DARING duo.

BRITISH WILDLIFE, 2000
88 taxidermy animals; 46 birds (35 varieties), 40 mammals (18 varieties),2 fish, wood, polyester glass fibre filler, fake moss, wire, light projector
150 x 90 x 180 cm (59 x 351/2 x 71 in)

METAL FUCKING RATS, 2006
Welded scrap metal, light projector
51.5 x 53 x 19.6 cm (201/4 x 21 x 73/4 in)

Storming onto the British art scene with their unorthodox installations, Tim Noble and Sue Webster have exhibited some of the most exciting art in the past two decades.

“There are two sides to the work; the shiny side and the dark side. That kind of reflects the two personalities within us,” explains Webster. Their art speaks bilingually to sculpture and to the image it projects: from the piles of garbage and taxidermy that construct the work, to the silhouette projected when it is illuminated.

See their 'Cabinet of Curiosities' at EWX from January 22 2012.  

Photographs courtesy of timnobleandsuewebster.com

SLINKACHU

“I like the idea that almost no one sees my work. Because we all ignore intentionally or unintentionally much that surrounds us in a city.”

My Little People Project by British-born artist Slinkachu has to be one of the wittiest, clever and endearing art projects conceived in recent years. Since 2006, miniature model train set characters have been surfacing in an around metropolises, compelling city-dwellers to consider their surroundings more thoughtfully.

Twinned as an installation/photography project, Slinkachu narrates his various miniature installations on his blog. His endeavors as a photographer – often displaying his photographs as triptychs on his blog – articulate how the often overpowering nature of the modern city can engender loneliness and melancholy. His work is situated in an artistic realm that seeks to empathize with the viewer in a identifiable and lighthearted way. The influence of Banksy is ever present in the wit and social comment of Slinkachu’s work. Although, unlike Banksy, Slinkachu succeeds in expressing his morals with an intelligible subtleness– in less than a few centimeters. A series of Slinkachu’s photographic works will be featured in the EWX exhibition, open to the public from January 22 2012.

OPENING Dawe's.

CLICK TO VIEW THE GUARDIAN ON GABRIEL DAWE AT EAST WING X

Photography courtesy of Linda Nylind for the Guardian

HERE Re-go again.

Scarecrow and the Pig, pastel on paper on board, 2005

Dubbed one of the most celebrated and problematic artists in Britain, Paula Rego is rumoured to be exhibiting at East Wing X. 

ICE ice baby.

Somerset House

Rockefeller Skaters VI, oil on canvas, 2006

Tomorrow Somerset House ice rink opens, signalling the moment it becomes socially acceptable to start celebrating Christmas. So apart from being locked away and banished to the Courtauld library, I was able to enjoy its oppressive atmosphere and painful silence slightly more given the melodic warbles of "Santa Claus is coming to town" coming from the celebrity soiree outside. Here's a fuzzy painting brimming with Christmas cheer by Bill Jacklin. 

EAST Wing X

As a part of the East Wing X exhibition at the Courtauld, installation artist Gabriel Dawe is residing in the grand staircase this week. Donning what can only be described as a giant needle, Dawe has managed to weave a tangible rainbow out of mere cotton: if only there were a pot of gold at the end of it.

Please take the time to have a look at the East Wing X exhibition taking place from January in and around the Courtauld and Somerset house. As a self funded exhibition by Courtauld students, the team are working really hard to gain as much publicity and support as possible. http://eastwingx.wordpress.com/

In his own words...

NINA Murdoch: Shedding Light

 Prawle Point W-E, egg tempera on gesso panel, 2011, 122 x 198 cm./ 48 x 78 in. 

“Corridors, steps, wedges of light and otherworldly colour, Nina Murdoch’s paintings evoke an uninhabited but haunting world in which the sun and moon seem to rise and set in chambers indoors.”
- Andrew Lambirth
 

ANOTHER one of my recent ventures was interning at Marlborough Fine Art in September. In amongst allocating works for restoration, researching exhibition schedules and scouring art catalogues I was given the chance to design and manage the advertising for Marlborough’s now current exhibition Nina Murdoch: Shedding Light. Murdoch's invigorating exploration of light and space excels through her technical ability in egg tempera (a widely neglected medium in my opinion, saturated in Renaissance connotations). The projections of ethereal light imbue her work with an element of ambiguity and unfamiliarity which make them completely compelling. Exhibiting at Marlborough Fine Art until the 26th its definitely worth a LOOK.

MUCH has happened.

Paolozzi, Marilyn, Plaster sculpture (1994)

HELLO! Safe to say there has been a plethora of things that I have been quietly listing at the back of my mind since I last posted those many moons ago! Summer is over and it is now dark at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. What happened?

