LOCAL VELOCITY Opens 5-8pm NOV 1 - all welcome! 41 Grafton St Windsor

CARL WARNER 'The appearance of borders' 2011 C type photograph on acrylic

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Image courtesy Jan Manton Art.

Local Velocity - lunchtime talks by artists

The informal Q & A sessions by artists during Fast Friends and Drawling exhibitions were enjoyed and appreciated by those who attended, so don't miss out this time: 

Sessions in the Local Velocity exhibition space are scheduled (so far) for 

12.35-1pm (between morning & afternoon classes)

as follows:

WEDNESDAY November 9: Bruce Reynolds

THURSDAY November 10: Phoebe McDonald

THURSDAY November 17: Mike Riddle

  
WEDNESDAY November 23: Carl Warner

Just turn up - these short sessions are always interesting whether you ask a question or just listen! And bring your lunch and a chair, if you need to....

Fast Friends Event wrap-up

At the same time as the flurry of activity for organising the third Pace exhibition and then installing it, I contacted all the participants in the Fast Friends Event run in conjunction with the second Pace exhibition.

The idea was that volunteers from BIA would be 'fast friend' paired with Pace artists, first meeting and chatting at the Fast Friends opening, with the possible aim of keeping in contact over a longer period of time. It was an experiment to see what might come of it, no right or wrong outcomes. Thank you to everyone who responded very promptly, and summed up what had occurred in the approximately three months since the opening.

Everyone agreed that the initial meeting event was a success and that they found themselves able to talk easily with people they hadn't met before.

They thought the name tags were a great help in that, and so there will be tags to identify the LV artists and write-your-own name tags available at the Local Velocity opening.



Carrying on the connection with a new 'fast friend' after the initial face-to-face was more difficult - partly because of the pace of life. But some people did it and continue to be in touch. Others were in contact for some of the time. 

With permission, here are some of the comments: 

"When I first heard about Fast Friends I thought it sounded a bit like speed dating. As someone who isn't naturally extroverted I felt a bit uncertain about the idea, but I also thought I might be pleasantly surprised by the event. And I was! [my fast friend] and I have been emailing back and forth since the last exhibition, and I've really enjoyed having her as a pen pal. It's been fascinating for me to hear about how she balances such a busy family life with her art practice (all the while maintaining her great sense of humour!) and we've introduced each other to some books, films and blogs about women artists - which I've found really interesting. I've very much enjoyed our 'fast friendship'! "


"I am still in contact with [my fast friend] and hoping we can meet at an
exhibition somewhere again soon, as we've only managed an email fast
friendship so far. It has been a bit sporadic, as she has been away a
bit, but still beneficial I think. We've discussed each other's practice
a bit, but probably more other artists of interest to each other, and
found some connections between them. So hopefully it will continue..."

"I have been having some great email conversations through Fast Friends parallel to discovering and researching what make artistic/sensitive/intuitive people tick."

"didn’t catch up  - things got away from me (and maybe the others too?)"

"I always thought the Fast Friends project was a great idea, congratulations again for all the energy and inspiration you represent to many [curatorial blush]. I did enjoy connecting via email with like minded people thanks to your initiative."

"... although the concept was inspiring, the reality of engaging in the activity was a little overwhelming as I have several other areas of related interests as well."

"I was only overwhelmed with the task of staying connected due to my studies and family commitments. I like to think I can do it all but find I can't. Sorry to those I found a strong connection with and couldn't keep up with emails. A special thanks to [our fast friend artist] for getting us started and thinking. I think it is just what I need to be inspired by the lives others who create around making their art and the deep connections that brings on many levels."

and a last word: 

"Thanks [curator]…I’m having fun with my fast friends"

Installing LV - ladders and tools

Sometimes the tools for installation - even the lines of ladders and a leaning broom start to have an aesthetic presence when they are in a gallery, and photographed. You will see how they make connections to the work when you come to see the show!

