art blog since 2009
Exhibition: Modern Times, De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea, until June 13 2010 Somewhere between art and architecture sits a drawing by minimalist sculptor Fred Sandbeck. His pencil and chalk plan for a Zurich gallery construction hovers in mid air, reminding us of the Utopian potential of pictorial space. The architectural role of this work would …
April 24, 2010
Exhibition: Shuruq Harb – A Book of Signatures, Ikon, Birmingham, until May 16 2010 Mohammed is not a name like any other. Moreso than say, John, it is also a religious label. In secular or non-muslim societies it has the potential to stigmatise its bearer. But in Shuruq Harb’s homeland, Palestine, more than 250,000 men …
April 17, 2010
Exhibition: Tony Bevan, New painting installation, De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea, until June 13 2010 Monumental painting can be a serious business. It brings to mind thickly laid on paint with an often spiritual dimension laid on just as thick. Tony Bevan’s installation at De La Warr Pavilion, on the other hand, is of the …
April 15, 2010
The steel and concrete fixtures of a contemporary art gallery ring with the ancient call of a town crier. He cuts an incongruous figure, in tailcoat, top hat and gold brocade. “Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Please support Towner’s entry in the Art Fund Prize by putting an entry on the computer.” It is …
April 15, 2010
Museums at Night is a nationwide campaign running the weekend of May 14-16, organised by Culture24. Here are my picks of the best after-hours activities in the world of contemporary art: Light Night at the Bluecoat, the Bluecoat, Liverpool, Friday May 14 Local musicians with world influences bring rhythms of the night to Bluecoat. Sit …
April 15, 2010
Exhibition: A Certain Distance, Endless Light – A Project by Felix Gonzalez-Torres and William McKeown, MIMA, Middlesbrough, until July 4 2010 Energy is the theme of the North-East’s 10th AV Festival and the inclusion of Felix-Gonzalez-Torres looks like a no-brainer. Some of the Cuban-born artist’s best known works feature lightbulbs on string and six of …
April 8, 2010
Exhibition: Helen Frik – Difficult, Chapter, Cardiff, until May 9 2010 Most art shows demand just time and attention. This one put out an urgent appeal for homemade soft toys. Along with the usual mental graft, it required considerable craft. Many snips and stitches later, these objects can be enjoyed with childlike wonder. Helen Frik …
April 7, 2010
Introducing a new section of the blog in which I collate comments overheard while in galleries. Part One: Miroslaw Balka – How It Is. Description: a vast metal crate which you can walk inside and experience near total darkness. “That is so freaky.” “It’s really weird. Go out there and walk back in again.” “I …
April 7, 2010
Painting merges with sculpture, sculpture merges with sound, and sound merges with light this month – in a UK-wide guide to the best of contemporary art written for Culture24. Brian Eno – 77 Million Paintings, Fabrica, Brighton Religion was never so chilled out. Brian Eno offers a slow-changing digital stained glass window and soporific ambient music …
April 7, 2010
Exhibition: Ron Terada – Who I Think I Am, Ikon, Birmingham, until May 16 2010 A brief digression on Vancouver may be needed. Thanks to a generation of artists that includes Jeff Wall, the third largest city in Canada has become an unlikely art world capital. So Ron Terada has emerged from a local scene …
April 2, 2010