Envoy enterprises is pleased to announce Almond, the gallery’s second solo exhibition with Belgian artist Johan Tahon.

Presenting a brand new body of work created in the past year, the figurative sculptures in the exhibition are made from glazed ceramic and explore the vulnerability of the human body as it s appears to be turned inside -out. Various in scale and mostly white with some subtle touches of colored glaze, the works are presented either directly on the floor or on raw, unpainted pedestals. The interplay of glazed and raw surfaces confront the viewer with the thin line between beauty and deformation.

Speaking about the work the artist formulates: “At the foundation of my sculptures lies a painful but everlasting desire. The sculptures originate from an existential experience of pain, of sudden solitude, an unceasing feeling of want, an eternal void that can never be completely filled.”

Johan Tahon was born in 1965 in Menen, Belgium. He completed his studies in sSculpture at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent. He lives and works in the region around Oudenaarde, Belgium.
Recent solo exhibitions include Museum of Ceramics, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands (2013); 13th Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, Turkey (2013); White Archè, The Özlüce Cultural House, Nilüfer, Bursa, Turkey (2013); Johan Tahon - The Liminal Act, de Nederlandsche Bank, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (2010).

Recent group projects include Unlimited Bodies (with Edward Lipski, Don Brown, Tony Oursler), Palais d'Iéna, Paris, France (2012); Figuurlijk (with Marlène Dumas, Thom Puckey, Anne Wenzel), Museum Hilversum, The Netherlands (2012); ;  Sint-Jan, curated by Jan Hoet (with Dirk Braeckman, David Claerbout, Thierry De Cordier, Damien Hirst), Saint-Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium (2012); Mooi, over de kwetsbare schoonheid (with Jan Fabre, David Claerbout, Wim Delvoye.), a RASA initiative, on different locations in Belgium (2010); Against Nature. The hybrid forms of modern European sculpture, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, UK (2008).

Tahon's work is included in collections including those of thethe following collections: Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst (SMAK) in Ghent, the Museum of Contemporary Art (Muhka) in Antwerp, the Stedelijk Museum of Amsterdam, the GEM in The Hague, the Beelden aan Zee Museum in Scheveningen, The Netherlands and the Museum an Dom in Würzburg, Germany.