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Golden Thread Gallery: Substance Project Space: Truth Doesn't Matter - 29 Jan 2010 to 6 Mar 2010 Current Exhibition |
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Andr� Stitt - Substance
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Andre Stitt Substance 29 January - 6 March 2010 The Golden Thread Gallery, supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council would be delighted if you would join us at the launch of Substance: a major solo exhibition by Andr� Stitt between 6pm and 8pm on Friday 29th January 2010. Stitt is one of Northern Ireland�s most important contemporary art exports. He is currently based in Cardiff but the themes that inform his practice are rooted in his formative years in Belfast. His work is highly charged, generally hard hitting and may not be suitable for all audiences. Nevertheless, it is important that we take this opportunity to bring this substantial exhibition to a local audience. Like a hybrid catalogue/retrospective, Substance provides valuable insights into Stitt�s performances or �akshuns� and includes a significant number of pieces that have never been displayed before. The project was conceived by the Spacex Gallery in Exeter and has been expanded and further developed for this exhibition in the Golden Thread Gallery. Andr� Stitt�s performance work focuses on difficult and traumatic themes including alienation, oppression, coercion and conflict and often refers back to his experiences of Belfast in the 70s and 80s. We feel that the time is right to revisit this work afresh. As well as a cooling of the political climate, there is now an adequate distance between the events that incited his �akshuns�and the documentation or residue of his performances to look at the work from a more objective viewpoint. A short film documentary by Lee Stitt, Finbar Maginn & S�an Kaluarachchi in conversation with Andr� Stitt will also be shown for the duration of the exhibition. About the artist. Born in Belfast, N. Ireland in 1958 , Stitt is considered one of Europe's foremost performance and interdisciplinary artists. He has worked as an experimental artist since 1976 creating hundreds of unique works at major galleries, festivals, alternative venues and sites specific throughout the world. Recent work includes: Venice Biennale 2005, Blatic Contemporary Art Centre, England 2005, The Drawing Centre, New York, 2006, Artspace, Sydney 2007, Asiatopia, Bangkok 2008, Spacex Gallery, England 2008, The Lab, New York, 2009, MCAC, Northern Ireland 2009. In 2008 he was awarded the prestigious Creative Wales Award. He is Professor of Performance and Interdisciplinary Art at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff and is the director of the Centre for Fine Art Research at Cardiff School of Art & Design, Wales, UK. In 2000 he opened trace: Installaction Artspace in Cardiff initiating a robust programme of international time based work. Truth Doesn�t Matter Project Space 4 20 February 2010 Opening 6pm - 9pm Truth Doesn�t Matter explores the world of the sculptural form and its reality. The work of four emerging artists comes together to create a constellation of sculptural compositions, and the conversation begins. The pivotal concern of the artists exhibiting is the �belief in objects� and their right to be. The artists revealing their unique vision of world are Steve Earl Weber, Christopher J Campbell, Martin Boyle and Brendan O�Neill. About the Artists Steve Earl Weber. Through repeated exposure to objects we develop mental triggers, correlations to objects and deeper meanings beyond just their functions. A pillow, for instance, may cause one to think of sleep, comfort, luxury, death, insomnia, or dreams � a shovel could conjure thoughts ranging from gardening to grave digging, depending on the viewer�s own perspective and in what manner the objects are presented. He makes an attempt to choose objects and materials in a manner that capitalizes on the crossover between my own mental triggers and the viewer�s perspective . Christopher J Campbell subverts the arenas of pop and surrealism: film references bleed into art histories, processes become product and products are processed. In this world, video is sculpture and sculpture is painting. �Rat and Bear get Pataphysical represents a daydream I had whilst watching the 1981 video work The Least Resistance by the artist duo Fischli & Weiss. The video�s two protagonists, Rat & Bear, epitomize the core principles of pataphysics: the science of imaginary solutions. Rat and Bear get Pataphysical explores the imagined zone where fantasies are exposed. In this imagined world, resentment is the sincerest form of flattery.� Martin Boyle produces work that is both playful and performative. He re-presents mass produced objects and packaging in multiple forms to the viewer through video installation and sculptural pieces. Always preferring to understate his point, he creates a context where the viewer requires time in order to view the work. Through subtle manipulation or illusion he plays on our need for immediate gratification, with expectation to reveal, to unfold, to expose. Brendan O'Neill uses artistic practice as a tool for examining our perception of reality as well as our relationship to culture and its productions. He creates processes in manipulating selected materials and transforms them to take on some form of 'otherness'. His work demonstrates an ambition to create hybrid forms that explore a new ways of looking at the ascribed meaning of things. ABOUT THE GALLERY The Golden Thread Gallery is Northern Ireland�s leading international contemporary art space, rooted in the local. The gallery offers residents and visitors to Belfast a diverse programme of high quality contemporary art exhibitions and participatory events. As one of Northern Irelands largest visual arts venues the Golden Thread Gallery acts as a platform for a mix of the very best international and local artists, hosting six large-scale exhibitions in the main gallery spaces and twelve exhibitions in its project space. The project space openings are not to be missed and always take place at 6.00pm on the first Thursday of the month as part of Belfast�s Late Night Art. Outreach is at the core of the gallery�s activities, working off-site and in partnership with a wide range of communities and groups, devising challenging and innovative projects in addition to providing a range of contextual activities such as artists� talks, gallery tours and workshops. The gallery also publishes exhibition catalogues and books exploring further contemporary practices. Over the last ten years the Golden Thread Gallery has established an excellent reputation for creating exhibitions exploring art from the North Ireland, delivering exhibitions to international audiences through its touring programme. The gallery has delivered numerous curated exhibitions to venues across the UK and Ireland, Europe, North America, China and more recently Taiwan. In recent years the Golden Thread Gallery has been working with a number of artists living and working in Northern Ireland to create a �not-for-profit� form of artists� representation and has championed their work at national and international art fairs, such as the London Art Fair, Berliner Liste and Scope New York as well as establishing a dedicated in-house sales room. For further information visit our website � www.goldenthreadgallery.co.uk , join us on Facebook or call us on ++44(0) 2890 330920 The Golden Thread Gallery is a registered charity and admission is free. Gallery tours available. Open Tuesday � Friday 10.30am � 5.30 pm Saturday - 10.30am � 4pm Gallery Director: Peter Richards 84-94 Great Patrick Street, Belfast, BT1 2LU T:(028) 9033 0920 W: www.goldenthreadgallery.co.uk E: [email protected] |
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