Visual Art
Reviews iaitgig‘aa.
Market Gallery. Glasgow. Sun 14 Nov—Sat 11 Dec
Sexentee'i international artists ‘.‘.llll .ir’. world domination in their sights seek to stall the inachrnen of Sn \tlarriis art scene in the fashionably tl’llitfllll.)llillllt? l .ist l ntf of Glasgow. letting llltttfl‘il‘lt‘t‘llfit‘. awe and beauty rise to power Curator Patricia E Hrs' enthusiasm tor the artists she has selected it; «contang rus. as is her strarghttorxzaril take on the Market Gallery '3; relation to the t ‘irasriev. scene. 'lhe work shov.n :n this artist lwl spar e puts craftsmanship oxer the conceptual. narratr‘w over abstraction and einetrrn oxer reason.’ r;.t\.‘. l lll“. ‘Krngtlorn is a decadent llltltlltlt‘llt‘t‘ of (Tt)llll()leitflllSllll), a kurrs.‘h.i//e extiaxaganxa somehow squashed into two small shop front spaces on a high street'.
lhe sculptural work shown ranges trr )lll Nike Sawas' delicate hand blown glass brril inenagerie to Steven (Eoritarski’s Sflilvl inspired fibreglass baroriue giriips. Most of the work is of the slit k in in school figurative and t]l£l[)ll|(‘ with seduitiw, superficial depth. the paintings in kirigir’orrr demonstrate this most clearly: ll rby /iegler '2; irks bedax/le the Viewer wrtlr op art patterns on shimmering glossy surfaces, whereas lit iwi Ina l)rrng's appliguerl ‘paintings' are both liltllll‘ and unsettling. Christopher ()rr's driiirniitiye landscapes call for close inspection, as do l)lll)()f;‘;;ll.‘;l‘.y F. Vinogradov's social magical realist paintings. where stars frolic and garnbol in Arcadia and the VltEVVitl
tilt/\l ’l “(I l)l SIGN “ w ) AVANTE-GARDE GRAPHICS 1 918-1 934 MW» vow/r-
. . The show also includes anrriiation, drawrrir and Hunterian Gallery, Glasgow, until Sat 27 Nov .00. l installations influenced by iiianga, graffiti,
That this exhibition would be fascinating is almost a given. Lutz Becker was co-curator of the contemporary dance and snuff films. It is impossible Hayward Gallery’s exhibition of art made under the dictatorships that toured Europe in the mid- to map the enorriiity of Kingdorir's aesthetic domain 905. Let loose on Merrill C Berman’s astonishing collection of 20th century poster design with 3 here. With each one of the artists on l llis' 'faritasy brief to find the best European work from before 1930, Becker has put together a superb wrsh list' presenting a distinct and p; ssiorrate exhibition of design made at the point when the cogs of new technology and ideology threatened manifesto. (Alexander Kenriedyi
to destroy the individual spirit of the artist.
That this exhibition is also beautiful is testament to the curator’s appreciation of quick-witted artists who injected human flair into the colossal forces of inter-war industrialisation and state Communism. The coarse photomontages of Rodchenko on exhibit here were the template for the Soviet generation. The sophisticated work of his pupils Dlugach and the Stenbergs has the architectural scale of later Soviet social realism without any of the cloying sentimentality. In fact, one of the many interesting achievements of this exhibition is to show that Communism produced vibrant - not kitch - art.
Becker includes work by Germans and Austrians too, but he orders the work along aesthetic rather than geographical or historical lines. Drexel’s work was made under the shadow of the impending Third Reich. It sits opposite the staccato mania of Sidelnikov’s photomontages that Pop Art would later hark back to, giving the impression of a continent undergoing full-scale upheaval; its artists only capable of contributing with bursts of manic energy and a full engagement in the social and technological enterprises of the day. This is a compulsory exhibition for anyone who works in graphic design and highly recommended for everyone else. (Tim Abrahams) \
, All" ‘1. Diann Bauer
MN n sr row The Elite Café b NEW WORK SCOTLAND PROGRAMME 12 Rabi a Choudh y Collective Gallery until Sat 13 Nov 0.. y W
New in its fifth year. this annual showrng of young artists" work attracted submissions from 1:30 hopefuls. four were chosen by a five—strong panel which included Glasgow gallery director Sorcha Dallas and artist Dayrd Burrows. It's all about exposure. This is a chance for new blood to make a solo impact in a professional gallery.
First up are Rabrya Choudhry and Lee O'Connor. both graduates of Edinburgh College of Art. Choudhiy's wildly colourful paintings shout loud. Words tumble over eyeiy surface. A deyilish feast for the eyes. catered by the Elite cafe. the menu seryes up ignorance. hypocrisy brutality conforrriity and submission. A lurid pink iiiothei god is crawling with signs and language. From the perspective of an Asian woman artist trying in Scotland. Choudhn dares to attack established yiews wrth a mice that is brutal but passionate. corirplex but clear.
Lee O'Connor fills his room with large sketchy images in crayon. pastel. tissue paper and paint. He too pulls a switch on connections. but wrth more whrmsrcal style. Rod Stewart treads up Wallis ithe shopi. Nearby. a holy man relates to cheap sliced sausage. It's his Scotland. Like ChOudhry O'ConnOr makes art an expres3ion of identity.
Lyndsay Mann. an already established Edinburgh-based artist. shows work concurrently in the tiny protect room. Replaying childhood fears. she finds beauty in eul. Her coal black drawrng of a claw. Kruger's glove. has Super Size Damoclean menace. while a series of three smaller drawrngs itiasterfully tames the monster into a game of paper. scrssors. rock. iAlice Bainr
4—18 Nov 2004 THE LIST 107