Phoebe Unwin @ Wilkinson

Phoebe Unwin @ Wilkinson

There are basic emotions. Happiness. Sadness. Anger. Fear. These are like elements, the basic building blocks of Humanity.

Then there are more complex feelings that are more like chemical compounds. They can include the aforementioned emotions but are mixed with sensual stimulus, and context. Like smell, vision, memory and place, that are catalogued and recalled from the brain. These complex emotional compounds are harder to describe and often unique to the individual.

Phoebe Unwin is all about capturing and recreating these emotional compounds in her work. Fleeting moments of life that are hard to understand unless you were there.

But what is Unwin trying to achieve by doing so? Does she want people to feel something or does she just want people to look at what she is feeling?

If Unwin’s strategy is isolationist, i.e. not designed to trigger feelings or memories in other people and only present her own, Then for her art to be emotionally valuable to someone the paintings must be masterpieces (which, as nice as they are, are not) or Unwin herself must be emotionally valuable to you in the first place – therefore Unwin must be either Famous, or Infamous. Or have an intriguing personality which you would talk about to buyers.

If Unwins strategy is to evoke emotion within the viewer, Some paintings succeed. Her work is more effective when one can recognise context therefore triggering emotional response. But the more abstract works become defunct  – They are too gentle to evoke pure emotion (for example Rothko),  they are more likely to encourage critical analysis.

I can appreciate Unwins brave pursuit of subtle complexity, but i reckon it’s a sticky wicket.

Runs till 13th October

Wilkinson

Carla Busuttil @ Josh Lilley

Carla Busuttil @ Josh Lilley

Notions of identity play heavily on Carla Busuttil’s work. Her paintings are portraits of a society that none of us know but we can all probably relate to in one way or another. The characters appropriate costumes and emblems of structure and order, liberating them from their original context. There is a whiff of irony, the canvases look as if they had been dragged backwards through a Vintage shop in Shoreditch.

An innocent escapism runs through the show. A cast of characters created entirely in the mind, obsessively so. Normally only a child would have the stamina of imagination to create such an expansive fantasy world. But Carla continually re visits it, as if the paintings offer a surrogate family or imaginary gang of friends for the artist.

I’m not a massive fan of the canvases. “Bad Painting” can at times be liberating and joyous for the soul but I yearned for a little more craft. I was much more impressed with the film work that was produced in collaboration with Thomas Voelker and the Static Hand. Here we saw characters from Busuttil’s repertoire take on a 3 dimensional forms – coldly and repetitively ripping up newspapers into tiny pieces, as if wiping history, all set to a moody and industrial soundtrack. It was Ace.

Busuttil should release her creations from the walls and give them space to play around more often.  She needs to capture her imaginary world on film more, perhaps even creating her own “Cremaster Cycle”.

Only then will we get a sense of the true depths of her imagination.

Runs til 4th October

http://joshlilleygallery.com

Patrick Caulfield @ Tate Britain

Patrick Caulfield @ Tate Britain

Three words..

Brilliant.

 

Brilliant.

 

Brilliant.

Still can’t get my head around Gary Hume though.

http://www.tate.org.uk

Henry Hudson @ TJ Boulting

Henry Hudson @ TJ Boulting.

The art that seems to touch a nerve with me is one that utilises a concept, subject, or material that i relate to on a personal level. Henry Hudson’s plasticine paintings do just that. In the gallery I’m already back on the floor of my kitchen, in my formative years, creating things with this earthy smelling substance. I graduated onto Fimo afterwards, because you could bake it hard in the oven, but it was never quite the same.

Mr Hudson continues to use plasticine as the primary medium for his paintings, but the subject matter has changed. For this show he has produced a series of portraits of his extended family. They seem to be a pretty kooky bunch – each member wrapped in “fragile” tape – a prop i was told was provided by the artist but ultimately used by the subject however they wished. Judging by the work some were more accepting of this symbolic prop than others.

The TJ Boulting space really did feel like a home and was totally relaxed. I don’t want to keep going on about London’s art scene upping it’s game, but again, i was warmly welcomed by one of the gallery owners Hannah, who very kindly took the time to talk to me about Henry’s work and offer plenty of insight.

You don’t get that at the Tate Modern (and it costs you £15 to get in).

