- Review TWO current (by current we mean you have visited it in 2012) exhibitions of contemporary work; one of which we will select and visit with you, one you will select for yourself. (600 words total)
Samantha Donnelly
Today, I travelled to Machester to see the 'Contour States' exhibition situated at Cornerhouse. Contour States is the first major UK public solo show by British artist Samantha Donnelly. Her sculptures concentrate on the strong interest in the images presented in today's media that continue to idealise and objectify the human form. The exhibition featured new works that explored the representations of female identity in photography, television, film and advertisements.
Metronome; Talon; 2012
Underpinned by references to art history and popular culture, Donnelly's distinctive work combines traditional media with disparate everyday objects to create erotically charged illusions, but fundamentally only offers a fiction to buy into and invest in. Samantha Donnelly explored a variety of vibrant colours and materials, for example this sculpture is formed by combining plastic wallets, card, glazed stoneware, collage with original inks, felt, copper mesh, nail-polish, corrugated metal and acrylic.
Sharp Orbits Fall Flat; 2012
Rather than just resenting finalised work, Donnelly actively encourages visitors to engage with the process through which meanings are made and unmade. Samantha also explored a variety of scale, due to the fact that she wasn't restricted to a small working space, which allowed creative freedom and to therefore work at a bigger scale. Due to the open spaces around her three dimensional sculptures, you were allowed not only to view her work up close and personal, but to also see her work from all angles. I think this was beneficial due to the fact that her work was visually interesting from all perspectives.
Detail; 2012
For this exhibition, I found the mass-prodcued, generic and figures of the female body were the foundations of her sculptures, and then by adding further layers of objects including buttons, lace, net and mirrors she created depth into the moral behind her work. The experience overall was quite interesting, mainly because her work was a complete contrast to my personal comfort zone. I opened my mind to the perspective behind her work and think she provides the finalised piece with a fragmented and abstract quality. Some of her pieces appear relic-like and precious, whereas others are seemingly transient and ephemeral, on the edge of dissolving. It was also nice to explore a new environment.
Contortionist; 2012
This particular larger scale sculpture was created by combining numerous materials such as stained eartenware, varnish, acrylic, mirror, copper tubes, electrical tape, aluminum clamps, steel clamps, fabric bound books, metal chains, modeling wax, tights, buttons, earrings, neon fablon, paint and velcro.
Method Act/City Limits; 2012
The exhibition is free entry and available from 28th January 2012 - 25th March 2012 and worth exploring :)
Word Count; 403.
No comments:
Post a Comment