Media Release
A Group Show featuring work by Pio Abad, Jonathan Baldock, Josh
Blackwell, Jim Lambie, Hew Locke, Alex Pollard, Eva Rothschild, Karin Ruggaber
and Renee So
Blackwell, Jim Lambie, Hew Locke, Alex Pollard, Eva Rothschild, Karin Ruggaber
and Renee So
Image: Pio Abad, ‘Oh! Oh! Oh! (A Universal History of Infamy)’ 2012
This summer the
GSA will stage a group exhibition exploring adornment in contemporary practice.
Featuring work by nine artists, including a new piece by Turner Prize nominee
Jim Lambie, the exhibition will examine the cultural, social and material
aspects of adornment, interrogating the status of detail and embellishment in the
21st century. The exhibition will be staged in the highly detailed
Mackintosh Museum at the heart of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s art school building, which was influenced
by the Arts & Crafts Movement. A
Conspiracy of Detail runs from 13 July – 29 Sept 2013.
GSA will stage a group exhibition exploring adornment in contemporary practice.
Featuring work by nine artists, including a new piece by Turner Prize nominee
Jim Lambie, the exhibition will examine the cultural, social and material
aspects of adornment, interrogating the status of detail and embellishment in the
21st century. The exhibition will be staged in the highly detailed
Mackintosh Museum at the heart of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s art school building, which was influenced
by the Arts & Crafts Movement. A
Conspiracy of Detail runs from 13 July – 29 Sept 2013.
Philippines–born Pio Abad’s work looks at the intersections between histories of
the decorative and the political. Through installations, prints and
photographs, his work sets up juxtapositions that mine the relationships
between things and events; between the anecdotal and the allegorical. Objects
and images are reconstructed or re-presented in order to activate their
relationship to individuals, ideologies and narratives. His piece, looking at
Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, will be re-configured for the Mackintosh Museum.
the decorative and the political. Through installations, prints and
photographs, his work sets up juxtapositions that mine the relationships
between things and events; between the anecdotal and the allegorical. Objects
and images are reconstructed or re-presented in order to activate their
relationship to individuals, ideologies and narratives. His piece, looking at
Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, will be re-configured for the Mackintosh Museum.
How Jonathan Baldock goes about making his sculptures is a little
unorthodox to say the least. Looking for a cheap substitute for clay that
didn’t require the cumbersome processes of a kiln, Baldock returned to his
roots and adopted a technique he learned in Sunday school. Each of his sculptures, which could easily
be mistaken for fine porcelain or ceramic, are in fact made from a play-dough
mixture of flour, salt, and water. Baldock begins each piece by sculpting a
head, and then lets it dry in front of his radiator (they won’t fit in his
oven!) before adding the details in successive layers; their rich matt hues
that would be the envy of Wedgwood are derived from food colouring which he
mixes into the dough at the kneading stage.
unorthodox to say the least. Looking for a cheap substitute for clay that
didn’t require the cumbersome processes of a kiln, Baldock returned to his
roots and adopted a technique he learned in Sunday school. Each of his sculptures, which could easily
be mistaken for fine porcelain or ceramic, are in fact made from a play-dough
mixture of flour, salt, and water. Baldock begins each piece by sculpting a
head, and then lets it dry in front of his radiator (they won’t fit in his
oven!) before adding the details in successive layers; their rich matt hues
that would be the envy of Wedgwood are derived from food colouring which he
mixes into the dough at the kneading stage.
Josh Blackwell
makes intricate embroideries on plastic bags, stating: “Plastic
bags are the second most common form of litter in the world after cigarette
butts. Their degraded status and ubiquitous presence are fascinating to me,
attempting to balance between convenience and excess. Quickly used and then
discarded, their textured surfaces wear the remains of physical activity like
dirty laundry left on the floor. The bags attempt to redress their impoverished
status with the addition of colourful embroidery in geometric patterns.”
makes intricate embroideries on plastic bags, stating: “Plastic
bags are the second most common form of litter in the world after cigarette
butts. Their degraded status and ubiquitous presence are fascinating to me,
attempting to balance between convenience and excess. Quickly used and then
discarded, their textured surfaces wear the remains of physical activity like
dirty laundry left on the floor. The bags attempt to redress their impoverished
status with the addition of colourful embroidery in geometric patterns.”
Jim Lambie’s
work is influenced by movements in art and the
history of place. His work specifically relates to the industrial past of his
hometown, Glasgow, and utopian liberation movements, such as William Morris’
Socialism and the Arts and Crafts movement. Lambie will present a new work The Gold Belt (2013) in the exhibition.
work is influenced by movements in art and the
history of place. His work specifically relates to the industrial past of his
hometown, Glasgow, and utopian liberation movements, such as William Morris’
Socialism and the Arts and Crafts movement. Lambie will present a new work The Gold Belt (2013) in the exhibition.
