The Apartment is pleased to announce The New Lexicon, a group exhibition of new work by four artists who are intrigued by the rules, deficiencies and possibilities of language. The opening of the exhibition is on Wednesday, September 19 from 8 to 10 pm.

Christina Mitrense's sculptures and works on paper re-create the quasi-scientific truth expressed in science books. In an incessant reference to metaphor, which defines the significations of natural occurrences within everyday life, Mitrentse's work proposes the deconstruction of our conceptual mechanisms . By re-contextualizing groups of objects and by recreating imagery from books, Mitrense disrupts conventional readings, suggesting poetic ensembles ranging from the personal to the universal (in terms of how data is circulated in a number of institutions such as school, library, academia, gallery, museum) .

Jonathan Callan uses books as the main source for his sculpture. Apart from being reflections on process and materiality, his works demonstrate an uneasy attempt to defy the book of its original function. By using silicon or abrasive tools to manipulate the surface or by screwing layer upon layer, Callan neutralizes the book's origins and gives way to new forms and associations. In this exhibition, he is presenting a beautiful yet disquieting piece which originates from a text book read by young boys in summer camps in Germany- an oblique introduction to Nazi propaganda.

The links between image and (life)style that construct meaning and offer models for living are central in the understanding of Sotiris Panousakis' work. Taking everyday commercial signs as starting points, Panousakis' deconstructs the language of commercial signange and removes it from the original context. He then invests this same rhetoric of consumption and allure into the language of painting. His paintings invigorate the abstract conceptual tradition with a contemporary significance.

Babak Ghazi examines the production of meaning in late capitalist societies, where identity is expressed through consumption of goods and lifestyle choices, largely guided by the market forces that use language as an operational tool. Much of Ghazi's work takes inspiration from the cultural icons of the 80s as well as from fashion and style magazines of that era, such as The FACE and Blitz that were instrumental in championing them as ‘alternative' cultural models/ products. Ghazi questions the rhetoric that is used to promote ideas, styles and goods, and wonders on the power that people have to escape this ‘liberal totalitarianism'.

Jonathan Callan (b. 1961, UK) had a mid-career retrospective in Britain in 2003 at the New Art Gallery, Walsall, UK (catalogue and tour). Recent museum exhibitions include The Mattress Factory Museum, Pittsburg, USA (solo, 2005/6), Greek State Museum of Contemporary Art and Vassar College of Art, New York, USA (2006). Upcoming exhibitions include BearSpace, London and The Cincinatti Contemporary Art Centre, USA. His work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, The British Museum, London, The Henry Moore Foundation, Leeds, the JP Morgan Chase Bank and many others.

Babak Ghazi (b. 1976, UK) has recently held one-person exhibitions at Chez Valentin, Paris and the Whitechapel Project Space, London. His work was also included in Anachronism (catalogue) curated by Elena Filipovic at Argos, Brussels (2007) and YAMA, Istanbul (2007). His work has been both featured and reviewed in art publications including Untitled and frieze.

Christina Mitrentse (b.1976, GR/UK) ‘s work was included in ‘An Outing: The Beltsios Collection, Contemporary Art in Greece in the 21 st Century', Trikala, GR (2006) Most recently, she has exhibited at gallery:space, and currently shows work at Primo Alonso Gallery, London. She has an upcoming solo public art project in Woolwich, South London (spring 2008), sponsored by the Woolwich Regeneration Agency.

Sotiris Panousakis (b. 1969, GR) has recently had a solo exhibition at Marksman Gallery in Reading, UK (2007). A catalogue on his work will be available in early 2008. To order a copy, please contact the gallery.

For more information, please contact the gallery.