This exhibition has now finished.

tjboulting

New Contemporaries @ ICA

New Contemporaries @ ICA

Popped into this exhibition last weekend to have a nose around at some young guns, particularly at George Little who i’ve been keeping my eye on for a while. Unfortunately they had excluded his large canvas from the London edition of the show so was left with just a small painting and an installation to enjoy.

There was some excitement on my behalf though as i spotted none other than Mr Saatchi lurking in the bookshop. He looked a bit shifty, like he was going to lift something. You’ve got to give Charles his dues – he’s not an ivory tower sort of collector, he likes to get down and dirty with the students.

This iteration of New Contemporaries felt like a “light ” version of the Liverpool show. I guess the space in the ICA is limited, but i felt like i wasn’t quite getting the whole picture, especially after having a look at the catalogue. So in no particular order my highlights from the exhibition, which are mostly all painters:

Tara Tingleff   ( http://www.tyratingleff.net ) – header image is also hers.

Anita Delaney  ( http://www.anitadelaney.net  – This photo shamelessly stolen from http://curatorcharlie.blogspot.co.uk/ )

Emanuel Rohss ( http://www.emanuelrohss.com )

George Little ( http://www.georgelittle.co.uk )

Max Ruf ( http://www.maxruf.com )

This exhibition is now finished but you can always check their website.

http://www.newcontemporaries.org.uk

Rana Begum @ Bischoff/Weiss

Rana Begum @ Bischoff/Weiss

A particularly welcoming transatlantic gallery assistant greeted me upon arrival at Bischoff/Weiss. An invitation to talk me through the work was politely declined by this typically reserved english art lover, but the sentiment was most appreciated. Galleries have always been slightly intimidating places, but here and on subsequent visits this day, i met lots of friendly people. London’s art scene is becoming really approachable; it may be that art isn’t selling as well – a little extra sales patter is required. But i like it. A world away from a Gagosian experience, that’s for sure.

Rana Begum had come to my attention recently, she’s been getting plenty of press. A visit to the gallery afforded me a first view of her work in the flesh. I have to say i really liked it. Her slick minimal constructions might seem at first glance cold and lacking personality, but being in their presence made them much more spiritual. Gallery light reflected from the multicoloured, angled facets of each work, producing gradients of glowing hues across the gallery wall. It seems as if they are illuminated from behind, in a Flavin style construction, but  there are no extra lights involved. As you circumnavigate each piece, reflected light and colour evolve, dependent on your position in front of the sculpture. So in a way the work encourages the viewer to have a number of different viewpoints.

I do have one reservation. There is a heavy reliance on the white gallery wall. What happens when collectors who don’t have a white cube take a piece home, will it lose it it’s magic?

Get out there and spend a bit of time with Rana’s sculptures if you want to properly appreciate them. What seems to be simply abstract, reveals after a bit of quality time, a complexity that cannot be understood by viewing a flat image of the work.

They’re about till next Saturday, so get down there sharpish.

http://www.bischoffweiss.com/

GL Brierley @ Carslaw St Lukes

GL Brierley @ Carslaw St Lukes

GL Brierley’s “things” quietly inhabit the space of her canvas, enticing you to look . You’ll notice the influence of figuratisim, tenebrism, and the traditions of still life. These paintings however, are unlike anything else you might have seen.

GL has total control of her medium and no control at the same time. She combines paint on the canvas to react, producing life itself. An oil based primordial soup applied to a rectangular aluminium petri dish. You really have to see the work up close to to understand. Perhaps you could describe the artist as “the creator”. It’s a platitudinal metaphor, but apt in many ways. Scientists believe life is the product of chemical fusion. The religious believe there is a controlling hand. These paintings are unarguable proof of both theories.

Unlike the creatures that inhabited the earth in the early years these malformed, but beguiling entities seem to demand deeply complex emotions. Very quickly you form a relationship. Questions are formed in your head. “Why is it there?” “Does it need help?” Should I take it home?” “Is it an it, or is it a her?”

Then you being to question your own emotional responses. “Should i feel attracted to this?” “Why am i feeling sorry for it?” The full gamut of human emotions reveal themselves, the sort that get psychoanalysts hot under the collar.

