Art2Arts contributor Barry Andrews is undertaking a new set of seven paintings influenced by Greek architecture as part of an exhibition he is taking part in in April at the Hellenic Centre, London.

The Hellenic Centre is a vibrant cultural organization founded in 1994 with the aim of providing a focus for the Hellenic community. The centre works with the community to both raise the awareness of Hellenic culture in the UK and nurture the unique relationship between Britain and the Hellenic world.

The 7 pieces Barry is creating are a departure from his usual style and colour palate. These new works are dominated by black paint made from a mix of Prussian blue, burnt sienna and damar varnish and have taken a considerable amount of preparation in order to complete. “I have been to the library of RIBA and the British Museum collating photographic references and working drawings to use in the construction of these paintings,” explains Barry. “The change in palate and style is a welcome challenge and I am excited to see the paintings on display at the Hellenic Centre.”

The Hellenic Centre prioritizes work by its members for display in the Friends Room, although work by Greek and Greek Cypriot artists who live and work in the UK and who are not affiliated to a Gallery are also invited after consideration. The same hand of opportunity is extended to foreign artists whose work is inspired by a Hellenic theme, much like Barry.

We wish Barry all the best for the exhibition and encourage all Art2Arts members who are in the area or fancy taking a look, to visit in April. If any other Art2Arts contributors are featuring in other exhibitions or events of interest them please let us know.

Tags: architecture, community art, Painting
Posted in A Day In The Life Of An Artist, Art in London, Exhibitions, Installation, Painting, UK Art | Comments (0)

Lygia Pape’s Magnetized Space is at the Serpentine until 19 February 2012

Pape was a fouding member of the “neo-concrete” movement. Does that mean she incorporated the cement mixer into her installations? Alas no. Neo-concretism was a short-lived movement exisited in Brazil from about 1959-1961. Pape was part of an artists’ group called the Rio group, who founded the idea of neo-concretism as a response to and rebellion against the concretism movement. Did the concretism movement involve cement mixers then, or indeed any kind of construction material? Well, not usually. The 1930 Manifesto of Concrete Art specified concretist work as abstract work taht was purely focused on form itself, free of any assocition wiht either reality or symobilism. Lines, colours and forms were “concrete evidence” on their own.

Here’s an example of a concretist screenprint peice:

So how exactly does this relate to Lygia Pape, neo-concretism, and this exhibition at the Serpentine. Well, as mentioned, neo-concretism was a reaction to concretism, and Pape’s Rio group sought to work more intuitively and freely, escaping the dogmatic rational constraints of concretistm. They were especially dedicated to the idea that art should be able to be included as a part of everyday life. Let’s have a look at Pape’s work to see what this meant in practice. Both photos below show Pape’s “Book of Time” an installation created between 1961 and 1963. The work certainly has a playful appeal, but still has the abstract, geometric, clean-cut feel of a concretist artwork.

Lygia Pape
Livro do Tempo (Book of Time) 1961-63
Installation view, Magnetized Space,
Serpentine Gallery, London
(7 December 2011 – 19 February 2012)
© 2011 Jerry Hardman-Jones

Lygia Pape
Livro do Tempo (Book of Time) 1961-63
Installation view, Magnetized Space,
Serpentine Gallery, London
(7 December 2011 – 19 February 2012)
© 2011 Jerry Hardman-Jones

Next up is Pape’s installation Tteia (Web), created recently in 2011. This is a visually beautiful piece where one can clearly appreciate the idea of forms existing for their own sake. At the same time, I can’t label this work as concretist, because the forms so clearly remind me of other things – sunlight filtering through clouds, or shafts of light piercing stained-glass windows for example. It is this, perhaps that illustrates a flaw in pure conrcretism – as much as we may be able to appreciate a form without justification or explanation, it is almost always because we automatically make a link with something else that the form reminds us of.

Lygia Pape
Tteia (Web) 2011
Installation view, Magnetized Space,
Serpentine Gallery, London
(7 December 2011 – 19 February 2012)
© 2011 Jerry Hardman-Jone

Lygia Pape
Tteia (Web) 2011
Installation view, Magnetized Space,
Serpentine Gallery, London
(7 December 2011 – 19 February 2012)
© 2011 Jerry Hardman-Jones

So neo-concretism doesn’t have to be dull and grey genre. It’s worth visiting the Serpentine before 19th February to appreciate in person the subtle beauty of Pape’s works.

