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Ori Gersht: Afterglow24 May-26 August 2002 Supported by the Patrons of New Art Journeys, both literal and metaphorical, are an important element of Ori Gersht's art and his recent work has developed through a series of trips made to places of significant historical interest to him. The photographs presented in this exhibition, shown for the first time in Britain, were taken in the Judea desert, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. This land has been in dispute for thousands of years, and is still the cause of continuing conflict. Yet in Gersht's photographs there is little physical trace of the historic claims to this land - the only evidence of human life is a few tyre tracks. It is this discrepancy between notions of the history of a place and its reality that fascinates the artist. Neither Black nor White is a new video work, shot from the Jewish quarter of Nazaret looking down on the Arabic village Iksal. The camera recorded half a second of footage every thirty seconds reducing a shooting period of eight hours to eight minutes of film. Shot overnight, the urban scene is unrecognisable, resembling a star constellation more than a cityscape. As the dawn breaks, the city gradually emerges before disappearing again, as the image is bleached out by the intensity of the rising sun. The exhibition was curated by Katharine Stout Matt Franks: transcendent plastic infiniteSupported by the Patrons of New Art In his work transcendent plastic infinite, Franks inverts traditional floor-based sculpture by placing it on the ceiling. In doing so he parodies the key moment in British sculpture of the 1960s when Anthony Caro rejected the use of the plinth, and placed his sculptures directly on the floor. At the same time Franks's installation refers to work by more distant figures in art history, including the great Italian Baroque sculptor Bernini. Seemingly opposite elements are fused: Baroque excess and theatricality are set against modernist purity. Franks also alludes to the imagery of cartoons such as The Brothers Grunt. The humour of these cartoon motifs undercuts the serious ideals of modernism, comprehensively sending it up. The exhibition was curated by Tim Batchelor. Zarina Bhimji: Out of Blue1 March - 5 May 2003 Supported by the Patrons of New Art The opening scenes of Zarina Bhimji's Out of Blue revealed the breathtaking landscape of Uganda. However, almost immediately this luscious vista was disturbed by the murmur of voices and the crackle of flames. The film showed various places which suggest elimination, extermination and erasure. Many Asian and African residents were expelled from Uganda by General Idi Amin on 9 August 1972, events which provided a background for Out of Blue. They are also part of the history of this country, since many of them came to Britain in the early 1970s to start a new life. Out of Blue can be seen within the tradition of British landscape painting, as it captured the mood and historical significance of a place through representations of the countryside. The intense and atmospheric soundtrack included the natural sounds of birds, fire, and echoes from the buildings filmed. Out of Blue was commissioned for the exhibition Documenta 11, held in Kassel, Germany, in 2002. It was shown here for the first time in the UK. The exhibition was curated by Katharine Stout. Mark Titchner: BE ANGRY BUT DON'T STOP BREATHING17 May - 6 July 2003 Supported by the Patrons of New Art Mark Titchner presented BE ANGRY BUT DON'T STOP BREATHING, a hybrid installation continuing the artist's interest in the ways in which once avant-garde ideologies gradually become assimilated into mainstream culture. Through sculpture and text-based works Titchner conflates the ideas of a number of cult theorists whose work occupies the margins of popular thought: Wilheim Reich, psychiatrist and pioneer of Orgone energy, Arthur Janov, pioneer of Primal Therapy, Hans Jenny, natural scientist and inventor of Cymatics, and Emmanuel Swedenborg, philosopher and theologian. Titchner invited visitors to shout into one of the six arms protruding from his hand-carved sculpture at the centre of the gallery and watch as their screams become manifest as vibrations in an adjacent pool of liquid A series of printed banners provided a backdrop to the sculpture incorporating philosophical proclamations from a variety of sources that are earnestly suggestive of spiritual redemption. Here, Titchner attempted to conflate the experimental forum of the laboratory with the devotional space of the cathedral. The exhibition was curated by Lizzie Carey-Thomas. Roger Hirons: Vauxhall7 June - 31 August 2003 Supported by the Patrons of New Art Vauxhall was the first Art Now project to be shown at Tate Britain's outdoor Sculpture Court. It combined two basic elements that are materially very different: a steel grating set in the pavement and a flame. Gratings are part of our everyday life which we rarely notice. This one sat naturally with the structure of the Sculpture Court; it might almost have always been there, except for the fact that it sat incongruously in the centre, where a drain would never actually be placed, and at a very slightly awkward angle. But instead of water running through it, a flame rose from the drain, subverting its normal function and disrupting the safe and ordered space in which it sat. The fire is unpredictable and dangerous, in total contrast to the apparently highly ordered