Hew Locke was born in Edinburgh, lived in Guyana
for his formative years, and returned to the UK to study in Falmouth and the
RCA. Locke explores the visual representation of Power in areas such as
portraiture, coats-of-arms, public statuary and costume. He has used the
Queen’s official portrait as a vehicle to explore issues of nationhood,
citizenship and identity. He engages with the embodiments of power globally,
building amalgamations between different cultures and histories.
for his formative years, and returned to the UK to study in Falmouth and the
RCA. Locke explores the visual representation of Power in areas such as
portraiture, coats-of-arms, public statuary and costume. He has used the
Queen’s official portrait as a vehicle to explore issues of nationhood,
citizenship and identity. He engages with the embodiments of power globally,
building amalgamations between different cultures and histories.
Alex Pollard has invited the curator, Jenny Brownrigg, to draw a caricature of him as the artist,
which has then been printed on a door-mat to become a door-mat painting. His practice is engaged with critical art
discourse, often involving forms of collaboration or appropriation, using other
people’s visual material (their drawings or their designs). “I have in the past
utilised other people’s doodles and caricatures to question traditional notions
of originality and authenticity. So far the collaborators who have worked on
the Doormats with me include my friends, art world colleagues such as curators,
gallerists and other fellow artists, former students and tutors of mine, as
well as recent acquaintances. The results of these requests make manifest the
awkward power relations within a social network, the drawings ranging from the
affectionately insulting to the politely flattering.”
which has then been printed on a door-mat to become a door-mat painting. His practice is engaged with critical art
discourse, often involving forms of collaboration or appropriation, using other
people’s visual material (their drawings or their designs). “I have in the past
utilised other people’s doodles and caricatures to question traditional notions
of originality and authenticity. So far the collaborators who have worked on
the Doormats with me include my friends, art world colleagues such as curators,
gallerists and other fellow artists, former students and tutors of mine, as
well as recent acquaintances. The results of these requests make manifest the
awkward power relations within a social network, the drawings ranging from the
affectionately insulting to the politely flattering.”
Eva Rothschild’s remarkable sculptures use shape, colour, crafts techniques and scale –
they have ranged from domestic sized objects to the epic zigzag she created to
transverse the galleries at Tate Britain – to fuse form with, in her words, “ideas
of faith, death, magic, things that are all very messy.”
they have ranged from domestic sized objects to the epic zigzag she created to
transverse the galleries at Tate Britain – to fuse form with, in her words, “ideas
of faith, death, magic, things that are all very messy.”
Karin Ruggaber mines the world around her
for sculptural inspiration: hard, unyielding concrete from outside buildings
and soft malleable fabric from the inside are two of her favoured materials.
for sculptural inspiration: hard, unyielding concrete from outside buildings
and soft malleable fabric from the inside are two of her favoured materials.
Born in Hong Kong and raised in Australia, Renée So’s earlier work addressed her dual heritage. A self-confessed
“craft nut”, she turned to knitting to create images that referenced
tourist export Chinoiserie and its trade routes. Since moving to London in
2005, she’s looked at the history of European sculpture, both
grand and humble. While her masked ceramics suggest armoured soldiers and curly-haired
Caesars, she also uses pottery to portray a more knavish people’s
hero: Bartmann.
“craft nut”, she turned to knitting to create images that referenced
tourist export Chinoiserie and its trade routes. Since moving to London in
2005, she’s looked at the history of European sculpture, both
grand and humble. While her masked ceramics suggest armoured soldiers and curly-haired
Caesars, she also uses pottery to portray a more knavish people’s
hero: Bartmann.
Ends
For further information, images and interviews contact:
Lesley Booth 0779 941 4474 press@gsa.ac.uk
Listing
13 July – 29 September 2013
Monday-Saturday 11am-5pm,
Sunday 11am-4pm
Sunday 11am-4pm
Mackintosh Museum The Glasgow School of Art 167
Renfrew Street Glasgow G3 6RQ
Renfrew Street Glasgow G3 6RQ
A
Conspiracy of Detail
Conspiracy of Detail
A group exhibition
exploring adornment in contemporary practice. Featuring work by nine artists,
including a new piece by Turner Prize nominee Jim Lambie.
exploring adornment in contemporary practice. Featuring work by nine artists,
including a new piece by Turner Prize nominee Jim Lambie.
Entry Free
Notes for Editors
- Abad, Lambie, Rothschild and Pollard
are all graduates of The Glasgow School of Art and Pollard is also a tutor at
the institution. - Baldock, Ruggaber and So are all
artists living and working in London. - Blackwell is based in New York.
- The project is supported by The
Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow Life and Glasgow City Council.