- Venue
- Nottingham Contemporary
- Location
The British Art Show, how much do we really understand?
The British Art Show is arguably the most influential and innovative touring exhibition of contemporary art, show casing the work of artists selected on the basis of their outstanding contribution to contemporary art within the last five years, the British art show promises to “generate our next version of Art History.” [1]Throughout the years, the BAS has invited high profile artists such as Bridget Riley, Anish Kapoor and Martin Creed, not forgetting the more controversial artists like Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin to stir up some debate. Celebrating its 7h anniversary the British Art Show has started its touring exhibition in the city of Nottingham, across three venues. The venue which I felt had the widest spectrum of work was that of newly opened Nottingham Contemporary, I was eagerly anticipating seeing what Karla Black and Roger Hiorns had to offer, however, it was not an artist I was familiar with who caught my attention, but the work of London based artist Ian Kiaer. Originally a painter, Kiaer now works with installation, which is “refined in terms of colour, texture and scale, evoking delicate, physically and ideologically distant landscapes”[2] as stated in the exhibition guide.
Titled “Melnikov project, silver” Kiaer’s piece consists of nine individual components, five of which are wall hung objects, varying from paintings, an artificial mirror to a large wall arrangement of what I can only describe as school dinner table tops. The remaining parts of the piece are arranged on the floor; at first I came across a piece of fabric painted silver in the shape of a windscreen cover, followed by a cylindrical cross section of a disco ball, a collection of large sequins and a model of an architectural structure.
Initially what drew me to this piece were the large areas of colour, made up of greys, silvers and incandescent neon yellow, which appeared to be painted onto a linen stretched frame. The translucent nature of the fabric created an inner depth and boldness of colour as the yellow bounced off of the gallery wall. I was fascinated by the way that the vibrant colour seemed to reflect off of the polished surfaces in the gallery, as if to act as a constant reminder of its presence. Cleverly positioned beneath a skylight, the luminous yellow creates a glowing reflection almost suggesting that it is the radiant sun that is beaming into the gallery. However, looking at the title I knew there was more to the piece than colour, especially when the paintings are accompanied by sculptures and found objects. Despite spending an hour with the piece, I still couldn’t grasp what the artist was trying to ‘say’ so I furthered my research. Often using writers, architects, philosophers and other academics as resources, in this piece of work Kiaer was particularly referencing Russian architect and painter Konstantin Melnikov who refused to conform to the Stalinist architecture and became a portrait painter.
The artist often plays with composition and display within his work by installing paintings at unobtainable heights, and placing his ‘architectural models’ on the floor. In his recent exhibition at the Alison Jacques project room, Kiaer exhibited his “endless house project, horta / van eetvelde.” The exhibition consisted mainly of canvases and sculptures, making up the single work. The pieces were spaced out within the gallery to allow room for viewers think about the quiet space particular to painting. The press release for the exhibition states that ‘the work points to painting’s privilege to be hermetic and leave empty what is empty, resisting our anxiety to prematurely fill it with the justification of words.’ I fully agree with the notion that paintings can be aesthetic, without the need to be justified, however, I did not feel this was apparent with Kiaer’s piece in the British Art show.
When viewing “Melnikov project, silver” I felt a great deal of pressure to decode the piece of work in order to justify my liking of it, even with the help of the title and further research I still don’t get it. Yet I feel that Kiaer’s work is contextually linked with my own practice, in terms of common methods and ideas concerning presentation and composition. Writer for Tate Britain’s ‘Art Now’ section, Lizzie Carey-Thomas believes that “The viewer cannot hope to grasp all the intricate associations that permeate Kiaer’s compositions. The links he makes are intuitive rather than academic; by layering references and leaping across centuries Kiaer generates relationships between complex ideas and individuals.” [3]I agree with Carey-Thomas here as since viewing the piece I’ve learnt more about the artist’s reference to history than what I gained in the gallery. Although, after walking around the gallery for a second time Kiaer’s piece was still the most exciting and invigorating thing I had seen, the vast sections of pure colour and further manifestations created by reflections stuck in my mind. Personally, it exists as a different piece; a piece concerning colour, reflection and composition. So why does it feel wrong that I like something I do not understand?
Poet and scholar A. E. Housman once said that “Perfect understanding will sometimes almost extinguish pleasure.” [4]Open to the public of Nottingham until the 9th of January next year, the British Art Show is inviting you to ‘survey’ what our country has to offer in terms of contemporary art.
How much will you comprehend?
o o Rayner, Q. “British Art Show 7 opens in Nottingham“, (Video, Lisa Le Feurve interview), http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/nottingham/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_9119000/9119249.stm (date accessed 22/10/10)
o Exert from British Art Show 7 Exhibition Guide
http://www.britishartshow.co.uk/artists/
(date accessed 27/10/10)
o Carey-Thomas, L. “Art Now, Ian Kiaer”, http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/artnow/iankiaer/default.shtm
(date accessed 28/10/10)
o Housman, A. E. “Understanding Art Quotes” http://quote.robertgenn.com/getquotes.php?catid=319
(date accessed 28/10/10)
