Visual Art
Painting, photographs, installations, sculpture
URSULA ' MUMENTHALER
A deep turquoise room,
and still. Swiss artist Mumenthaler inverts the photographs she takesof '
models and rooms. have
been constructed and
to play with light and .
that the slow passing [of time“: i. "
steadily, poetically tracked. I Atticsalt, until Sat 27 Au'g. ‘ ,.
THELOW DOWN
Cai Guo-Qiang is a Chinese artist based in New York. His fascination with the occult manifests itself in gunpowder portraits and groves of dimly lit plantain at the Fruitmarket and black explosions above the castle. Sadly, some of his apprehensions mentioned below were borne out, but as the motto says . . .
My favourite mood in which to make an is perhaps in a lonely mood. Being on the plane inspires me.
The artist I most admire from the past is El Greco. His work has
a lot of spirituality. During the Renaissance when most artists were focused on learning human anatomy he already knew that was not the most important.
My favourite colours are black and white.
I’m most looking forward to good weather at the Festival.
I’m most apprehensive about bad weather — wind and rain. Wind
IS worse.
If my work could be compared to a drink it would be milk (but I am lactose intolerant).
The motto that I've found to be the best guide in life is: everything is
a process. It comes and goes.
I Car Guo—Oiang - Life Beneath the Shadows, the Fruitmarket Gallery, until 25 Sep.
ruth.hedges@list.co.uk
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FESTIVAL'ART
‘What art offers is space - a certain breathing room for the spirit.’ John Updike
=2: Jannls Kounellis The Greek installation artist who's settled in Rome enjoys his first retrospective in Scotland, straddling ECA and SNGMA. See preview. page 84. Edinburgh College of Art and Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Sun 74 Aug—Sun 78 Sep & Sat 73 Aug-8 Jan O6. :2: Sentences Ian Hamilton Finlay is celebrated in text with his words painted directly onto gallery walls. lnverleith House is also arranging bus trips to his garden, Little Sparta, in the Pentlands. Call to book. lnverleith House, Royal Botanic Gardens, until 23 Oct
:2: Cal Guc-Qiang: Life Beneath the Shadow Ghostly goings-on in the Old Town with plantain groves, gunpowder portraits and webs of little Joss dolls by this New York-based Chinese artist. The Fruitmarket Gallery, until 25 Sep.
:5: Henri Cartieri-Bresson The legendary man who photographed much of the last century is celebrated in a retrospective which gets its only UK showing here. The Dean Gallery, until 23 Oct.
:2: Martin Parr: Autobiography Our contemporary photographic chronologist talks about his life and work. See feature, page 82. Weston Link, 76 Aug.
:2: Teaming You don't have to work alone to produce brilliance. This sentiment is championed in an exhibition of collaborators including the Boyle Family, John Mullen and Lee O’Conner. See preview, page 85. The Embassy, 73 Aug-3 Sep.
:2: Paula Rego Major retrospective of Rego’s print works from the early days in the 50s to a contemporary series on men laying eggs, with images of nursery rhymes, Jane Eyre and abortion in between. Talbot Rice Gallery, until 24 Sep.
1 1-48 Aug 2005 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 81