Lump Hammer is a new exhibition at Concrete Hermit in London. It's pretty grotesque! It also features some of our favourite artists right now, including James Unsworth and Andrew James Jones. We spoke to Mr James Jones, who is also curating the exhibition.

How did you come to choose these artists?

These are artists I have admired for some time who share a common outlook to my own within their artistic practice.

 

Are they your friends?

I would like to think we have become friends.


Guts for a Face by Andrew James Jones

 

There is a lot of horror on display here. How would you describe this kind of art? Is there a word for it?

I would say that the work on display would fall under the banner of the grotesque.

Destruction of the Collosus by James Unsworth

What is it about the grotesque that you like?

The grotesque is interesting in the way it clashes together the concepts of horror and humour within a single image or object, which, when successful, creates an unstable response within the viewer as they try to reconcile their reaction to these opposing elements.

Maple Syrup by Seth Scriver

Is this the sort of work people buy to adorn their walls? Do you expect to sell many of the pieces from this exhibition?

Through my personal experience it tends to be the people who are genuinely interested in art who tend to buy this kind of thing as something to engage with rather than match the curtains.

Nude by Kate Mcmorrine

Are you trying to shock?

I wouldn’t say so. Challenging imagery is used in the exhibition but I believe it serves a greater purpose than merely to shock.

Guttings by Dan Mudwig

If you could have your pick of any artist past or present, which works would you add to this exhibition?

These would be in my line up for a show of the grotesque through history:

Brueghel, Goya, William Hogarth, James Gillray, James Ensor, Otto Dix, Robert Crumb
Lump Hammer is at Concrete Hermit from 5 February, 6-9 at Concrete Hermit, Club Row, E1 6JX
(Near to Bethnal Green Road, Redchurch Street and Shoreditch High Street).