Works by Sharon Jewell & Bruce Reynolds in the background

Installing the show - local velocity

Installing Bruce Reynold's works

Installing Carl Warner's work - Mike Riddle's in foreground

halfway through installing the works of James Watts 

 

 

James Watts - using local materials

James came to BIA last week to have a look at the gallery space. We hadn't met before, and it was good to talk with him, and to get a sense of how his sculptures could best work in the Local Velocity exhibition. I had seen some mostly small wall works at Woolloongabba Art Gallery http://www.wag.com.au/

The material James uses to make his sculptures is what is often referred to as 'found', which sounds as if it is something fortuitously stumbled across from time to time, but in practice means that he is constantly searching and on the lookout for suitable things to use: mostly re-cycled timber discarded during the renovation of old houses. It also means that there is a limit to the amount of material available. (At present, James is looking for any old windows from houses, the style with a wooden frame and six panes of glass usually found within old Queenslander homes. It doesn't matter if the window glass has broken, but if you see any or know of anyone wanting to get rid of some in Brisbane, let me know pace.curator@gmail.com  and I'll pass it on to James.)

There are similarities in this process of re-using old building materials with the work of Bruce Reynolds. Comparing their different approaches and uses of their found materials may be a topic of discussion once the works are installed in the show. Its also clear how both Bruce's and James' art practices coincide with the ideas behind Local Velocity. At what rate and in what ways do we change our local built environment?

Having found or chosen carefully, pieces of-for example-painted timber to use, James doesn't change or add to the surface of the found piece. His process then is how to select and assemble the pieces to construct a work. Its easier to see the results in images than in a wordy description.

All images courtesy of James Watts. All Rights Reserved. 

Cubby 2, 2009

Blue talking with blue, 2009

Golden Light, 2009

The fourth dimension, 2008

Don't miss Sharon's talk at the opening!

On Tuesday 1 November the opening of Local Velocity (from 5-8pm) includes a sit-down-with-a-glass-of-something slide talk by Sharon Jewell about her experiences, thoughts & images of her time earlier this year in Helsinki on an Australia Council residency.

Don't miss it! Her talk will be about 6-6.30pm - time for you to arrive, have a chat, see the work and then  to listen to Sharon's talk, and questions. 


Time afterwards for more getting to know all the artists and the work in the show.

The idea of artist residencies, what they are and what they can be, has come up several times during the course of the Pace project, and Sharon's residency in such an interesting place was too good an opportunity to pass by without finding out more.

Why did she choose Helsinki to apply for? What did she do while there? What is the residue of her experience that she brings back with her? How does that translate, if it does, into her ongoing art practice?  And is the idea of 'time-out' somewhere else just the same as having a holiday?

These are just my questions - yours are byo (the questions, not the drinks) - cheers!

LV Opening - Tuesday, 1 November, 5-8pm

 

The work of Bruce Reynolds

I have known and liked the work of Bruce Reynolds for a long time - for decades I could say. In his best known artworks Bruce uses pieces of old patterned lino in the construction of 'ready-made' paintings. He often adds paint or printed photographic imagery over the lino surface of his construction, sometimes melding all three - found pattern, paint and photography into one image. In a video interview you can access at www.ryanrenshaw.com.au Bruce talks about his initial idea of building a painting as a tradesman may build something, comparing that with the idea of the virtuoso painter.

Other materials are also used, such as carpet and relief work in concrete - and you may have seen some of his work installed in the Magistrates Court in Brisbane.

Here are a few images of  his work:  
All images courtesy of Bruce Reynolds and Ryan Renshaw Gallery. All rights reserved.

www.ryanrenshaw.com.au

'Passage'

'Idol'

'Silent Partner'

'Academy Observed State 2'

Getting to know Mike Riddle's artwork

I have known Mike Riddle for quite some time - he was (and is) a work colleague of mine at QUT Creative Industries. But it is only fairly recently that I first saw images of his own artworks, or perhaps even knew that he made work of his own. In fact, we had talked about his work during the installation of the Fast Friends exhibition, as he was helping to bring into the gallery works by Marcel Daniels and Dan Mafe, and not long after that Mike gave me a CD with images of his work.

When you see the works, you will immediately see how good they are for the Pace Project. I liked the quality of the objects he makes, and also the observation of the mundane parts of our lives that the objects imply. Some pieces that I am particularly drawn to remind me of strange tools from the past or from another culture that we no longer- if we ever did-understand how to use.