nature of its surroundings. Like many of Hirons's sculptures, Vauxhall looked both functional and totally alien; we could not fit it into our ordered world of objects that have a place and a purpose. The exhibition was curated by Carolyn Kerr. David Musgrave19 July - 7 September 2003 Supported by the Patrons of New Art Using a variety of media, Musgrave used this presentation to develop his interest in the human figure, pushing his strange, yet compelling representations of the human form to the point of illegibility. His works are often based on an unexhibited original, which is then enlarged and translated into entirely different material, exploring art as both representation and as process. This practice was succinctly demonstrated by the floor sculpture Paper golem which formed part of his Art Now installation. It began as torn pieces of paper, which were then moved around until they suggested a recognisable figure. They were then translated into painted aluminium which was presented on the floor of the space. A large wall painting also echoed the human form, this time as if constructed from torn tape. The exhibition was curated by Katharine Stout. Lucy McKenzie - MMIV20 September - 9 November 2003 Supported by the Patrons of New Art McKenzie's art practice is multi-disciplinary and she finds inspiration in a diversity of sources, mixing high art and popular culture, creating events as well as exhibitions. As part of her Art Now project MMIV, McKenzie presented a new film showing edited footage of her live performance with Polish artist Paula Olowska. In this, they played caricatured roles of working women: an architect and an artist. A key theme of the performance was the manipulation of reality, and this idea is enhanced by its presentation as a film, with an atmospheric soundtrack by composer Marcin Dutka. A handmade silkscreen year-planner for 2004, shown alongside linoprints and drawings of Glasgow's cityscape, continued to evoke the notion of the artist as cultural worker. McKenzie is interested in aspects of socially-engaged art and wished to explore the role of charity in Britain, and in capitalist society in general. Considering her own position as an artist and feminist, McKenzie has also used this ArtNow to focus attention on the activities of the Warsaw based charity La Strada, whose aim is to combat the trafficking of women from East to Western Europe, where they are forced into prostitution. Art Now LightboxArtists' film and video programme Supported by the Patrons of New Art Art Now Lightbox was a new initiative which focused on artists' film
and video. The programme, in what will be a continuing series, presented
a selection of new works which were screened in the new gallery adjacent
to the Manton Entrance at Tate Britain. The programme showed a cross-section
of work by artists living and working in Britain, presenting new films,
and pieces that had not previously been shown in London. The programme
was selected by Lizzie Carey Thomas, Mary Horlock, Gregor Muir and Katharine
Stout and consisted of the following:
Ian Kiaer22 November 2003 - 25 January 2004 Supported by the Patrons of New Art Ian Kiaer makes carefully constructed assemblages in which he combines found objects, architectural models, paintings and drawings to form poetic narratives. The humble nature of the materials contrasts directly with the epic subjects they evoke: a block of polystyrene represents a snow-covered sweep of land, an upturned plastic waste bin stands in for a cliff face, while a painted backdrop lends depth and context to the setting. His forms derive from research into the idealistic visions of eccentric historical figures, whether architect, poet or artist, who were united in their desire for retreat away from the dominant ideologies of their day, or concerned with reconciling the relationship between man and nature. For Art Now, Kiaer brought together both new and existing works to explore the relationship between the landscape paintings of Brueghel and the working spaces of the philosopher Wittgenstein. Tentative connections were weaved through the works: the desire to view the world from a remote position and the importance of the workplace or studio within the landscape. However, rather than illustrate specific narratives, Kiaer created a dialogue between disparate components, allowing ideas and motifs to overlap. The exhibition was curated by Lizzie Carey-Thomas. Nigel Cooke7 February - 28 March 2004 Supported by Tate Members Nigel Cooke paints elaborate, intense, entropic landscapes on a vast scale and for this exhibition he brought together an impressive body of new work, with two paintings measuring up to 12 ft in length. Littered with the rubble of abandoned buildings, severed heads, skulls and insects, Cooke's paintings created a strange, nightmare view of the world, that is both familiar and alien, composed and chaotic. In some of the paintings, nature was depicted as a vast and virulent force infecting the surface of the canvas and morphing into skull-like presences. In other works, the picture plane was suffused in an ultraviolet glow and edged with graffiti. Cooke's meticulous attention to detail left nothing to the imagination; in both form and content his paintings involved and overwhelmed the viewer, resonating with references to the visionary landscape painters of the past whilst remaining firmly rooted in the present. The exhibition was curated by Mary Horlock.  |
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