Introducing Patrick Altes’ new exhibition: Tolerance | At Gerald Moore Gallery

Patrick Altes, Tolerance
Gerald Moore Gallery, London SE9 4RW

Tolerance, a major new exhibition by Patrick Altes, confronts negative cultural stereotypes and advocates acceptance and respect in times of angst, division and separatism.

Patrick Altes was born in colonised Algeria and has lived in many countries – including South Africa under the apartheid regime – before settling in England in 2006. His work is deeply informed by his own personal history of diasporic experiences, and these have defined his identity and fuelled his artistic exploration.

Altes has created several installation pieces for Tolerance, as well as new digital collages, posters and paintings, and many of his recent works involve the layering process which has become a hallmark of his work.

A leading light in the emerging Franco-Algerian art movement, Altes’ first-hand experience of unjust, brutal and discriminatory societies has driven his desire for the politically, socially and humanly acceptable – and these concerns are visible in all his works. The harrowing circumstances which accompany the perilous journeys to Europe and Britain undertaken by migrants colour the issues of migration and resettlement.

The exhibition curated by Middle Eastern Art specialist Janet Rady and supported by the Arts Council and the United Nations will be supplemented by outreach and public engagement activities. These events will encourage school pupils, students and members of the public to reflect on our values and ideas – bringing concepts such as the rule of law, diversity, democracy and individual liberty into a conversation.

Karim Sergoua, Curator, Third Mediterranean Biennale of Contemporary Art of Oran says, ‘From the outset, Patrick Altes strikes you with his empathy, his intelligence, his creativity, as well as his artistic proficiency. His engagement with memory takes its roots in his early life in North Africa and has influenced a complex visual language that powerfully serves its purpose. His current creations elicit strong powerful sweeping emotions in the viewer’.

Collateral Damage
2004
Mixed media on canvas
80 x 120cm
Price: £4,500

View Patrick Altes’ video on the exhibition, Tolerance

November 20 2019 – January 25 2020

Gerald Moore Gallery, Mottingham Lane, London SE9 4RW | www.geraldmooregallery.org

Tuesdays: 4-7pm | Saturdays: 10am-4pm | By appointment

www.patrickaltes.com