Matt's Gallery

Print information
The print Capitaine Can-Can, 2007 was developed from a series of paintings produced during my research at the Moulin Rouge. It explores the female performer and focuses on a single moment when 14 Can-Can dancers enter the stage pausing briefly before beginning their routine of spectacle. Capitaine Can Can, 2007 continues to look at Showgirl, identity and persona through aspects of the spectacle and decorative motif.

Biography
Jo Bruton (b. Littlehampton, England 1967) lives and works in London. Bruton studied BA Fine Art at Exeter College of Art & Design, Plymouth University in 1986-1989 and went on to complete an MA Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art & Design, University of the Arts, London 1993-4. She went on to receive a Stanley Picker Fellowship at Kingston University in 1994-1995 and a Fellowship in Painting from Winchester School of Art in 1996-1997, where she has taught since 1998; in addition Bruton is an associate lecturer at Chelsea College of Art & Design, London. Her paintings are predominantly large scale and work within the context of an installation, and are constructed in stages using gesso, acrylic paint and light reflective materials, which are layered onto an embossed collaged surface. A constructed light source illuminates, disrupts and engages the viewer in the act of looking from the immediacy of the motif to the detail and construction beyond the painting itself. Recent work has focused on exploring the female performer using the process of painting as a way of developing a narrative that investigates both the immediate and physical qualities of the surface with a particular theatrical subject matter. The showgirl, identity and persona adopted are central to her concerns where she looks at aspects of the spectacle and decorative motif. Recent solo exhibitions include Walk Slowly Towards the Light at Matt’s Gallery, London 2002 and Capitaine Can-Can at the Sadlers Wells, London 2006. Selected group shows include Please at 291 Gallery, London, 2000, Warped: Painting and the feminine at Angel Row Gallery, Nottingham and Inside Space, London 2001, Pattern Crazy Crafts Council, London 2002, Golden Highway, an exhibition and residency at Raid Projects, Los Angeles, ArtSchool at Bloomberg Space, London 2004, Variety at the De La Warr Pavilion, 2005.
Jo Bruton is represented by Matt’s Gallery, London.

Return to top

Return to print details

Jo Bruton \| Capitaine Can Can, 2007
	Print information The print Capitaine Can-Can, 2007 was developed from a series of paintings produced during my research at the Moulin Rouge. It explores the female performer and focuses on a single moment when 14 Can-Can dancers enter the stage pausing briefly before beginning their routine of spectacle. Capitaine Can Can, 2007 continues to look at Showgirl, identity and persona through aspects of the spectacle and decorative motif. Biography Jo Bruton (b. Littlehampton, England 1967) lives and works in London. Bruton studied BA Fine Art at Exeter College of Art & Design, Plymouth University in 1986-1989 and went on to complete an MA Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art & Design, University of the Arts, London 1993-4. She went on to receive a Stanley Picker Fellowship at Kingston University in 1994-1995 and a Fellowship in Painting from Winchester School of Art in 1996-1997, where she has taught since 1998; in addition Bruton is an associate lecturer at Chelsea College of Art & Design, London. Her paintings are predominantly large scale and work within the context of an installation, and are constructed in stages using gesso, acrylic paint and light reflective materials, which are layered onto an embossed collaged surface. A constructed light source illuminates, disrupts and engages the viewer in the act of looking from the immediacy of the motif to the detail and construction beyond the painting itself. Recent work has focused on exploring the female performer using the process of painting as a way of developing a narrative that investigates both the immediate and physical qualities of the surface with a particular theatrical subject matter. The showgirl, identity and persona adopted are central to her concerns where she looks at aspects of the spectacle and decorative motif. Recent solo exhibitions include Walk Slowly Towards the Light at Matt’s Gallery, London 2002 and Capitaine Can-Can at the Sadlers Wells, London 2006. Selected group shows include Please at 291 Gallery, London, 2000, Warped: Painting and the feminine at Angel Row Gallery, Nottingham and Inside Space, London 2001, Pattern Crazy Crafts Council, London 2002, Golden Highway, an exhibition and residency at Raid Projects, Los Angeles, ArtSchool at Bloomberg Space, London 2004, Variety at the De La Warr Pavilion, 2005. Jo Bruton is represented by Matt’s Gallery, London. Return to top Return to print details