Moma talk on the Concrete and Neo-Concrete Movements in Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela:

http://www.moma.org/explore/multimedia/audios/11/178

Tags: art, Art in London, artist, Lygia Pape, Serpentine Gallery
Posted in Art in London, Exhibitions, Installation, Video | Comments (0)

China is a truly exciting country when it comes to fine art at the moment, and one of its brightest stars is Ai Weiwei. Keen art fans might remember his 2010 “Sunflower Seeds” installation at the Tate Modern, where he piled millions of porcelain sunflower seeds onto the gallery floor. The seeds had been individually hand painted by 1,600 artisans in Jingdezhen, China. At first, visitors were invited to walk around in the seeds and experience the satisfying crunch underfoot. Unfortunately this was not to last, as the gallery fenced the installation off due to safety concerns as a result of the porcelain dust.

Ai has an eclectic career background; he studied at Beijing Film Academy in 1978, where he was a founder of avante-garde art group “The Stars”.In 1981, he moved to the US, and studied at Parsons School of Design and the Art Students League of New York. He’s also been a professional blackjack player, and is regarded as a top-tier professional player within the blackjack world.

As well as being known for his elegant large-scale installations, Ai Weiwei is also known for his human rights work and opposition to the Chinese government. This summer, he became known around the world after he was held under arrest for two months following his criticism of the Chinese government’s stance on democracy and human rights. The European Union and United States opposed the detention, and the Tate Modern changed their display to read “Release Ai Weiwei”.

Ai is now out of detention, but forbidden from leaving Beijing. Despite this, he’s just opened a new exhibition, and this time it’s in Taipei Fine Arts Museum in Taiwain ; though he won’t be able to actually attend it. It’s called “Ai Weiwei Absent” and most notably featured an installation on grand scale, called ”Forever Bicycles”. The piece is made of over 1000 bicycles, arranged in a 10 ft high display area. The piece reflects the rapid pace of societal and technological changes in China. The museum’s website says:

Its layered labyrinthine space creates what appears to be a moving abstract shape that symbolizes the way in which the social environment in China is changing.

The exhibition also features a self-portrait photo sequence of the artist as a young man, along with a series of bronze heads representing the Chinese Zodiac. The general theme and message of the exhibition focuses around Ai’s forced absence. He remains defiant; after his release, he was forbidden from using Twitter or talking to the media, but has continued to do so regardless.

 

 

Tags: Ai Weiwei, art, Art Gallery, artist, Forever Bicycles, installation, Sunflower Seeds, Tate Modern
Posted in Artist Corner, Exhibitions, Installation, Meet The Artists, Multi-Media Art, Sculpture | Comments (0)

This year’s Turner Prize exhibition is held not in London, but in Newcastle’s Baltic Gallery. The exhibiton will now alternate year-on-year between the Tate Britain and other major art galleries around the UK. The 4 artists shortlisted this year are:

Karla Black

Karla Black is from Scotland and studied at Glasgow School of Art. She makes ephemeral sculptures from materials such as cellophane, paint and sellotape, which often have a visceral feel. Images are sourced from www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk

Hilary Lloyd

Hailing form Halifax in Yorkshire, Hilary LLoyd makes work in mixed media and dimension, ranging from video to photography to performance. The subject can be anything from roller-skating to paint patterns left behind on a studio floor.

George Shaw

George Shaw is a painter based in North Devon who makes surprisingly emotional and nostalgic photorealist paintings of mundane clips from urban landscapes. Image source: www.guardian.co.uk

Martin Boyce

Glaswegian Martin Boyce creates really strong and striking architectural sculptures, which take inspiration from modernist design history. Image source: www.channel4.com

The Turner Prize Exhibition runs at the Baltic until 8th January 2012. The Tuner Prize winner will be announced on 5th December 2011.

Tags: art, Art Gallery, artist, Baltic Gallery, exhibitions, installation, painter, Painting, sculpture, Turner Prize, UK art
Posted in Artist Corner, Exhibitions, Installation, Multi-Media Art, Painting, Sculpture, UK Art | Comments (0)