Now Showing #239: The week’s top exhibitions

Damien Meade, Peter von Kant, London
For this show, which almost feels site-specific within the sometimes slick and other times intentionally ruinous 17th-century interior of the Peter von Kant’s gallery in south London, Damien Meade has created a series of small-scale paintings that take clay maquettes – also crafted by the artist –  as their models. While some take the form of recognisable if slightly other-worldly portraits that might be about to come to life, others explore the correlation between object and painting through more abstract means and are based on free-formed slabs of kneaded and pressed clay.
Until 27 April 2018. www.petervonkant.com

Karen Cunningham, Cample Line, Cample, Dumfriesshire
‘Deploying Culture’ is an exhibition by Glasgow-based artist Karen Cunningham featuring two new works. A floor-based piece re-presents materials interrupted from recycling processes: brightly-coloured plastics reprocessed for injection moulding, glass recycled from discarded TVs and monitor screens, ocean shells and coral. The second work, Contextural, incorporates insulated electrical wires, CAT5e cables, jute and rope – references to Dumfriesshire’s history as part of 19th century efforts to lay a submarine telegraphic cable. The exhibition will also host screenings of Cunningham’s recent film, Movable Type: Under Erasure.
Until 5 May 2018. Movable Type: Under Erasure screens at 12.30pm and 2.30pm on 7 April, 28 April, 5 May. campleline.org.uk

Received Dissent: An American Mail Art Project, Graves Gallery, Sheffield
In 1968 William Copley initiated the SMS (Shit Must Stop) Portfolio, a bi-monthly mail art project consisting of an art collection in a box that people could subscribe to receive. Copley’s intention was to democratise the collecting of works by artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Yoko Ono, Roy Lichtenstein or Man Ray, by making it more affordable. Six editions of 2,000 were created, though only 500 were ever sent out. Today only a few of the full series remain, including one owned by Sheffield-based collector Martin Hinchcliffe who has loaned it for exhibition to the Graves Gallery to mark the 50th anniversary of SMS Portfolio’s creation.
Until 28 July 2018. www.museums-sheffield.org.uk

NOW 3, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One), Edinburgh
A major survey of works by painter Jenny Saville, demonstrating shifts in approaches to depicting the human body over 26 years of practice. The exhibition includes iconic early paintings Propped (1992) and Trace (1993-4), as well as recent charcoal and pastel drawings. This is the third instalment of the exhibition series NOW produced by National Galleries Scotland. It also features video, sculpture, photography and installation works by Robin Rhode, Christine Borland, Sara Barker, Markus Schinwald and Catherine Street.
Until 16 September 2018. www.nationalgalleries.org

Images:
1. Damien Meade, Untitled, 65×49.5cm, oil on wood, 2018. Courtesy: Peter von Kant
2. Karen Cunningham, Deploying Culture, 2018, installation shot. Courtesy; artist and CAMPLE LINE. Photo; Image: Mike Bolam.
3. Irving Petlin, Little Box of Earthquake and Cotton. Courtesy of the artist and Kent Fine Art, NY.
4. Jenny Saville, Study for Branded, 1982. © Jenny Saville. Courtesy; artist and Gagosian.

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