The Inception of Line- Coldharbour Studios

Coldharbour Studios is an innovative space in south London which works not only as a gallery but also houses many artists in the studios above. The latest show The Inception of Line shows creative and effective curating from Arethra Campbell, with Kate Terry's site specific thread installations cutting and reworking the architecture of the white cube space, bringing a new perspective to the work on the walls, the pieces of Keke Vilabelda.

The press release says "The work of art exists within a trajectory or line, marking a point of communication between viewer and work that refuses to repeat itself. Both Vilabelda and Terry's practices highlight this line, never reaching a point of stasis; rather they are constantly re-aligned and re-configured within the spaces they temporarily inhabit." and i would be inclined to agree. 

The show physically impacts you as well as visually as one has to rethink the space constantly looking out for Terry's work which slices through your path at unexpected moments. Vilabelda's paintings, if you will, have a certain eeriness to them as dreamlike landscapes and structures are intersected by this imaginary frames and formulations.

You will be able to see the green thread of Terry's installation if you look closely

In Short:- 5/5 Great young space with loads of potential with a great team behind it. 

Design Awards- Design Museum

Having never been inside the Design Museum I was unsure what to expect when I entered, and to my amusement the queuing system is hilariously badly designed as the entrance hall is so small that you have to end up queuing out side with automatic doors opening and closing every few seconds; however, despite this initial hiccup I was encouraged by the set up of the design awards, as no piece seemed to have a favoured space over another. 

There were some interesting choices with a wide variety of different fields covered, this ranging from Viviene Westwood handbags to new emergency ambulance layouts. The latter being my personal favourite, one that I perceive to make the biggest potential difference in making peoples lives better.

There is a keen interest in the world around us, and we eagerly await the announcement of the winners in April.

In Short:- 4/5 A well organised space and a nice range of designs to see.

Yayoi Kusama- Tate Modern

Kusama's retrospective at Tate Modern is surprisingly large exhibition, showing a range of works from the 1950s through to today. While much of the work is very entertaining to view, there becomes a problem when Tate relies to heavily on trying to spell things out for people. We had discussed this need of the Tate's before in making the work accessible to all; however, again we feel that there is a pre-scripted way of viewing some of the work. 

The set up allows us to look at the exhibition much like that of Yoko Ono, and i feel that is an injustice to the work and the artist, this cheapens its value. Some of the best work is the work least laboured with the Tate's authority over the art, such as the spot work of obliteration and the infinity room. 

The aformentioned infinity rtoom was a room that needed time and energy to consider despite its instant impact that even to the non art lovers out there can appreciate. This is only slightly spoiled by the way that you are forced to walk through the room at considerable pace shortening the experience. 

In Short:- 3/5 Defiantly worth seeing, but don't expect anything new from the tried and tested Tate formula for retrospectives. 

Paul McCarthy- Hauser & Wirth

The King, The Island, The Train, The House, The Ship, always vulgar, always crude always unforgettable. Yes McCarthy's show at Hauser and Wirth, again despite it closing in the near future (14th January) is definitely worth a look in if you can manage. 

Pig Island is a project which has spawned and grown from the characters of George Bush and Angelina Jolie developing into grotesque machines. The simultaneous movement of them with the whiring noises of the pigs,  have the eyes following you around the room, the uncomfortable or displeasurable feeling sits with you as you go through the exhibition with a underlying sense of humor about it as well. 

But with this showing of admiration for McCarthy he mocks us. The King, a silicone copy of McCarthy himself sits upon a throne at an elevated status, as we sit in church pews following him like a priest or even a god/king. 

In all definitely get down to the show if you can at both the Picadilly and Saville Row branches of Hauser & Wirth.

Wendell Castle- Best Leg Forward

There are only 3days left of this great show as it ends on the 7th, but i liked it so much that i thought i had to tell you all about it. While it may be in the modest Albermarle Street Carpenters Workshop gallery, the work seems to say something bigger and work in a far larger way than the physical appearance of the gallery suggests. The work flows from the sketches they are based upon, working not from computer aided design but instead from the hand and mind of the artist; however, an interesting thing that Castle notes is that each piece is also sculpted by the grain and feel of the wood, the work itself presenting a resistance. The work is constructed from stack-laminated wood, which is literally inch-thick stacks of wood sculpted into these explorations of volume and shape. 

This stacking technique seems to immortalize the works for me, the banding effect created representing the rings a tree, but with these the flexibility of the materials and this technique allow the work to go on and grow. Each piece has its own character and feel, every curve telling a different story evoking different thoughts.

The Big Art Gallery Dilemma

Tweet I found recently that it is increasingly difficult for me to view some of the big shows at the capitals major galleries, e.g. Tate, Saatchi, National gallery etc. This isn't due tot he nature of the shows, but more down to a guilty feeling I have myself. I want to go view these shows, but with lack of time an issue I feel I should be viewing some of the art in the smaller galleries just to get more of a feel of what is in the Zeitgeist. 

Another thing that doesn't help is that when I do see a bigger show, my tutors kind of expect me to have seen these so me going to these instead of other shows leaves me stumped when they say "what have you seen?", when I reply with "um the Richter show" they kind of of go "and?". Now I no this is no fault of my tutors and it is solely mine, but I just hope there are some of you who can empathise. There is no solution to this problem other than get up earlier and spend more time with my head In the game, even so The Big Art Gallery Dilemma remains.

Great Advert

This video shows some of the great adverts for the new Show The Jury on ITV, I haven't watched the show, but the advert on the screens on the escalators is truly unerving. I first discovered it at Leicester Square Tube station and I found it fascinating. Having the eyes there while you were moving up the escalators really made you feel like you were being watched, like they were following your every movement. For me this is an example of a well designed thought out advert, rather than the memorable but awful Cilit Bang adverts for example which are memorable for the wrong reasons.