art at two removes
Published on Art and Music Take a Sad Song and Make it Better You Don’t Love Me Yet is a woeful, mixed-up song by a troubled singer from a trippy 60s rock band. But artist Johanna Billing is puzzled by Roky Erickson’s little known classic. “It’s quite a hopeful song,” she suggests, “Because it’s ‘You …
September 3, 2009
Published on Culture 24 Beyond These Walls, South London Gallery, until September 20 2009 Beyond These Walls opened on July 24, three weeks after a fire killed six people in a neighbouring tower block. It was a grim coincidence: this is a show about the gallery’s local context, and the disaster has highlighted the contrast …
August 24, 2009
Published on Culture 24 SANAA – 2009 Serpentine Pavilion, Hyde Park, London, until October 18 2009 The slim steel pillars of the 2009 Serpentine Pavilion don’t so much hold the structure up as keep it tied down. The roof looks weightless and amorphous. At one point it is anchored just a metre above ground; elsewhere …
August 21, 2009
Published on Art and Music Not the New Grunge, then Judging by his taste in alcohol, Dan Ormsby is a man who appreciates innovation yet can also laugh at the notion. While on stage with band 4 or 5 Magicians he breaks off mid-set to raise a bottle of his new favourite tipple and announce …
August 17, 2009
Published on Culture 24 Home Improvements by Millie Burton, The Space, Hove, until September 25 2009 It’s not many galleries where you might turn up to find a business meeting in progress among the exhibits. But this very scene turns out not to be performance art. An exhibition really is taking place in a boardroom. …
August 17, 2009
Published on Art and Music Kier Vine/Charlie Dark/Gold Future Joy Machine/Dels/Speech Debelle/Sebastian Rochford and Leafcutter John He doesn’t quite hammer nails through his piano, but shortly after beginning to play Kier Vine does get to his feet and walk away. His instrument carries on playing, thanks to the magic of electronica and the recital takes …
August 7, 2009
Published on Culture 24 Zachary Walsh – Greek Street, Ink_d Gallery, Brighton, until August 23 2009 Zeus has you fixed with a hard stare. It’s a surprise to meet him in the flesh like this and he looks avuncular, somewhat amused, yet quizzical. It’s definitely him because stretching out behind are eagle wings and to …
August 6, 2009
Published on Culture 24 Jack Freak Pictures, Gilbert and George, White Cube, London, until August 22 2009 Two years ago Gilbert and George were accorded the ultimate mark of respect from the art establishment in Britain. The highlights from their lifetime’s work were put on display in the most extensive retrospective show ever to be …
July 30, 2009
Published on Culture 24 Fabric of War, Phoenix Gallery, Brighton, until August 16 2009 Ex-serviceman Mike Blake has ripped up several US flags, shredded a handful of dollar bills and even gone so far as to cut up and pulp his military uniform. The reconstituted garments now form the canvas for his anti-war picture Vortex. …
July 30, 2009
Published on Culture 24 The Scottish Colourists – Paintings from the Fleming Collection, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, until November 1 2009 Between 1909 and 1912, Edinburgh was closer to Paris than London. The French capital was awash with new artistic ideas and two Scottish painters were already making a name for themselves as Fauvists. Samuel …
July 30, 2009