 4.2 cm | 35 3/8 x 25 1/8 x 1 5/8 in (framed)
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (Che Sara Sara Sara), 2019
    Lithograph on 315gsm paper
    83.7 x 57.1 cm | 33 x 22 1/2 in (unframed)
    90 x 63.6 x 4.2 cm | 35 3/8 x 25 1/8 x 1 5/8 in (framed)
    £ 500.00
  • Charles Avery Untitled (Cyclism), 2010 Lithograph on paper 83.7 x 57.1 cm | 33 x 22 1/2 in (unframed) 90 x 63.6 x 4.2 cm | 35 3/8 x 25 1/8 x 1 5/8 in (framed)
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (Cyclism), 2010
    Lithograph on paper
    83.7 x 57.1 cm | 33 x 22 1/2 in (unframed)
    90 x 63.6 x 4.2 cm | 35 3/8 x 25 1/8 x 1 5/8 in (framed)
    £ 400.00
  • Charles Avery Untitled (Looks like a unicorn smells like a unicorn...), 2016 Lithograph on 315 gsm paper 83.7 x 57.1 cm | 33 x 22 1/2 in (unframed) 90 x 63.6 x 4.2 cm | 35 3/8 x 25 1/8 x 1 5/8 in (framed)
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (Looks like a unicorn smells like a unicorn...), 2016
    Lithograph on 315 gsm paper
    83.7 x 57.1 cm | 33 x 22 1/2 in (unframed)
    90 x 63.6 x 4.2 cm | 35 3/8 x 25 1/8 x 1 5/8 in (framed)
    £ 500.00
  • Charles Avery Untitled (What’s so great about Happiness?), 2014 Screen print on 315gsm paper, unframed 83.7 x 57.1 cm | 33 x 22 1/2 in (unframed) 90 x 63.6 x 4.2 cm | 35 3/8 x 25 1/8 x 1 5/8 in (framed)
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (What’s so great about Happiness?), 2014
    Screen print on 315gsm paper, unframed
    83.7 x 57.1 cm | 33 x 22 1/2 in (unframed)
    90 x 63.6 x 4.2 cm | 35 3/8 x 25 1/8 x 1 5/8 in (framed)
    £ 600.00
  • Charles Avery Untitled (The Square Circle), 2016 Six colour screen print with gold leaf onto Dreadnought grey 83.7 x 57.1 cm | 33 x 22 1/2 in (unframed) 90 x 63.6 x 4.2 cm | 35 3/8 x 25 1/8 x 1 5/8 in (framed)
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (The Square Circle), 2016
    Six colour screen print with gold leaf onto Dreadnought grey
    83.7 x 57.1 cm | 33 x 22 1/2 in (unframed)
    90 x 63.6 x 4.2 cm | 35 3/8 x 25 1/8 x 1 5/8 in (framed)
    £ 650.00
  • Charles Avery Untitled (Hunting the Noumenon), 2019 Screenprint on paper 83.7 x 57.1 cm | 33 x 22 1/2 in (unframed) 90 x 63.6 x 4.2 cm | 35 3/8 x 25 1/8 x 1 5/8 in (framed)
    Charles Avery
    Untitled (Hunting the Noumenon), 2019
    Screenprint on paper
    83.7 x 57.1 cm | 33 x 22 1/2 in (unframed)
    90 x 63.6 x 4.2 cm | 35 3/8 x 25 1/8 x 1 5/8 in (framed)
    £ 600.00
Installation Views
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 4
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 2
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 1
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 5
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 3
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 16 Edit
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 14
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 8
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 11
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 12
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 10
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 9
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 7
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 13
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 17 Edit
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 6
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 17
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 16
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 15 Edit
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 10 Edit
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 15
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 20
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 19
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 21
  • Charles Avery The Taile Of The One Armed Snake 2020 Installation View 22
Press
  • Charles Avery, Untitled (City wall market scene). Beeld Natascha Libbert

    Het universum van Charles Avery is vreemd en klopt toch (in Dutch)

    Anna van Leeuwen, de Volkskrant, March 26, 2020
  • Lavinia Greenlaw meets Charles Avery

    BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 4, March 11, 2020
News
  • BBC 4: Only Artists with Charles Avery

    BBC 4: Only Artists with Charles Avery

    Conversation between two creatives Read more
Press release
Charles Avery, The Taile of the One-Armed Snake
View works

GRIMM is proud to announce The Taile of the One-Armed Snake, a new solo exhibition by Charles Avery at GRIMM in Amsterdam.

Since 2005, Charles Avery’s work has focused on a fictional island: an all-encompassing investigation of the fabric and mentality of another place. Through drawings, texts and objects the artist describes the inhabitants, architecture, philosophies, customs and idiosyncrasies of this imaginary territory.

With accents of the Scottish Hebrides and East London, the Island is located at the centre of an archipelago of innumerable constituents. The gateway to the Island is the port of Onomatopoeia, once the stepping off point of the pioneers who first arrived, turned colonial outpost, turned boom town, bustling metropolis, depression ravaged slum, and regenerated city of culture and ultimately tourist destination. It has many stories, played out within the limits of a monumental city wall that separates the dark and violent wilderness beyond.

The title of the show, The Taile of the One-Armed Snake, takes its name from a bill pasted on the wall, under the porticos, where a market takes place by day. The poster is surmounted upon layers of other notices, stuck up, torn down, peeled off : signs to and remnants of the Islanders’ cultural activity.

Several large and medium scale drawings provide a textural insight into life in, on, around and beyond the city wall: from the bustling society of the market to a lonely oarsman bringing wood by boat to fire the twin lighthouses forming the sea-facing gate of Onomatopoeia. Cultivators tend to their crops outside a Utopian fort, a satellite of the cityproper. The attractive red-headed student with the weak chin muses in a cafe. Saltimbanques practice beneath the arches, whilst beasts devour scraps left over from the market.

These scenes of Island life are offset by isometric projections and plans of the City wall and the fort, giving us a god’s eye view of the constructions and the rigorous mathematics that underpins many of their systems.

The centrepiece of the show is a large glass installation of multiple parts: a section of a fish market, with all manner of re-purposed container used to display various species. Immediately familiar, under closer inspection the creatures can be seen to embody various geometries: the hexagon, the tetrahedron, the pentagon. Predominantly on offer on the stalls are the ‘ninth’, the sacred mainstay of the Islanders’ diet and economy: dog-faced eels of all different colours and girths. Described by Avery as ‘muscly lines with faces’ they represent the simplest form, primitive beings of pure, directional will.

The Taile of the One-Armed Snake is a multitude of stories, ideas, and percepts interwoven to create the rich fabric of the Island.

Download press release
Related content
  • BBC 4: Only Artists with Charles Avery News

    BBC 4: Only Artists with Charles Avery

    Conversation between two creatives Apr 1, 2020
    The writer Lavinia Greenlaw meets the artist Charles Avery
    Read more
  • Het universum van Charles Avery is vreemd en klopt toch (in Dutch) Press

    Het universum van Charles Avery is vreemd en klopt toch (in Dutch)

    de Volkskrant Mar 26, 2020
    Read more
  • Lavinia Greenlaw meets Charles Avery Press

    Lavinia Greenlaw meets Charles Avery

    BBC Radio 4 Mar 11, 2020
    Read more

Related artist

  • Charles Avery

    Charles Avery

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Van Baerlestraat 80

1071 BB, Amsterdam

The Netherlands

Keizersgracht 241

1016 AE, Amsterdam

The Netherlands

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New York, 10013 NY

United States

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