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Peter Liversidge’a ‘Giraffe’
PREVIEW MIXED MEDIA X (GROUP SHOW) Recoat Gallery, Glasgow, Sat 31 May—Wed 2 Jul
Life can be tough for a young gallery. particularly when it comes to finding its niche. Yet. this has not been a problem for the team at Pecoat Gallery. who are gearing up for their tenth exhibition since opening a year ago. Entitled X after the Roman numeral rather than X-rated content — the exhibition features ten international artists who are influenced by design. illustration and graffiti.
One of the local inclusions is Kirsty Whiten. who has shown in two preVious exhibitions at the gallery. This time round Whiten will be exhibiting a Giclee print of her painting ‘Hareem Scene' (pictured below). Inspired by Persian and Indian miniatures. the work depicts figures against a surreal. richly coloured and precisely detailed background. highlighted With gold leaf. 'I wanted the piece to have an Eastern feel. so the models are dressed in costumes I felt gave that sense.‘ says Whiten. 'The head-dresses are towels. and some of the men are holding objects that look like swords. though in actual fact they're umbrellas.‘ Whiten will also be unveiling a brand new pen and ink drawing. featuring similarly imaginative subject matter. and a subversion of art historical themes.
Whiten is clearly thrilled to be showmg in Recoat's tenth exhibition. Pecoat always shows excellent anists with an appreciation of design ethic and finish." she says. ‘With them I never have to apologise for the craftsmanship of my work.‘ (Li/ Shannon)
’ Visual Art
PREVIEW PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILM
PETER LIVERSIDGE AND FISCHLI + WEISS lngleby Gallery, Edinburgh, Sat 31 May-Sat 7 Jun
If you notice smoke coming out of Edinburgh’s lngleby Gallery towards the end of the month, you should probably investigate before you phone the fire brigade: it might just be artist Peter Liversidge and his two industrial smoke machines.
‘The day before the opening we will be enacting a proposal I made: filling the entire building with smoke and photographing it as it dissolves away,’ says the artist. Given that Liversidge’s previous proposals have included using the gallery space to keep badgers, lngleby’s staff may consider themselves to have got off lightly.
As part of the gallery’s unfailingly inventive series of short exhibitions celebrating their tenth anniversary, Liversidge has chosen to pair his work with two films by Swiss artists Fischli + Weiss. ‘l’d seen their piece, “The Way Things Go”, and I just thought it was amazing work for two grown men to make,’ he says. ‘lt’s serious, but they don’t take themselves too seriously. I admire their humour.’ Fischli + Weiss’ films ‘The Right Way’ and ‘The Point of Least Resistance’, featuring the artists dressed as a rat and a bear, will be shown alongside Liversidge’s work, highlighting the duo’s influence on his practice. ‘They’d been making work that I’ve always been aware of, so the pairing feels comfortable — there’s an affinity there.’
Liversidge’s contribution to the exhibition will include photographic documentation of his smoke proposal, alongside a new photographic series, ‘200 Polaroids (Barcelona)’. ‘l’m not one of those people that thinks that zoos are necessarily bad things,’ he says. ‘Some animals only exist in zoos these days.’ The Polaroids play on the uncontrollable aspects of photography, particularly in relation to capturing images of animals. Between pressing the button and the shutter snapping, there is an uncontrollable moment during which the subject can move or the light might change, turning a successful image into a not-so-successful one. ‘Out of 180 photographs, there were probably between 70 and 90 that were successful — it’s all down to calculated chance.’ Unlike reproducible photographic images, each Polaroid is a one-off - just like the moment that Liversidge has attempted to capture. (Liz Shannon)
tililg'tfiifiay-i SCULPTURE ,, MICHAEL STUMPF: GLOCKCHEN WHIPLASH Sorcha Dallas, Glasgow, Sat 31 May-Thu 5 Jun
Following his 2005 exhibition at Sorcha Dallas. Once. Michael Stumpf returns to the Glasgow venue with Gldckc/ien Whip/ash, a series of new sculptural works produced at the Scottish Sculpture Workshop in Aberdeenshire. and the artist's own studio in Glasgow. Pairing the words ‘diminutive bell' and ‘whiplash' these works offer a glimpse into the artist's wider concerns. Using durable materials such as bron/e. denim. aluminum and jersey. which are recurrent in his work. Stumpf meditates on the natural properties of these substances.
Stumpf's works in this exhibition are both free-standing and suspended from the ceiling in what he describes as the ‘straightforward‘ space at Sorcha Dallas. The artist also pairs his sculptures with three-dimei’isional text works. created at the same time as the sculptures. which touch upon his cornerstone themes of transience and dislocation. Stumpf's sculptures often elude easy interpretation. but the atmosphere surrounding them is more tangible: expect a stark and chilling installation.
Born in Mannheim. Germany. Stumpf now lives and works in Glasgow. a place he feels is 'diverse and healthy‘ for artists. ‘There’s not very much difference between the two cities.‘ he says. ‘except the language.‘ A graduate of Glasgow School of Art's MFA, Stumpf also served as a committee member of the Transmission Gallery. (Theresa Munoz)
22 May—5 Jun 2008 THE LIST 95