Richard Saltoun - David Hall: Situations Envisaged

David Hall’s Situations Envisaged came to the Richard Saulton gallery from 17 July to 14 August 2015. The exhibition was curated by Stephen Partridge in consultation with Caroline Irving, Anna Ridley, Adam Lockhart as well as Hall’s daughter Debi Hall. The exhibition showcases the different mediums Hall uses for his art through video, photograph and installation.

Vidicon Inscriptions: The Tape shows the Hall’s approach to video experiementation with the video as it registers the motion of a polaroid shutter as it burns on to a “vidicon” tube.

The other video shown in the exhibition is the TV Fighter (Cam Era Plane) which creates a seamless connected timeline between two videos of a footage of a World War II fighter target image against another image. The overlap presents the past with the present seemingly allowing the two images coincide together as if they are both travelling together in a vacuum.

Displacement (Removal Piece) is an image of a photograph of an image of a reproduced installation of Hall’s work “removal” which was done by sanding down the gallery floor.

The Richmond Park Series are a series of 5 black and white photographs he took in Richmond Park in London.

Cinema is a series of 5 films: Actor, Between, Edge, This Surface and View. The films were made with Tony Sinden and were exhibited at Tate in 1974. Through the shaping of traditions and techniques of film, the films explore the comparison between the materiality of the screen to the image that is being projected.

A Situation Envisaged: The Rite II (Cultural Eclipse) is part of the Situation Envisaged Series, which was started in 1978. It was shown in an exhibition Video Positive ’89 held at Tate Gallery Liverpool. The installation is made up of 15 monitors stacked together with the centre TV monitor broadcasting an image of the moon, with the sounds provided by David Cunningham.

“Striking in its prescient re-interpretation of both the Minimalist Sculpture of the 1960s, of which Hall was part of, and the post-Minimalist artistic hybridity of the 1970s, which he helped to create” – Chrissie Isle on A Situation Envisaged

#SituationsEnvisaged

Phillips - Joana Vasconcelos: Material World

Joana Vasconcelos: Material World was exhibited at the Phillips gallery in Mayfair, London. The exhibition was held from 15 July to 28 August 2015. The exhibition features sculptures of her textured works which brought her to prominence during the 51st Venice Biennale. The exhibition is to coincide with Joana Vasconcelos’s Thames and Hudson monograph book.

The exhibition features bold, playful and a very colourful work to crochet coming together to form a unique style of sculptures. One large behemoth of a piece featured is Material Girl, brings not only to mind of Madonna’s hit singles back in the 80’s and among many at the exhibition, a real gem to behold.

Material Girl

It’s a take on it would seem that Joana Vasoncelos through the fabrication of the materials to form sculptures, making a statement on what she perceives as “Material World”. It almost like an alien world capturing different details playing on what’s familiar but bringing out a whole different side, witnessed in New Wave which employs LED lights, cushions and a picture frame. There’s also a section of ceramic animals showing Vasconcelos’s resilience in showing her art in different forms of animal snapshot poses with her signature spin. She can also inject some fun and humour into her work with Tea for Two, which is a double urinal coated in crochet.

Imperial

Glasshouse

Tea for Two

New Wave

Arthur

Merlin

#MaterialWorld

Southbank Centre - Love and Liquid Fire

The Love and Liquid Fire installation is an exhibition part of the Southbank Centre's Festival of Love. The works were created by Chris Bracey who is known for his neon sign works in God's Own Junkyard and neon lights in Soho, London. The installations are there from the 6 June to 31 August 2015.

Part of the exhibitions show early works and pictures of his life, which include ones from when he was a young man. There are conceptual and initial designs of works of his such as The Globe which was commissioned for the 2012 London Olympic Games as well as images of his neon signed featured in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, Judge Dredd, Batman and the ultra camp Superman III. Another cabinet shows his works that his done for the fashion Company, Mulberry. 

The installations on shows neon signs in all shapes and forms exploring the different side of love such as "PRIDE", "Passion" as well as "Heartbreak Hotel". The letterings in bold and striking fonts and colours playing on the different forms that it takes forming an universal beauty and appeal to them. The neon stands are surrounded by remnants of photographs and objects giving the exhibition more of a personal touch to them.

#SouthbankforLove

Somerset House - Summer Screen Film Poster Exhibition 2015

The Summer Screen Film Poster Exhibition in its third year is held in the West Wing Gallery of Somerset House from 30 July to 23 August 2015. It celebrates through illustrations and graphic design of posters inspired by films being shown at this year’s Film4 Summer Screen held in the courtyard of Somerset House. It is presented by both Somerset House and Print Club London.

Asides from the prints on display, there is a makeshift television screening the behind-the-scene footage of creating the poster designs by different artists.

The exhibition has in total 15 limited editions screen prints which are available for purchase. There are 200 prints of each design at the exhibition on Print Club London’s website. 

