If you happen to hang out in central London one of these days, pop by the Haunch of Venison gallery and check out Chiharu Shiota’s intriguing immersive installations. They were a nice surprise afer visiting the Van Gogh exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts around the corner. The lack of blockbuster queues at the Haunch of Venison and the possibility to get close to the work without having tons of audioguide-clad zombies breathing down your neck were a real treat!
No queues for Shiota’s show yet, but her CV is impressive enough anyway, with recent shows in the Hayward Gallery in London (part of the Walking in My Mind exhibition), the Moskou Biennale and recent shows in the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa among others. The current show exists of two site specific installations and a room with a series of her smaller ‘boxed’ thread works. ’One Place’ was made from 400 windows from demolition sites in East Berlin and is a metaphor for an opening and a barrier at the same time. They give evidence of a claustrophobic experience that East Berliners endured through the Wall for almost 30 years. The second installation ‘During Sleep’ is a black string installation that has a bed trapped in its impenetrable nets. It plays with dreams and anxiety and has an eerie atmosphere that works very well when you’re the only visitor in the room. The show is on until the 27th of March and is worth the detour.
Chiharu Shiota’s site specific installations ‘One Place’ and ‘During Sleep’ at the Haunch of Venison.
Photos: An Michiels
And if you did manage to bag tickets for Vincent in the Royal Academy, just go for it and brave the crowds! You will get rewarded with the chance to witness his intelligence and drive, look beyond the cliché of the one-eared madman and get an insight in his broad range of influences – from Japanese block prints to Dickens’ literature.
I came across Michael Johansson’s work Ghost II while browsing on butdoesitfloat.com, an interesting blog with words and visuals by Folkert & Atley. Worth visiting for a virtual stroll in the park, but beware it might turn into a lengthy walk cause there’s a lot of nice stuff on it!
Michael Johansson, Ghost II Installation in Galleri Arnstedt, Sweden (2009).
I got interested in Johansson’s installations and found loads more on his website. I particularly like the Strings Attached series which shows his fascination with model kits and everyday objects.
Michael Johansson, Strings Attached series: TOYS’R'US (2006), Kitchen Assembly (2008) & Some Assembly Required (2007).
MJ: ‘Fascinated by assembling objects from model kits as a child, Michael Johansson transforms everyday objects into models of themselves. Taking away their original purpose, the life-size kits hold a commentary on today’s ways of living. In his first piece from the series, TOYS’R’US, a boat and related equipment are joined together in a welded metal frame. Everything is painted in a unifying plastic layer to resemble the surface of a model kit. The piece was created for the Besökarna exhibition in the western harbour of Malmö, an area developed as a demonstration project to provide a model for future cities. Today, many years later, the area still feels like a model. The artificial atmosphere awaits to break loose from its surrounding plastic frame. The boat which floated in the harbour for one month was a reflection on the utopian developments.
Moving to a more domestic realm in Engine Bought Separately a selection from mid-20th century housewife appliances are taken apart, sorted, and reassembled into an equally outdated boydream aesthetics. These two worlds are merged together and the objects are frozen in their new shape – while their function is displayed, the functionality is taken away.
Reversing the steps in the line of production, in Some Assembly Required, parts from bikes and scooters are turned back into a space of imagination and spin concepts such as size and belonging. The title of the series taken from a commonly found phrase on the boxes for model kits, reminding buyers of their participatory role, points out to the role expected from the audience in finding references and therefore giving shape and meaning to the works.’
Jan Hoet Jr. and Delphine Bekaert’s gallery rocks! They have been supporting young contemporary artists for several years now. Since 2005 they occupy an interesting space in the centre of Ghent (Belgium), a classic white cube gallery with a twist. At the rear of the space you’ll find a big open kitchen, where their opening brunches are being held. The kitchen seems to be a great gathering space that takes the edge off the seriousness of a traditional gallery. I felt pretty temped to make myself a coffee!
The have quite a few big spatial works on display in ‘A show 2010′. The staircase to nowhere by Hannes van Severen and a mirror piece by Joris van de Moortel caught my eye. This show runs until the 28th of February and the next one with works of Kelly Schacht is opening on the 21st of March.
You can check Hoet Bekaert out on the Armory Show in NYC this March and on fairs like Art Brussels and Frieze London later in the year or just hop over to the lively city of Ghent, which offers medieval architecture, canals and the fantastic SMAK contemporary art museum amongst others. Hoet Bekaert has two beautiful rooms available above the gallery for those who want an alternative to a hotel – see details on ’sweet dreams’ section of their website. Great idea, this is not just a static gallery space, it has life revolving
around it.
Work by Joris van de Moortel / Hannes Van Severen
Work by Kelly Schacht / Hoet Bekaert Gallery Kitchen
Courtesy Hoet Bekaert Gallery
All photos: An Michiels
I had the chance to visit the Kolumba museum – the art museum of the archbishopric of Cologne - a few weeks ago. Initially I just wanted to check out Peter Zumthor’s architecture, which proved impossible! This museum is an amazing Gesamtkunstwerk in its own right, throwing archeology, architecture, design and art from the late antiquity to the present in the mix.
