Not that we need another reason to visit the white isle, but if we did then the burgeoning arts and culture scene is it. Nestled in the cute neighborhoods of the North, Gathering has opened a double-height gallery as a sister to their London space. Envisioned by Alex Flick, the gallery boasts an admirable bar and restaurant in the courtyard with artworks installed, including artist Tai Shani’s festoon of breasts hanging above the bar.

Harminder Judge’s vibrant pieces are the solo exhibition hosted within the chic gallery through December.

For Cliff and Cleft, the large plaster wall works act as mesmeric portals and echo the palette and natural forms of the island. This follows A Ghost Dance, a monochrome dual exhibition at Matt’s Gallery and the Sunday Painter in London which drew upon traditional funeral rites and spiritual processions. Ibiza, a site of spiritual pilgrimage for some visiting Es Vedra and others for the resonance of DC10, adds layer of meaning to Judge’s transcendent reflections and ritual processes.

To make the works, he applies primary pigments to wet plaster in a controlled chance mechanism, with a practiced hand still leaving space for serendipity. He then polishes the works so they gleam and glow. In this carefully considered hang, the works have conversations between themselves – one imagines as a whispering between realms. Embracing the ineffable, these works are more then the sum of their parts and some third place is conjured beyond the picture plane, or sculptural surface.

Untitled (rock risen cleft cliff) covers the custom poured floor of the top mezzanine level . It appears as a natural form, echoing the Balaeric landscape and natural portals of the island. It is at once organic and inanimate and bodily.

If heading to the island in winter isn’t your thing, keep an eye out for Judge as his star continues to rise, and add Gathering to the group chat for the 2025 season.

‘Harminder Judge: Cliff and Cleft’ Gathering, Ibiza,
28 Sep – 22 Dec 2024.
Courtesy of Gathering.

Tags: exhibition, Harminder Judge, Ibiza, Painting