Laura Ford, Abbot Hall Gallery, Kendal
British artist Laura Ford has described her own work as sculptures dressed as people who are dressed as animals. Drawing inspiration from pop culture and art history, the results having an unnerving and nightmarish quality. Occupying the period spaces inside Kendal’s Abbot Hall and nearby Blackwell The Arts and Crafts House are key works spanning Ford’s career, whilst also on show are a series of previously unseen sculptures, ceramics and works on paper.
Until 25 June 2016. www.abbothall.org.uk
Omer Fast, BALTIC, Gateshead
The work of Berlin-based video artist Omer Fast questions the conventions of storytelling, media reportage and historical representation. Split over the BALTIC’s two largest floors, this show features several recent and new installations, and projection-based works. A focal point is CNN Concatenated (2002) – Fast’s 18-minute video collage edited from thousands of individual words spoken by presenters on the Cable News Network.
Until 26 June 2016. www.balticmill.com
Michael Dean, South London Gallery, London
Well known for his sculpture, photography, drawing and performance, Newcastle-born artist Michael Dean‘s latest show of sculpture is influenced by his abstract writing and texts. The focus of the exhibition is a series of large concrete and steel reinforced objects presented in South London Gallery’s main gallery space. The work looms over viewers, making them acutely aware of their own presence in the space.
Until 22 May 2016. www.southlondongallery.org
Elizabeth Price, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
This exhibition is the result of Elizabeth Price winning the Contemporary Art Society Annual Award in 2013, a prize that facilitates collaborations between artists and museums. The 2012 Turner Prize winner has created newly commissioned work in response to the collections and archives of the Ashmolean and Pitt Rivers museums. The result is a 15-minute, two-screen digital video installation drawing on the museums’ photographic and graphic archives.
Until 15 May (Ashmolean) & 29 May (Pitt Rivers) 2016. www.ashmolean.org
Rarekind China, Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art, Manchester
Last chance to catch this showcase of graffiti and street artists from China and the UK, presented in collaboration with RareKind Illustration Agency. Part of a programme of exhibitions and events celebrating the centre’s 30th anniversary, the aim is to challenge conventional understandings of what graffiti and street art can be by collaborating with writers, academics, illustrators and graphic designers. In addition to a collection of prints at the gallery, visitors are invited to explore additional work across Manchester city centre.
Until 3 April 2016. www.cfcca.org.uk
Images:
1. Laura Ford, Medieval Cloud Girls, 2015. Copyright: the artist / Gautier Deblonde
2. Omer Fast, CNN Concatenated, 2002. Copyright: the artist
3. Rarekind China, Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art, Manchester