The lower, partially perforated shell of the building holds an excavation site and the former sacristy of St. Kolumba Church. A permanent sound installation (Bill Fontana/Pigeon Soundings) mixed with city sounds that can be heard through the perforated walls create an intriguing acoustic soundscape that blurs the physical boundaries of the site. The upper floors house the actual museum, with a great variety of spaces including a beautifully paneled reading room and huge windows tying it back to its central Cologne surroundings. This exhibition just demands attention and succeeds brilliantly in mixing historic religious artefacts with contemporary art, very refreshing to see this happening within a ‘religious’ museum. I did not expect to find a Crucifix and work by Joseph Beuys in one room!
The current ‘Bequest’ show will run until the 30th of August 2010 and is definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.
Photos: Kolumba’s perforated facade (2007) / Madonna and Child Cologne (ca 1650) + Stefan Wewerka Chair Sculpture (1969) / Stefan Wewerka Table 75º (2003)
For two more weeks, Xavier Veilhan’s work will be on display in and around the Palace of Versailles.
I only discovered this exhibition on a visit last weekend, it is definitely worth the detour if you are planning some Christmas shopping in Paris. The clash between the Baroque buildings and the contemporary art is interesting and causes an amusing confusion with some visitors, although this display is nowhere as confronting as the previous display of Jeff Koons‘ work.
There is a whole range of pieces, including a dynamic abstraction of a carriage and horses welcoming visitors at the forecourt and a hilarious Yuri Gagarin, depicted as a fallen king. The astronaut has literally dropped from the sky. ‘Les Architectes’ is a series of abstracted sculptures of famous contemporary architects. They have been put on pedestals, literally and figuratively consolidating their iconic status. You might have spotted Veilhan’s Tadao Ando and Norman Foster in a shocking blue version at the Perotin Gallery Stand of the Frieze Art Fair earlier this year.
It is amazing that Versailles is staging these interventions and allow visitors to rediscover this iconic place with a contemporary touch.
The exhibition closes at the 13th of December.
Xavier Veilhan’s ‘Le Gisant, Youri Gagarine’ and ‘Les Architectes’. Photos by An Michiels.
Art Barter – the platform for free exhange between artists and the public – is holding an art-swapping event from the 27th to the 29th of November. Usual suspects like Gary Hume, Tracy Emin and Gavin Turk are amongst the artists who have work on offer, as well as a list of bright young things.
In curator Lauren Jones’ words:
“We want to make art available to a more diverse crowd, not just people with disposable income. ArtBarter is the perfect setting to make this happen, whilst also providing a fun way to get people involved with the arts.”
Great concept! The event will be held at the Rag Factory in east London, the former studio of Tracey Emin and Gary Hume. Sponsor Green&Black’s will be showcasing a piece of ‘Chocol’art’ made by Sir Peter Blake.
Don’t forget to bring something. Who knows, you might be able to swap your fancy bike, web design skills or hairdressing talent for a piece of art!
If you are crazy about maps – it definitely runs in my family – pop down to the England & Co gallery on Westbourne Grove, London. Their ‘The map is not the territory – Revisited’ show runs until the 28th of November and includes cartographic and map related artworks by Chris Kenny, Jason Wallis-Johnson and Grayson Perry amongst others.
Jason Wallis-Johnson’s ‘Manhattan, Seismic Shift’ tryptich turns NYC in an urban mountain resort. That’s my kind of winter wonderland!
Title: Tom Foulsham – The table that can tell stories and other contraptions
Location: 123 Pancras Road London NW1 1UN
Link out: Click here
Date: 13th November – 5th December 2009 : Visit the show and talk to the artist : Thursdays + Fridays 1pm-7pm Saturdays 10am-6.30pm weekly.
RSVP essential – see link out
Info by gallery: An intriguing insight into the workings of mechanisms, everyday science and the interaction and play between machine and spectator.
A first UK solo show of Tom Foulsham’s machines and an insight into his process.
Tom Foulsham born in 1981 studied Architecture at the Bartlett and was an architectural assistant at Arad Associates.
He went on to study Design Products MA at the Royal College of Art, graduating this summer 2009, under the tutorledge of Ron Arad.
He exhibited his ‘ Balancing Shelves’ at Pecha Kucha ICA in 2007.
He showed his ‘ Candle Balance’ as part of the V&A group exhibition ‘In Praise of Shadows’ in September 2009
These stunning images are not dreamed up by some photoshopping whizzkid, they are actual NASA photos from Mars. Stunning landscapes. You can find more information and an amazing set of 34 photos (including exact Google Mars locations!) on The Big Picture:
“Since 2006, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has been orbiting Mars, currently circling approximately 300 km (187 mi) above the Martian surface. On board the MRO is HiRISE, the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera, which has been photographing the planet for several years now at resolutions as fine as mere inches per pixel.”
Frédéric Lebain – once-upon-a-time chef turned professional photographer – shot ‘Un printemps a New York’ the first time around last Spring. He printed posters of his details of mundane New York views and then returned to the same spot to place the original shots within a larger frame of the same view. Makes for subtly surreal photos in which visible helping hands or feet underline his unbrushed style.
Check the whole series of photos here.
photo credit: fred lebain
via designboom