Thankfully today I am surrounded by the bright white walls of Sims Reed gallery which has brightened up an otherwise very gloomy day. It’s a gem! The wonderful directors Lucy and Lyndsey have left it in my capable (?!) hands while they have jetted to New York for the annual prints fair. 

I am manning the Eduardo Paolozzi ‘Invention of the Impossible’ exhibition. Arching back to his 60’s show on Tottenham Court Road, Paolozzi’s prints are a contrived confection of computers and commercialism. Technology on acid. Juxtaposed against a clutter of white plaster casts from found objects, prints and plaster work together to articulate the tension between the eccentricity and contrivances of commercialism, and modesty and purity personal entities.

I predict a RIOT!

 BANKSY, "Parliament Chimps", 2009

In light of parliaments sluggish reaction to the riots rampaging through Britain at this very moment, only the work of the triumphant (and fellow Bristolian) artist Banksy seemed appropriate.

MOTORBOY, "What's The Point of Robbery When Nothing Is Worth Taking?", 2009

It’s been a while since I had a look around The Bristol Museum art collection but it made sense for me to take refuge from the beckoning of BBC news and take a visit. Local artist Motorboy’s regurgitation of Adam and the Ant’s “Stand and Deliver” seemed appropriate given the subversive undertones juxtaposed against the artist's own paradoxical slogan, “its cheap because its the future”. That’s funny, I thought it was cheap (free) because its looted from Curry’s?

ITALIAN narrative

 ionic column, pompeii

 stucco, cattedrale di sant'andrea, amalfi

 

 mosaic, facciata del duomo, ravello

 villa rufolo, ravello

 “Io non so se son Valacchi o se Turchi son costor…”

exoticism and discovery in opera

 "contemporary art gallery", capri

Voyaging to the epicentre of the renaissance it would have been criminal for a history of art student to ignore a country saturated in artistic innovations. I put together a few highlights from the trip (an extremely vague chronicle of the capacity of Italian art), from the ancient cobbles of Pompeii to the sumptuous costumes of the Teatro di San Carlo, ENJOY!

PANORAMA

view of vesuvius from sorrento, sunrise

 ravello from neighbouring town of scala (which is twinned with new york, by the way)

Just returned from an impromptu trip to southern Italy, and being the culture vulture I am I couldn’t resist posting some of the beautiful sights from one of the most beautiful places, in my opinion, on EARTH.

WOW! Gorillas.

Driving through Bristol on my way home I find every open space in Bristol has been encroached upon by a gorilla.

Yes, a gorilla.

Upon opening my front door I was bombarded by my mum with articles on the beasts of Bristol: turns out they were initiated by Bristol Zoo to celebrate their 175^th anniversary and raise money for gorilla conservation and Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Appeal.

Reminiscent of the Elephants Parade that invaded London in 2010, it’s refreshing to see Bristol isn’t still dwelling on Banksy to preserve its artistic acclaim, and is recognising the importance of public art and local artists as a source of civic pride, economic prosperity and just fun, really. 

The colourful creatures are on display for 10 weeks this summer, injecting some vibrancy to an otherwise dull English SUMMER.

YOHJI Yamamoto at the V&A

    Photographs courtesy of V&A (Press Office)

Had you asked me what my career would be aged fifteen, like many teenagers I was adamant I  would be tottering around Vogue House in a pair of Louboutins, living an Olivia Palermo-esque life. 

Four years on and my Devil Wears Prada dreams have evaporated and my fascination is floundering. 

This was until a chance encounter meant I ended up at the Yohji Yamamoto exhibition at the V&A, (little did I know the Courtauld would be taking us on their version of a field trip a week later). And so I rekindled the love that once captivated me about fashion. Twice over. 

In the first exhibition to show Yamamoto’s menswear and womenswear together, the exhibition addresses the designer’s prerogative to subvert boundaries set by Western fashion and experiment with new modalities of gender, identity and stereotype. Juxtaposed against a multimedia timeline of Yamamoto’s 30 year “retrospective”, the collection is transformed into a response to changing Japanese culture and ideologies. 

 Set under iridescent lights the starkness of the space invites you to inspect, debate, even touch the clothing; implying a completely personal experience between designer and spectator. For someone who only has the most basic knowledge of the practical side of fashion, the open display of the garments made me consider the process of construction as opposed to reflecting upon its functionality. The space simultaneously highlights the black which unwaveringly dominates Yamamoto’s collections, complete with pops of colour which punctuate the exhibition. 

Despite the bleakness of the exhibition, Yamamoto’s genius speaks for itself; his designs exceed the expected and are thus transposed into the realm of ART.

AND so a blog began...

a chronicle of my inspirations and aspirations in an indelible city.

with love, KATIE.