Oh how wonderful to watch the sun stretch across the glittered door that is now propped up against the studio wall! I had not imagined that the low spring light would extend so far as to cover the entire surface.
The piece needs at least a few more layers of glitter. I am learning how to apply the binder. It is interesting to see how the glitter builds up, my hope is that as the surface becomes denser it will also become less regular and therefore catch more light from different angles. Brushing off the loose glitter after the first coating revealed that nearly all the glitter that stuck fast was lying flat against the door. After the second coat it was noticeable that the glitter was beginning to fasten between and over the first layer which created a slightly more uneven surface, which in turn has improved how it sparkles.
Propping the piece up like this is the first time that I have seen it without an immediate relation to the floor. The intention has always been to wall mount the pieces as ‘landscapes’ so as to defer the moment when they are recognised as doors. The panorama-ness of the proportions is rather pleasing. While sitting back and looking at ‘it’ (I want to stop calling it ‘a door’ now that it is becoming an artwork but I have not quite found the right alternative expression just yet,) the idea of two pieces mounted so that their (respective) right- and left-hand edges meet in the corner of a room crossed my mind …
Yesterday evening I went to the opening of the group show Thinking and Speaking at Nordenhaken. The work was very academic and theoretical, which seemed almost at odds with the incredibly social bustling crowd. It is the kind of show that makes me feel that I need to read (at least) the press release to have a chance at comprehension – I was very glad to find a couple of pieces that ‘worked’ without additional information. It is not that I am against reading, but I have adopted a strategy of going to shows ‘blind’ and seeing how much I can glean from the exhibition without reading about it first. It is an excellent ploy for me as it forces me to look at the work, as opposed to looking for the confirmation of what I have read. At Christian Larsson’s neighbouring gallery Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmusen’s Mobile Mirrors opened. The show includes two performers in mirrored morph suits – the gallery was awash with reflected light splatter from them and three mirrored mannequins. It was both reassuring and unsettling to see this so soon after leaving my own sparkling and light reflecting work in the studio on the other side of town. Seeing another show for the second time, and just before the gallery* closed, I wondered about how the paintings might look in a darkened interior (something like a church), I mentioned this to the gallery director who smiled and invited me to stay while she switched off the lights. I felt immensely privileged to be given this private viewing. In less than half-light the paintings in themselves became even more luminous and ethereal, and the experience of being with them even more intimate. Light became an unexpected subject for the evening.
*(It feels odd not to name the gallery and artist but I do not want to upset anyone by making something inappropriately public.)
Meeting and chatting with another artist/student for lunch yesterday, and with others this morning was really good. It was good to get feedback on what I am writing for the research course, and also to hear what they have been thinking. Much of the discussion was in Swedish and even if I could not express myself as well as I wanted it felt good to see what I could say. I continue to be excited and delighted by the opportunities that there are to meet other artists in this city …
http://www.nordenhake.com/php/current.php?bID=184&…
http://www.christianlarsen.se/
