Margaret Harrison: On Reflection
17 May – 20 July 2013
Payne Shurvell

Harrison’s new exhibition, On Reflection, is a series of work, which explores ideas, images and complicated visual ideas about how we reflect in/on two dimensions.

The mirror as a central device in European painting has long focused on the female figure in works like Van Eyck’s Marriage of Arnolfini, Titian’s Venus with a Mirror and Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère.

Harrison’s work for On Reflection moves away from the traditional depiction of vanity and the male gaze to make work that challenges gender stereotyping and subverts images of identity and power. Harrison, importantly, uses humour as a tool to cross boundaries and challenge preconceptions.

As Harrison says: “We are watching, viewing and reflecting on what looks at us, and what we look at. The images, which reflect our cultures of masculinity and femininity collide with transgendered realities not essentially feminine and not essentially masculine as a series of macho/femo notions in a range of complicated sliding scales”.

PayneShurvell / 16 Hewett Street, London, EC2A 3NN / Telephone: +44(0)20 0011 4115 www.payneshurvell.com / Opening Hours: Wednesday – Saturday 11am – 6pm and by appointment.

We’ve had some brilliant ‘In conversation’ events this year at Leeds Art Gallery with artists and their nominators, including an artist’s talk as a series of questions by Joanne Tatham and Tom O’Sullivan with Gavin Wade. If you weren’t able to come to them all – or just want reminding – then check out Darren Murphy’s insightful write ups for the Culture Vulture.

On this blog we’ve decided not to give too much away by showing images of the work, until the exhibition opens. We’ve only been showing you details or unfinished pictures. However in Joanne and Tom’s case they often use images of the installation process as a part of their exhibitions. So they prefer not to show photographs of themselves installing or their work mid process. So here you will have to be satisfied with some rather abstract clues about what they are making. Having said that, if you visit the gallery you will be able to get a sneak peek at the rather impressive pieces taking shape in the entrance hall!

Dust protection

A clue to the scale of the work

a little hint of what their work might look like

Rosalind Nashashibi, The Quality, 2010 (film still)

6 Million Ways of Getting into the Arts: Moving Image
Tuesday 19 March, 6-9pm
Alan Turing Room, Dock House, BBC, MediaCity UK, Salford, M50 2LH

This week, as part of a series of talks about working in the arts, Rosalind Nashashibi will be speaking about her experiences of working with the moving image. Other guests speakers are Karen Shannon, Arts Development Manager: New Media at Lets Go Global, Karin Thayer, Multi-Media Trainer at the BBC College of Journalism, and Louise Blythe, Executive Producer at the BBC Academy. Between them they will provide an insight into working in moving images, within broadcasting, contemporary art, and digital and media training.

You can find more information and booking details at Eventbrite.com or by calling 0161 832 8034

Emily Speed, Build-Up, 2013

Until 7 April, Castlefield Gallery are exhibiting work by Emily Speed alongside another fantastic artist Hayley Newman. The exhibition itself is definitely worth a visit and there is also the chance to hear the artists in conversation next Saturday. Or drop in on Sunday 7 April to see a performance, with acrobats, as part of Emily Speed’s new work ‘Build Up.’

Panel Discussion: Hayley Newman & Emily Speed chaired by Bridget Crone
Saturday 23 March, 3:30-5pm
Castlefield Gallery, 2 Hewitt St, Manchester, M15 4GB

To coincide with their Head to Head exhibition, Castlefield Gallery will host a panel discussion between Hayley Newman and Emily Speed chaired by independent curator Bridget Crone/ Plenty Projects.

Both artists work explores the relationship between the body and architecture. Using an eclectic range of media from sculpture and video to performance and writing, their work can be seen to continue a tradition in female performance and sculpture that explores physical limitations and mental or emotional trajectories, orchestrating narratives that play with the precariousness of the body’s relationship to one’s environment.

Free / Book at eventbrite.com or call 0161 832 8034

Emily Speed, Build-Up, 2013

For this drop in performance Emily Speed will direct a group of acrobats to perform a series of construction exercises in the gallery. Booking is not required. For more information contact Castlefield Gallery on: 0161 832 8034

Ladders, scaffolds and...trees?!

The big builds happen first

A pile of wood will become an Emily Speed artwork

Emily Speed's wood from another angle

Which colour carpet for Rosalind Nashashibi's viewing room?

Materials for Margaret Harrison

More materials for Margaret Harrison - what's it going to be?

A tea break?

