Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Eric Bainbridge: "Facon, Plads og Kulør", Rundetårn, Copenhagen


Facon, Plads & Kulør (Shape, Space and Colour)
RUNDETAARN, Copenhagen, Denmark
9 October -21 November

http://www.rundetaarn.dk/

A large floor show featuring 26 artists, exploring the boundaries between painting and photography, design, sculpture and installations - an exhibition focusing on the work of Ib Braase: "From my younger sister's room".

Parked art
If visitors get the impression they are standing in a basement car park when they enter the "Shape, Space and Colour" exhibition, they are not far off the mark. Long neon tubes cast a sharp light over the exhibited works, standing side-by-side, as if Rundetaarn's huge exhibition hall was the most decorative car park in Europe. "We wanted to show how clean and beautiful the over 900 m² room can look when it is used matter-of-factly, without excuses, without interruptions to overview and false temporary walls. We wanted it to be a floorshow with the best works - with artists who can and dare to use all kinds of materials", explain Hans E. Madsen and Torgny Wilcke, the two artists behind the exhibition. Taking inspiration from Ib Braase's work, 'From my younger sister's room', which occupies 4.24 m² of floor space, all participants in the exhibition were asked to create a work of similar size - about the size of a car. "We picture the works being positioned like cars in a car park, where some are parked perfectly, and others hastily, roughly, badly, or terribly", say the organisers.
Boundaries
Apart from Ib Brasse's work (1979), the 26 floor works in 'Shape, Space and Colour' were created and intended for the exhibition, and contemporary works from 2010. The works feature a variety of materials and expressions, and explore the boundaries between painting and photography, sculpture, design and installation. "The boundaries between the traditional forms have not disappeared, but the ideas behind sculpture, painting, photography and installation art have been influenced. Rather than throwing out these concepts, we choose to actively engage with the boundaries of these forms and work with them", explain the two organisers. They raise Eric Barnbridge as an example of an artist whose sculptures can be mounted on the wall, flat, or built directly without shape, and composed in a way reminiscent of the painting method, with the room serving as the artist's canvas.
Everday objects - a means to reflection
Another thing the works have in common is the exhibitors' choice of materials, which are both classic, and drawn from everyday surroundings. Cupboard doors made from cheap veneer, plastic bowls, wigs, and chair legs have been put in a context which gives the objects new form and meaning. The title, 'Shape, Space and Colour', hints at this idea of everyday objects being adopted by the art works as a means to encourage reflection about the reality we are living in, here and now.
Third exhibition on the same theme
'Shape, Space and Colour' is one of a series of exhibitions, such as 'Wham, Fact & Value, ETC.', 'Fabrikken besøger Illums Bolighus' and 'VÆGTILVÆG' with a focus on paintings and directly executed works.
 
Artists: Ib Braase (From my younger sister's room)
Eric Bainbridge (GB), Thomas Bang, Claus Bjerre og Ditte Hammerstrøm, Maiken Bent, Monika Brandmeier (DE), Claus Egemose, Jesper Fabricius, Kim Grønborg, Peter Holm, Søren Jensen, Pablo Lambias, Axel Lieber (DE), Hans E Madsen, Bjørn Poulsen, Jesper Rasmussen, Finn Reinbothe, Torgny Wilcke, Lone Høyer Hansen, Ellen Hyllemose, Marianne Jørgensen, Karin Lind, Tove Storch, Charlotte Thrane (DK/GB), A-Kassen.

Image:
Eric Bainbridge
New Modernist No.3, 2006
Teak, Melamine
249 x 245.5 x 130 cm
98 1/8 x 96 5/8 x 51 1/8 in
(EB0011)