Others literally delineate our daily lives:
 

Image courtesy Mike Riddle. Photograph by Carl Warner

Image courtesy Mike Riddle. Photograph by Carl Warner

Carl Warner's artworks

You'll see Carl Warner's name associated with images of artworks and objects in museums in many places in Brisbane, and beyond. In one of his roles as a photographer, he documents the work of local contemporary artists, documents exhibitions in situ, objects from collections, and probably many other things I am unaware of.

In his role as an exhibiting artist, Carl is very well respected and successful. His photographs of beautifully observed urban surfaces are often reminiscent of abstract or minimal paintings; other series of his work are of landscape 'surfaces' without horizons.

Carl's works are beautiful and conceptual. They are as much about the act of photographing and the culture of photography as they are about the found subject. Here are a couple of his works for you to see, and you can see more at www.janmantonart.com


All images are courtesy of Carl Warner and Jan Manton Art. All rights reserved.

Carl Warner, untitled 1996/7, from the series 'Detritus' 75 x 74 c, toned silver bromide photograph

 

Carl Warner, Oblivion #1, 2009, lambda print.

The return of Phoebe McDonald in Local Velocity

Those who saw the first Pace exhibition will remember that Phoebe McDonald was one of the artists. Her work in the show was a series of large digital photographs from the Salt Lake Series (2009). Remember this?

Image courtesy Phoebe McDonald

I have invited Phoebe back to be part of the third exhibition, for a few reasons.

In terms of the velocity of living and making art, the idea of being able to see (and hear from her) what might have changed for Phoebe in the last seven months is a satisfying one. Also, the work she will be showing in LV will appear to be quite different from the work in Drawling - different medium, subject etc. But developing and juggling bodies of work in a range of media is something that many-maybe most?-contemporary artists do. Although it will be the continuation of a stream of work she has been making for some time, there is also a new and experimental edge: one of the works for LV will be a trial of something Phoebe talked about wanting to develop when the first exhibition was on.

And all of the work emanates from "an ongoing interest in the nature of light, time, space and perception. She is also interested in the subtle changes and cyclic events that occur in the natural environment over time." (from http://www.phoebemcdonald.com/about-me/ )

For some good images of Phoebe's work in situ in the space of SGAR, have a look at the home page of http://www.phoebemcdonald.com/

Sharon Jewell's art practice

If you look back in the older posts of this blog, you will see that I have wanted to include the work of Sharon Jewell from the beginning of the project. Her drawings & objects would have been good for the first exhibition of 'slow' works, and we had discussed it right back more than a year ago when the Pace project was first being planned. But then Sharon heard the great news that she had been successful in getting the Australia Council studio in Helsinki for (I think) 3 months in the beginning of 2011. 

Back home by the time of the second exhibition Fast Friends, Sharon took part not in the exhibition, but in the Fast Friends event (talking with artists) at the opening of that show. Now you will be able to see her work in Local Velocity.

Here's some of her previous work, titled "First City", a timber construction, about the size of the top of a kitchen table. This view is looking down from above the work:

But a kind of theme running through the Pace project has been talking about artist residencies, what they are, how important the time on a residency can be for an artist's practice, how the place may be influential on later work, etc.

And could the general idea of an artist residency be adapted to work as a great life experience for those who are not professional artists?  Like a retreat I suppose, but there is nothing to say that a residency can't be a very social occasion ... and they often are.

So I have asked Sharon to give a talk based around thoughts and experiences of her time in Helsinki. Part travelogue perhaps, part observation about how people in different places see the role of artists, the talk will be an important part of the opening of Local Velocity - don't miss it! More on the talk in a later post. Here's Sharon having a good time in a very different climate from Brisbane's ....

Thoughts of 'Local Velocity'

  This is how I'm thinking of the gallery space for the next exhibition Local Velocity. Of course this will change as the show develops ...

A good staff show opening - some random images

All images are by courtesy BIA and the artists. Artist names are under each artwork image:

Drawings by Mia Clark

Paintings by Jan Patterson

Drawings by Mia Clark

Detail of work by Lily Karmatz