Important tools of the trade

]]> http://www.northernartprize.org.uk/ourblog/install-begins-before-the-artists-arrive/feed 0 http://www.northernartprize.org.uk/ourblog/behind-the-prize-curating-a-prize http://www.northernartprize.org.uk/ourblog/behind-the-prize-curating-a-prize#comments Thu, 07 Feb 2013 15:19:51 +0000 admin http://www.northernartprize.org.uk/?p=3054 We had a chat to Sarah Brown, Curator of Exhibitions at Leeds Art Gallery, about what’s involved in curating the Northern Art Prize exhibition.

How does curating the Northern Art Prize differ from the other exhibitions that you curate?

There is, to some extent, an absence of curatorial presence; it is not a themed group show or a monographic solo show. The artists are selected by our panel of judges, who are experts in the field. I chair the discussion but do not get involved in the decision making process. Each artist is selected individually, on the strength of their artwork, but ultimately the winner will be decided based upon how their work looks in the context of the exhibition. So, it is about articulating the strength of each artist but also making the exhibition as a whole coherent. In many ways it is like doing four solo shows, I am not trying to explicitly build a relationship between the artists. But I try to articulate or pick up on connections or resonance in their work.

I am also very keen on encouraging artists to consider how their work fits in the context of Leeds Art Gallery. Whilst we don’t have the resources to commission new work, artists do have the opportunity to reconfigure, remake and where possible create new pieces that best represent them in the context of the exhibition.

What are the resonances you see so far this year between the different artists’ work?

Within all the artists’ work there’s a language of construction – architectural structures and built things. With Joanne and Tom’s piece you will become quite aware of yourself in relation to the institution as a built and ideological environment. Emily’s work explores the relationship between the body, architecture and furniture, playing with performance and with scale. Both Margaret and Rosalind are showing work to do with looking and the gaze. There is a common concern with how we locate ourselves within history, fictions and representations of architecture or of contested spaces.

How would you describe your approach to the prize? How do you work out what will be in the exhibition?

When I first meet an artist I like to have a really open ended conversation with them; I want to get a sense of what they want to do, and how they see this opportunity. I could turn up say: “we’ve got 6 months, this is the gallery space, this is the budget…”; these are the parameters and I am aware of them but they are not the starting point for the artists. The starting point is always a meeting and a conversation. We visit the artists in their studios and later, when they visit the gallery I start to introduce the practicalities of time, space and resources. It can mean that there’s a phase where I feel everything is rather amorphous and chaotic but it seems to work and seems to be a good way to support artists in realising work they are happy with.

For me the Northern Art Prize is, primarily, an exhibition. Over 140000 people visit it each year, they travel to get here and the opening especially is really well attended. So first and foremost it has to work as an exhibition and as an event. Of course it is always underpinned by the fact that one of the artists has to win but funnily enough I don’t think that’s first and foremost in their minds. For most of the artists it is about making the best work they can in the time and in the circumstances given.

What do you enjoy about working on the Northern Art Prize?

I have the chance to work with artists that I haven’t chosen but who have been selected by four very well respected and knowledgeable people.

In the north there is now an infrastructure of exhibiting spaces and studios that did not exist 15 years ago. Organisations like Baltic, MIMA, The Hepworth Wakefield and a burst of artist run spaces have meant that a career as an artist outside of the obvious centres is a viable option. I am really aware of the increased art production going on outside of traditional centres and doing the prize is really exciting for bringing audiences attention to what is going on in the north and artists – who range from well known to less so – both to my attention and to the attention of audiences, giving them a chance to see what they would not normally see at Leeds Art Gallery.

I also enjoy working in partnership with other organisations and the Northern Art Prize allows collaboration with a team of people from other organisations.  It brings together people who are working in the city and the northern regions – there’s strength in numbers and in different voices!

Mattress & Drawers, 2011 by Emily Speed

We are looking for female performers to work in pairs inside a sculptural work by the artist Emily Speed during the Northern Art Prize exhibition at Leeds Art Gallery from 28 March ­­— 16 June 2013.

The performances will last up to two hours at a time and will take place once a week during the daytime. The work will involve alternating between standing still and moving slowly around the gallery space inside a wooden structure. The two performers will face each other, but their faces will be hidden from view of the audience. There will be a simple costume to wear (leggings, top and tunic).

This is a volunteer role but a contribution to expenses of £10 is available per performance. Performers will be credited on the artist’s website and the Northern Art Prize website. The day and time of the performance will be decided according to availability. All volunteers will also need to attend a short training workshop at the start of the exhibition.

If you are interested and can commit to one performance or more please contact Leeds Art Gallery on 0113 247 8256 or city.art.gallery@leeds.gov.uk.

We are holding an information session with the artist Emily Speed at Leeds Art Gallery on Tuesday 5th February at 2pm. So come along to find out more!

Please have a look at Emily’s website for a further details of her work: www.emilyspeed.co.uk