Cassandra Yap - True Romance

Concepción Studios - Roman Holiday

Rose Blake - West Side Story


Joe Wilson - Princess Monoke

Joe Vass - The Warriors

Steven Wilson - An American Werewolf in London

Ben Rider - Aguirre, Wrath of God

Barry Leonard - Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Rose Stellar - Do the Right Thing

Peter Strain - The Silence of the Lambs

Ministry of Love - The Second Mother

Holly Wales - The Graduate

Claudia Borfiga - Last of the Mohicans

RYCA - Withnail & I

#summerscreenprints

Royal Academy of Arts - Summer Exhibition 2015

The Royal Academy of Art’s Summer Exhibition was held this year from 8 June to 16 August 2015 and was curated by Michael Craig-Martin. From 12,000 submissions, it was whittled down to 1,100 showcasing a spectrum of artwork ranging from prints, paintings photography to installations, showing off a summer worth of vibrant art. Some of the artworks will be sold off to fund for RA’s free tuitions which has been offered for nearly 250 years.
The artworks able to viewed and admired in person, but the artworks are available online which can be viewed individually or done as a digital tour of the gallery. Not only that, this exhibition is has a sense of inclusiveness where visitors can immediately experience the exhibition even without a ticket to the event such as Conrad Shawcross’s The Dappled Light of the Sun which was situated on the outside in the courtyard of RA. Visitors are then dazzled and enticed by the colours of Jim Lambie’s Kaleidoscope Staircase as it leads up to the exhibition’s main doors.

The exhibition as a whole as it plays every detail of placements and colours combined with different art that plays on the tip of the tongue. This is apparent in the vision of Michael Craig-Martin as he has complete visuals and control as he plays on the use of space through different mediums. An example is of the Lecture Room, where I find that too much sculptures in one room can power over each other sometimes, but the use of sky blue-coated rooms in the room create space for each sculpture to breath and truly be appreciated individually.

Below are some works that were featured in the exhibition:

Matthew Darby Shire - Captcha No. 11 (Doryphoros)

Nigel O'Neill - 5 Colour Painting 4 and 5

Michael Craig-Martin - Untitled (Watch)

Gumuchdjian Architects - Lake Spa & Garden Pool

Liam Gillick - Applied Projection Rig

 #SummerExhibition

 

DNA Trail

Cancer Research have come up with 21 giant DNA sculptures inspired by the DNA double helix form, which are designed by artists, designers and sculptors around the world. They form a trail around London to raise aware and funds to put forwards in constructing the Francis Crick Institute in King’s Cross to carry out research and make breakthroughs. The trail is being held from 29 June to 6 September 2015 (10 weeks) with the Auction taking place in September.

I found that it was much more preferable to go during the weekday when the offices and galleries are open, which I found the hard way when I approached some complexes to only find out that it was closed. If you want to get up close and see the sculptures directly in front of you, then the best shot would be the weekdays. Even more to the fact I mainly chose the wrong times to go searching for these sculptures (peak lunchtime!) and having to tell a lot of people to hop off so I can point my camera and snap. It’s also a far-reaching opportunity to visit sites such as the Royal Opera House, head down to South Kensington for a trio of museums or even do some shopping in the West End. Along the trail, there are facts about the DNA found on each sculpture plaque.

Changes were made to Ted's Helix of Haberdashery by Ted Baker, which had a cat and mouse pieces affixed on it, but were sadly removed until they are replaced on auction due to the mouse sustaining damage (I suspect foul play).

1. The Journey by Guy Portelli - Royal Albert Hall, South Steps, SW7 2AP

2. Untitled 1 by Ai Weiwei - Christie’s window, 85 Old Brompton Rd, SW7 3LD

3. Colours Through Speed by Ian Callum, Director of Design, Jaguar - South Kensington Station, Pelham Street, SW7 2NB

4. Growing Stem by Orla Kiely - Dovehouse Green, King's Road, SW3 5UF

5. Double Helix Noir by Thierry Noir - Duke of York Square, King's Road, SW3 4LY

6. Double Dutch Delft Blue DNA by Chris & Xand van Tulleken - Victoria Station, near WH Smith, SW1E 5ND

7. Soul by Aston Martin - Cardinal Place window, 80 Victoria Street, SW1E 5JL

8. Mayoral Helix by Mayor of Westminster - Great George Street, outside No. 10, SW1P 3AE

9. Ted's Helix of Haberdashery by Ted Baker - Broadwick Street near Carnaby Street, W1F 9PE

10. Silver by Michael Howells - Top of South Molton Street, Bond Street, W1K 5RG

11. Untitled 2 by Ai Weiwei - Darren Baker Gallery window, 81 Charlotte Street, W1T 4PP

12. Life by Darren Baker - Trafalgar Square, WC2H 0HE

13. Creativity for Survival by Pilar Enrich - Trafalgar Square, WC2H 0HE

14. Enigma by Jane Morgan - Coutts window, The Strand, WC2R 0Q

15. Helix by Zaha Hadid - Stamp Staircase Basement, South Wing, Somerset House, WC2R 1LA

16. Chromo by Tim Ashley - Waterloo Station, outside M&S, SE1 8SW

17. Birth of the Universe by Andrew Logan - Festival Gardens, St Paul's, EC4M 8AD

18. After The Race by Ross Brawn - Peter's Hill, St Paul's, EC4V 5EY

19. Bios by Nick Gentry - Barbican Centre, Foyer of Cinema 2 & 3, Beech Street, EC2Y 8AE

20. Orange Tree by Leyla Aliyeva - King's Cross Station, near Leon, N1C 4T

21. Ascension - Twisted Ladder in Wood by Benjamin Shine - St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, Euston 

#DNAtrail