Art
DRAWING & PAINTING
A HUNDRED FLOWERS, A HUNDRED BIRDS A HUNDRED CHILDREN, IN LATE SPRING AND EARLY SUMMER
CCA, Glasgow, until Sun 12 Jan 000 The golden days of the CCA have been re-invoked in this exhibition of work by Hanneline Wsnes and Lucy Skaer. With the galleries gloriously free from cluttered-up fiber-shows, Wsnes and Skaer’s work looks streamlined and delicate.
Like her earlier work, Visnes’ oil on board works carry strong references to folk art and craft- based practice, while Skaer, known for her work as part of the collective Henry Vlll’s Wives, displays large works on paper. The uniting theme of the exhibition is the desire to exploit the viewer’s impulse to project narratives onto the work. The use of loaded symbols — in Visnes’ work, ‘straight’ iconography such as hearts, skulls, peacocks and necklaces; in Skaer’s, photojournalistic simulacra — suggests that the artists seek to draw the viewer in.
The conventional response is to
Untitled (detail) 2002
MIXED MEDIA
CHARLES AVERY: ‘THE TRUTH ABOUT
THE TRUTH’
attempt a reading of this pictorial language. Here, though, the artists subvert this reaction by teasing the viewer and simultaneously pushing them away. Skaer’s allusions to the visually-prompted decoding techniques employed by psychoanalysts (eg the Rosarch ink blot test) use not banal imagery but instantly recognisable, generic scenes of war and violence mixed with chaos theory maelstroms and glimpses of a dark new age.
But while iconographic images are presented, they are not fully explored. For me, the type of imagery used goes hand-in-hand with responsibility for how this symbolism is read, whether or not this is accepted by the artists and ultimately, the exhibition presents semiotics dressed up as deconstruction.
If the paradoxes posed by the Peace Palace inspired the work (as the artists claim), is it really enough
PRINTS 8. CERAMICS
New work by Hanneline Visnes
to merely present this kind of loaded imagery? If an interest in the overlap between artisan and statesman was an underlying approach does this not infer some sense of accountability for the imagery appropriated? Or is it the very absence of position or stance which makes the exhibition thought-provoking? If not, the jacket designs for L Ron Hubbard books and cover designs for 705 concept albums may offer just as much, if in a less beautiful way. (Susannah Thompson)
4‘» EDUARDO CHILLIDA AND RUPERT SPIRA w P}: t lngleby Gallery, Edinburgh, until Sat 21 Dec 0.... {7’ H Eduardo Chillida was born in 1924 in the Basque region of
Spain. He became one of the world's leading sculptors and
‘ ,Jn.‘ printmakers. but is largely unknown in Britain. As this
. beautifully conceived exhibition shows. it is a gaping omission in our knowledge.
The lngleby Gallery has performed something of a coup here. after the death of Chillida in August led to a frenzy of
’ international interest. The gallery's proposed exhibition was suddenly thrown into uncertainty. but its reputation ensured a loan by Chillida‘s widow of five beautiful pieces. The works 0n show are a selection of etchings made between 1973 and 1997 and betray Chillada's SCulptural origins. The paper onto which copper plates have been pressed is thick and creamy. Chillida's etching compresses it so that
ink not only coats the paper. but imprints a three dimensional depth. On show at the same time are the exquisite ceramics of
Rupert Spira. His bowls and vases have been thrown and
turned to achieve thin. delicate creations. which are
doggerfisher, Edinburgh, until Sat 21 Dec 000
For Charles Avery. drawing only provides the framework. It's up to the viewer to conceive their own narrative. This could also be said about some of the rest of the work in the show: a blob of black paint on a mirror. two interlocking circles With the words 'All the Seagulls in England' and a single triangular form atop a wooden table. It's an odd mix of exhibits that both excite and baffle at the same time.
The Seven Bil/ion Sided Dice is a large triangle made up of nine equilateral triangle-shaped units constructed in wood. The tip of each of the nine triangles is painted a different colour thus allowing. we are told. seven billion different combinations. At first. you don't think this is possible but y0u find yOurself going through the different arrangements in your head.
But for me. the highlight of the exhibition is Avery's drawmgs. In a series of six works. a group of imagined people huddle. Some characters are showing something to the rest of the group: others appear to be deep in discussion or caught in reverie. Lines are kept simple for the body outlines but when it comes to facial features. Avery goes into great detail. Closely drawn lines denote furrowed brows. His DBIICII marks allow faces to contort and eyes to become incredibly expressive. Beautifully executed. he adds real personality to the character. It's almost as though they really do exist. (Helen Monaghan)
98 THE LIST 12 Dec 2009—2 Jan 2003
inscribed with poems and prose in free fall. Gla7ed with a pale bluey. greeny hue or a deep black. the clay has aSSumed an almost Spiritual quality.
The artists complement each other and this quality has been accentuated with great skill and sensitivity. With money to burn you could make someone very happy: a few items are still available. Without. you can stand. wonder. and admire. The art and space is [)I()l()tlll(l.
(Ruth Hedges)
Esku XXXIV by Eduardo Chillida
MIXED MEDIA REELACE}: SUSIE JO NSTO 8. RACHEL MIMIEC Gallery of Modern Art,
Glasgow, until Sun 5 Jan 0..
Glasgow artists SUSIC Johnston and Rachel Mimiec have indiVidually responded to the historical background of GDMA to create newly commissioned works. But their separate Outcomes sit uncomfortably together. Johnston has based part of her research on William Cunningham. a success‘u! tobacco merchant in the 18th century who commissioned the building of his home. now GOMA. She found that Cunningham grew Jargonelle pear trees within the grounds. so she's taken this form- and cast it in porcelain. producmg multiples and scattering them On the gallery's floor. It's a response to the polarisation
Untitled by Rachel Mimiec
of commerce and domestiCity. but the piece fails fully to resolve these themes and is disjointed from her other works on display. The most successfui of these are her paintings which are less literal and connect '.'.ei! to Mimiec's installatioi‘.
Mimiec has created '.'.'orks with an antiquated and magical feel. In her photographs trees are captured reflected in water. turning in on themselves. creating an lllTl)l'(-){}ll£.lt)v(3 forest straight out of Sleep'eg Beat/fl: This narratx'e is further developed :n he." installation The Red Room where cut-out shapes of plants. in red flocked card. seem to seep out of the walls. like an overgrox-xn garden forcing its wax. into the building. These patterns incite a range of connect ons from 18th century ‘.’.’£l”l)£ll)(3l’ to the recent reworking of fairytale papercuts by Kara Walker.
Both succeed :n offer rig {It‘- artistic response to the building's varied history working best when placed alone. lSorcha Dallasi