About the work

Jean Desert was a design gallery opened by Eileen Gray in Paris, in May 1922. She drew a simple grid on the exterior of the building with chequered black and white panels re-emphasising the geometry of the elevation. I have used this title to reflect the minimalist gesture of the two cut-out shapes moving across the ink painted, linen surface. The cut-outs were created by hand – the first cut-out was used as a stencil to create the second one, which creates a mirroring and doubling effect in the work.

Date and country of birth

1972, IE

About the artist

Born 1972 Galway, Laura Gannon lives and works in London.  Graduated from BFA Belfast School of Art, University of Ulster (1994); and MFA Goldsmiths, University of London (2003). 

Gannon's work oscillates between drawing, sculpture, painting and film. Recent works include abstract drawings made with metallic ink on linen. The linen has been subjected to multiple processes to reveal its corporeality: folding, bending, and wrinkling suggesting their raw physicality and directness. Her artwork titles are chosen from female literary and architectural references. She uses the titles of short stories and the names of architects, embedding the works with the possibility of narrative and architectural scale. Gannon's films mark a parallel to her sculptural drawings with their articulation of temporality, light, space and the act of looking – intimate portraits of distinctive architectural buildings.

Her works are held in public and private collections including British Government Art Collection U.K, Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, Kadist Foundation Paris, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and Arts Council Ireland.

Selected solo exhibitions include VISUAL, Carlow, Ireland (2019-20); Kate MacGarry, London (2018); Espace Croisé – Centre d’Art Contemporain, Roubaix (2016); and Silver House, Uillinn West Cork Arts Centre, Uillinn (2015). Selected group exhibitions include Andersen’s Contemporary, Copenhagen (2018), Show Window, Kate MacGarry, London (2016); Folly: Art After Architecture, Glucksman Gallery, Cork (2014); A House of Leaves, David Roberts Art Foundation, London (2013); and Into the Light, Arts Council Collection Exhibition, The Model, Sligo (2012).

Residencies include Launchpad LaB, France (2021); Untapped, Rapallo, Italy (2018); and Tate Britain (2014-15).