I went to see some more exhibitions in London this weekend (after helping install a show at the Waterfront Gallery, which was a really good opportunity to learn how to hang work/ what it is like to have a show and a good opportunity to talk to the artists about their work)
I think I got the most out of going to see the Antoni Tapies show, built up paintings with rough surfaces and carved symbols made me think about my use of canvas recently and I started thinking about the possibilities of using board to build up sculptures on the wall….
I have been exploring this lately and have really enjoyed exploring the possibilities of situating works in different places and interacting with the space in a more complete way.
I read his obituary when I returned and I found something rare… I liked what he was into as well as the physical objects that resulted. Normally I find I either connect with the physical work or I like what an artist is about… It is very rare that I am drawn to both of these things with an artist.
‘Nonetheless, all his “walls” and related imagery share one quality: a suggestion of something that lies beyond the material world but is only sensed in its absence.’
The Guardian, 2012, Antoni Tapies Obituary. [Online] Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/feb/07…. [Accessed 21/03/2013]
Tapies had a really interesting way of talking about his connection to the work and the objects that he created as a result are both ambiguous and fascinating. Standing in front of the work, I felt their dominating presence and it was as if I had to let go of trying to understand and go beyond that somehow.
Another exhibition was Jose parla, the painting in the first room was really exciting… I couldn’t look anywhere else, it’s scale, presence and think application of paint was totally seductive… However the next rooms proved to be a bit of a disappointment, I understand that he is exploring urban landscapes but I felt the work in the next rooms were much closer to graphic design or graffiti.
Michael Krebber’s exhibition was interesting and I was particularly intrigued by the tape that had been left around the canvas…. they were in the same position as you would put the guides when hanging a work.
I have seen a lot of shows over the course of my final year and I think it has been a huge element in the progression of both my practice and understanding of contemporary art. I used to go into galleries expecting to be enlightened in some way and if that didn’t happen I felt like the artist has somehow failed, I often left places feeling really unfulfilled and disillusioned… the more I have read, made work and visited shows, the more galleries intrigue me… I have an insatiable appetite for seeing work in the flesh and experiencing their physical attributes as well as things I think they might be trying to say .. or not say.
