26May
Jotta have interviewed MA Fine Art alumnus David A Smith. In the interview David talks about his work, what life has been like since graduating and what the future holds. Read the full interview here.
Image: David A Smith – ‘Thief’.
11May
CHELSEA Space Exhibition – 12.05.10 – 12.06.20
The title of this exhibition is taken from a poem by actor and writer Dudley Sutton – a lament for the physically demanding work of the art handlers at the Tate Gallery (now Tate Britain). Prior to Sutton’s poem, the musician and artist George Melly had altered the words to the popular 1926 music hall song “Don’t Have Any More Mrs Moore”, and whilst there is a comedic aspect here, the underlying narrative remains that Henry Moore was an artist whose fame had surpassed the professional art world and entered popular consciousness.
Moore (1896-1986) has had a long-standing and important relationship with Chelsea School of Art, first as Head of Sculpture from 1932-9, and latterly through the School’s acquisition of his sculpture Two Piece Reclining Figure 1 1959. The internationally renowned library and Special Collections at Chelsea (now called Chelsea College of Art and Design) contain original photographs of Moore installing the sculpture at the new Manresa Road site in 1964, plus detailed documentation leading to the purchase of the sculpture, minutes from meetings, a small unsigned sketch, unattributed but possibly by Moore, from 1963 and even plans for a motorised revolving plinth!
This said, the centrepiece of Chelsea College of Art and Design’s Henry Moore archive is the bronze sculpture Two Piece Reclining Figure No.1, 1959, consisting of two abstracted forms, later attached to a large steel disc. The sculptor wrote of their objectivity; “Once these two parts become separated, you don’t expect a naturalistic figure; therefore you can justifiably make it like a landscape or rock.”
The sculpture itself is well travelled, moving from Manresa Road to the Tate Gallery in 1968, the Royal Academy in 1988, and further afield to the Jeu de Paume, Paris in 1996. During Chelsea College of Art and Design’s transition to Millbank the sculpture resided at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and finally returned to the college in 2010. The bronze elements of Two Piece Reclining Figure 1 1959 will be shown in CHELSEA space on it’s wooden transport pallets complete with straps and blankets – a work in transit. This is a prelude to the sculpture being permanently sited in Chelsea’s McGregor Courtyard on Atterbury Street opposite Tate Britain’s west lawn.
The archive includes photographs of the work being installed, removed, and returned, and presents unique documentation of changeable art handler fashion – from flat cap to hard hat and tweed jacket to high-visibility vest. Through these materials, accompanied by a text by Natasha de Samarkandi, CHELSEA space explores not only of the life of the sculpture but also those who encountered it and aided this journey.
12Mar
5 Chelsea BA Fine Art alumni – Myles Painter, Matthew La Croix, Sam Autsen, Amy Griffin and Susan Forsyth will be showing at the Recent Graduate exhibition at The Affordable Art Fair in Battersea. Curated by Jotta the exhibition offers a platform for 18 emerging artists whose practices test new perceptions of the archetypal landscape. The artists selected for ‘Land Without A Map’ reconsider natural and spatial elements, while questioning conventional visual assumptions.
Exhibition open: 11-14 March 2010
Curatorial talk: Saturday 13 March, 13.00
www.jotta.com / www.affordableartfair.com
Images top to bottom: Myles Painter, Matthew La Croix, Sam Autsen, Amy Griffin, Susan Forsyth.
29Jan
Chelsea MA Fine Art alumnus David A.Smith has been chosen as one of the Catlin Art Prize finalists.
“The prize is unique in providing the artists with the time and opportunity to develop their practice. They are each commissioned to produce a brand new body of work to be exhibited one year on from their respective degree shows, encouraging them to explore new ideas in a large and modifiable space.
As with The Catlin Guide, the chosen artists are considered to be producing high quality work which demonstrates their capacity to make a significant mark in the art world during the next decade. Based on this criteria, a panel of judges will award one of the artists with the prize of £3,000.” An exhibition of the eight finalists will take place at Village Underground, London in May 2010.
Image: Shuck, Anatomical canine skeleton, glow wire, enamel paint, 2009 – David A.Smith
29Jan
James Capper is a Chelsea BA Fine Art graduate. The ‘Ripper’ was the sculpture he made for his final show in 2008 and was also shown at the Hannah Barry Gallery ‘Bold Tendencies’ exhibition later that summer. The piece is now part of the Cass Sculpture Foundation collection.
James describes the ‘Ripper’ as a ‘floor marking’ machine and ‘a tool for making art’; the structure being the cross between a ‘tower crane ‘ and a ‘drag hoe.’ The marks that it makes are the effect of the viewers’ active participation.
As part of Shaping Sculpture 2010 the cafe at Chelsea College of Art and Design currently has a small show of drawings by James. The drawings are for a machine called ‘Chimera’. ‘Chimera’ was shortlisted in 2009 for the Jerwood Sculpture Prize. James also has shows later this year at the Hannah Barry Gallery and Royal Society of British Sculptors.
