Visual Art
Art superstore
Hundreds of art works are arriving in Edinburgh this month for a massive show from the CONTEMPORARY ART SOCIETY. lsla Leaver-Yap steps over cases and listens above the hammering to find out what it’s all about.
ith just over a week until the ShowCASe
exhibition opens. the decorators and movers at
the Talbot Rice Gallery are steadily unpacking the piles of boxes and crates that. once on display. will form one of Scotland's biggest group shows in recent years. No l‘ewer than l5() artists will be showing their contemporary artwork here and at the City Art Centre. Some are lesser known artists still in the formative stages of their career. while others are Turner nominees or even prize-winners.
But just now the sight ot‘ the gallery still under construction is surreal: Henry Krokatsis' wooden hut installation sits like Noah‘s Ark amidst a floor tilled with cans ol‘ paint. waves ot‘ bubble wrap and packing cases. Decorators and movers casually chat about the radio news that Ciermaine Greer has just left Big Brother. while assistants leat~ through step-by-step instructions for the execution ot~ a piece that is to be painted directly onto two of the main gallery walls. Photographs. prints. sculptures and paintings lean patiently against the tiresth white-washed walls and Brian Grit‘tiths' over- lit'esi/e monkey sculpture gingerly pushes its arms through white wrapping paper.
Although a smaller selection of the show has already been previewed in London. an event as large as this in Scotland is particularly unique. not to mention ambitious. ‘\\'e tend to deliberately not show in London.‘ says Ceri Lewis. the curator of ShowCASe. noting the importance of regional ties and the close involvement ot‘ the Scottish Arts Council with the CA8.
92 THE LIST 20 Jan—3 Feb 2005
A MONKEY SCULPTURE GINGERLY PUSHES ITS ARMS THROUGH WHITE WRAPPING PAPER
Museums around Britain will be ol'l‘ei'ed the chance to bid on every art work and. by the close ol' ShowCASe. all the pieces will then be distributed into various public collections. Lewis is keen to stress the exclusivity ol' this exhibition. ‘Because the works are then going to go into other collections you will detinitely see them. but they are never all going to be together like this again.’
A charity organisation that is nearly llll) years old. the CAS was initially set tip to support contemporary artists early on in their careers and offer them a plillllll'lll loi' their work. l5or this event. the CAS invited a handliul ol' buyers to purchase artworks l‘or this show. and so ShowCASc not only tillers a massch oyei‘yicw ol contemporary art development over the last four years. but also reflects the personal tastes ol' each individual buyer. With works as varied as sculpture. installation. painting. photography. printing and more recently. \ ideo projection. the exhibition is sprawling with creativity and variety. “There is currently such a diversity ol' how artists are making work. approaching work. using materials.‘ says Lewis.
The combination of the two venues is also a bold move. with the aim of bringing together Talbot Rice's university audience and the wider public ol‘ the (‘AC The show is unprecedented for these two galleries in terms ot‘ scale and determination.
ShowCASe: Contemporary Art For the UK, City Art Centre & Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh, Sat 22 Jan-Sat 12 Mar.
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BST XHIBITIONS
Mat Collishaw YRA artist
returns to Scotland wrth new. potent work. lnvei'leith l l irise. Edinburgh, until Sun {‘0 li it), elbowroom A selectit ill or art about Violence against women and the Violation of women’s human rights creati :(l by artists and women‘s groups. Could have been a worthy project; turns out the arts brilliant. See revrew. Golvl/l. Glasgow. until Men 14 let).
Pat Douthwaite Posthumous retrospective of the Paisley—born artist whose figurative paintings strike poignant notes of exuberance. wit and melancholy See l’(3VI(‘:Vv’. Scottish Gallery. [:(jll it )t in 1/ i, ur itil Wed 2 Feb.
ShowCASe Hauling together some 250 works by contemporary artists. including Scotland's Richard Wright and David Sherry, the Contemporary Art Society spreads out across the City and shows off their latest wares. See preview. City Art Centre and Talbot Rice Gal/ery. Edinburgh, 22 Jan— I2 Mar;
Kate Davies Last Char ice to see the five—star show by young Glasgow-based artist whose paintings. drawings and installations stir yOu up and don‘t let yOu down. Sore/7a Dal/as, Glasgow. until Sat 2.? Jan.
Ellen Gallagher Mixing it up with 8 movies, Diz7ee Rascal. plasticrne and floating sheets of beautiful. inoserl water-colour paper. New York artist Gallagher has made her mark. Fruitmarket Gallery. Edinburgh, until Sun 73 Feb.
A Nation Turns Its Lonely Eyes Six 2004 graduates who've been busy since the summer, not least in a creation by Emma Platt that's something like the Cremaster edition of Joy of Sex. See review. Market Gallery. Glasgow. until Sat 5 Feb.