Viewing articles from 2017/05

AirSpace Gallery, 4 Broad Street, City Centre, Stoke-on-Trent ST1 4HL

Victoria Lucas: Lay of the Land (and other such myths)

Victoria Lucas, Lay of the Land (and other such myths), installation view at AirSpace Gallery

The spectral colours of ‘Psychedelic Western #3’ (2015) provide a rich exhibition excerpt – its vibrant and effervescent depictions of the Alabama hills are repeated in the show's wall-sized prints and theatrical screens. A feminine sigh welcomes you into the space, while deceptively light boulders – made from layers of polystyrene, fibreglass and jesmonite – catch your eye as they glisten under the gallery's spotlights. Selina Oakes reviews

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Turf Projects, Keeley Rd, Croydon CR0 1TF

Paul Schneider: Ways of Seeing

Installation view, Ways of Seeing at Turf Projects

A simplicity of form is the essence of ‘Ways of Seeing’, Paul Schneider’s solo show at Turf Projects in East Croydon. Screen Beans, the now extinct graphics of the 90s Microsoft Office populate the gallery space of Turf Projects over and over again creating an immersive virtual experience. Review by Zoe Marden

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Athens, Greece

Documenta 14: Athens

Rebecca Belmore, Biinjiya'iing Onji (From inside), 2017, marble, Filopappou Hill, Athens, documenta 14

Documenta 14: 'Learning from Athens' promised to address some of the current social and political issues facing Europe today by questioning its foundations: colonialism, patriarchy, gender-normativity and capitalism. Yet many feared that the exhibition tried to glamorise the ‘Greek crisis’ and capitalise on what is a very complex and difficult social and economic situation. What’s in it for Athens? Review by Anaïs Castro

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Fabrica, Duke St, Brighton BN1 1AG

Ipek Duben: THEY / ONLAR

Ipek Duben: THEY / ONLAR, installation view at Fabrica, 2017

‘Onlar,’ in English, means ‘they’ but artist Ipek Duben says the word translates more accurately to ‘everyone who is not like us.’ In her multi-screen video installation ‘They/Onlar’, Duben presents the experiences of Turkey’s ‘others’: Kurds, Alevis, Armenians, Jews, Rum and Romanis as well as LGBT and covered women. Review by Ashley Janke

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Cubitt Gallery, 8 Angel Mews, Islington, London N1 9HH

Houses are really bodies: escape, defiance and friendship in the writing of Leonora Carrington

Houses are really bodies: the writing of Leonora Carrington, installation view, Cubitt Gallery, London, 2017.

In the contemporary, the idea of ‘sanctuary’ is an interesting one. Helen Nisbet’s use of the word when describing ‘Houses are really bodies’, her debut installation as Cubitt’s latest Curatorial Fellow, strikes chords that place the show both within a dense history and at the forefront of the present. Review by Jack Smurthwaite

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Firstsite, Lewis Gardens, High St, Colchester CO1 1JH

Zhang Enli: Gesture and Form

Zhang Enli: Gesture and Form, installation view at Firstsite, 2017

A site-specific painting, made over a ten-day period by Chinese artist Zhang Enli, wraps the entirety of Firstsite Gallery’s 140-meter curved interior wall. All year, the work will ensconce visitors in a teeming landscape comprised of Chinese and British trees. Review by Cleo Roberts

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Kunsthalle Wien Karlsplatz, Treitlstraße 2, 1040 Vienna, Austria

Camille Henrot: If Wishes Were Horses

Camille Henrot: If Wishes Were Horses, installation view at Kunsthalle Wien, 2017.

Before entering Camille Henrot’s solo exhibition ‘If Wishes Were Horses,’ the viewer is required to remove their shoes. While this serves the practical function of not damaging the floor, it is also an intimate gesture with associations of religious worship, the comfort of being at home, privacy, or even sensuality. Review by Deborah Krieger

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Chisenhale Gallery, 64 Chisenhale Rd, London E3 5QZx

Maeve Brennan: The Drift

Maeve Brennan, The Drift, 2017. Installation view, Chisenhale Gallery, 2017.

From the very first images you are transported into rural Lebanon. The silence of the valley is broken by an incoming car, driving past a junction littered with disused motor vehicles. These modern ruins are instantly followed by ancient villas and temples that have sat for centuries in the countryside, now surrounded by roads, pylons and infrastructure. Review by Bobby Jewell

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Kunstraum, 21 Roscoe Street, London EC1Y 8PT

Sophie Jung: Producing My Credentials

Sophie Jung, Producing My Credentials, Kunstraum, London, 2017.

‘Producing My Credentials’ is a series of performances and an exhibition that invites the audience to enter an audacious and curious version of Sophie Jung’s memory theatre. Review by Christian Lübbert

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Ikon Gallery, 1 Oozells Square, Brindleyplace, Birmingham, B1 2HS

Oliver Beer

Oliver Beer, installation view at Ikon, 2017

Beer’s practice is diverse – encompassing film, sound, and sculpture – and perhaps more easily related by sensibility than subject matter. His home video, ‘Mum’s Continuous Note’, which welcomes us into the exhibition, serves as our induction. Review by Kit Webb

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Kunstmuseum Bonn, Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 2, 53113 Bonn, Germany

Lundahl & Seitl: New Originals

Lundahl & Seitl: New Originals, 2017, installation view at Kunstmuseum Bonn

‘New Originals’ from Lundahl & Seitl was developed expressly for the Kunstmuseum Bonn and marks a new phase in the way the artists work. For the first time, an audio-performative work by Lundahl & Seidl is taking place as an independent exhibition over a three month stretch of time. Text by Sally Müller

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Marian Goodman Gallery, 5-8 Lower John Street, London W1F 9DY

Annette Messager: avec et sans raisons

Installation view of Annette Messager, avec et sans raisons, Marian Goodman Gallery London 19 April - 27 May 2017

‘Daily’ (2016) features ropes of black thread akin to dusted cobwebs, a recurring thematic throughout the show used to strangle and surrender items of gigantic proportions; scissors, combs, keys and locks. Items charged with domestic associations lie surrendered in mid-air, transfixed and immobile, a metaphor for frustration which is echoed in the exhibition’s accompanying work. Review by Sophie Risner

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