GL seemingly tries to challenge you by pushing the creations to their most unsettling and explicit (maybe that just my interpretation). Sometimes challenging you by adding bright manmade colours in thick impasto just to shake you. Perhaps it’s a reminder that this is just paint and she’s just a a painter.These are distinctly timeless works. They look like they’ve been around for hundreds of years already. There is no doubt they’ll be enchanting and horrifying people in equal measure for many centuries to come.

This exhibition runs till 17th November.  Go see.

http://www.carslawstlukes.com

Clare Woods @ Modern Art

Clare Woods @ Modern Art

Clare Woods is an artist that is tottering on the edge of stardom. She’s been taken under the wing of some of the arts biggest movers and shakers. Popular with young collectors, popular with old collectors. Just generally all round popular.

She has made some pretty monumental paintings in her time. Haunting landscapes that capture an unusual feeling, like when you’re a kid and you find a secret place in the forest and get butterflies in your stomach. It feels like the spirit of Peter Lanyon is there watching over the works, which is a good thing.

Her technique of spreading flows of oil paint onto metal is an interesting one and works to obscure the naturalistic details of her subject matter and transform them into more abstract territories. For her new show at Modern Art, Woods has made a series of smaller paintings under the moniker “The Bad Neighbour”

These new paintings don’t punch me in the stomach like previous works have. Most obviously the lack of scale causes me to focus more on the technique than i might do normally and i don’t think it holds up on a small canvas. The lack of detail purposefully employed to suggest abstraction ends up suggesting a lack of craft.

I feel perhaps Woods may need to adjust course if she continues to paint small works. Perhaps that gap should be filled by her drawings which i’ve seen and are lovely.

This exhibition is now finished.

www.modernart.net

The Russian Art Show @ Calvert 22

The Russian Art Show @ Calvert 22

Any authorities reading this will be pleased to know that this exhibition featured no civil disobedience, no governmental insults, or even any vague subversion. (well perhaps a little bit). Calvert 22 presented an immaculately behaved set of artworks from the Russian equivalent of the Turner Prize. Out of everything it was the video artists that did it for me:

Victor Alimpev’s work  Whose is exhalation?  featured a group of choral singers of all shapes and sizes humming in unison whilst one of their number held their breath.

When an individual could no longer hold their breath, the groups humming stopped. Each member of the group took a turn holding their breath. The film at 15 minutes long was beautifully directed and had an amazing tension between the glowing warmth of the choral humming and the ordeal the individual was going through trying to avoid breathing.

Taus Makhacheva presented the work “let me be part of a narrative” To quote the press release “the film is about the intimate human drama of defeats and difficulty amidst the medals and cups” 

The section i watched captured the local (or perhaps even national) sport of dog fighting, and the issues of etiquette, hierarchy and honour within the pastime. It also featured some of the dogs on their day off looking very cute, which sold it to me. (i’m a sucker for a waggy tail).

Overall, the impression of Russian art i will take away from this exhibition was thus: Intelligent. Well presented. Well executed. A bit tame. But thats understandable, as no one wants to end up like Pussy Riot.

Runs until 16th September.

www.calvert22.org

Matthew Musgrave @ Supplement

Matthew Musgrave @ Supplement

I’ve got a lot of respect for painters. Sat in a studio wondering what to put on a blank canvas must be daunting. I like solving problems, but I can’t come up with the problem AND the solution, that’s just too much.

Matthew Musgrave can, it seems. His work is concerned with what to paint, how to paint and how to progress. His paintings feel like performative acts. At first you may think that he has generated them in a flurry of brushstrokes, a spontaneity that is rather attractive. But looking at them in depth reveals more structure. They seem almost algorithmic. Slowly varying patterns of movement, colour and mark making. It’s a painterly routine that evolves through the course of each work and Musgrave paints the same scene more than once to fully investigate the subject.

Some of the works could be interpreted as landscape paintings, but in actuality are small sections of his studio, or objects contained within it. The interpretation of what he is painting, i think, is key to his work. He paints what he sees, as he sees it in his mind. The viewer is then subsequently challenged to interpret the painting themselves, to decide what they are looking at. It works like a chinese whisper. The emotional effect equally so. One always finds delight in how that initial whisper can evolve into something unexpected and unlike anything you might be able to imagine.

(this image from Supplement website)

Go on, pop down and have a look. My photos don’t do the work justice.

 

Till Aug 12th

supplementgallery.co.uk