5/7/2004
Plazasuite
Union, London
The exhibition is a reference to the 1971 film of the same title which was based on Neil Simon's hit Broadway play. The film was an ensemble of three episodes set in Suite 719 of New York City's famed Plaza Hotel, each starring comic legend Walter Matthau. Union is pleased to present a parallel suite 719 in the form of the flat-pack self-contained German gallery Laden Fur Nichts, re-constructed by architect and media artist Alexander Pointinger, which will be residing within the London gallery for eight weeks.
Curated by Free Association in collaboration with Uwe K. Günther (LFN, Leipzig)
PLAZA SUITE, the exhibition at Union, is a reference to the 1971 film of the same title which was based on Neil Simon's hit Broadway play. The film was an ensemble of three episodes set in Suite 719 of New York City's famed Plaza Hotel, each starring comic legend Walter Matthau. UNION is pleased to present a parallel suite 719 in the form of the flat-pack self-contained German gallery Laden Für Nichts, re-constructed by architect and media artist Alexander Pointinger, which will be residing within the London gallery for eight weeks.
Each week for a total of 8 weeks, two or more London / Leipzig artists will engage the relationships between the small space that they occupy relative to the wider context of the internal Union gallery architecture - the works of art are moved from one gallery to another; this movement highlights thus a blurring of the frontiers between underground and mainstream art.
A collaboration between Bob and Roberta Smith and Mark Titchner launches the exhibition in the isolated cabin whereby a conflation of outmoded radical ideological posters and advertising is disarmed and recharged with new meaning.
Week 2 (16/07 – 23/07) Volker Eichelmann, Roland Rust, Jonathan Faiers and Stephen Sutcliffe follow on in the space and use the walls to screen their films. Denial of desire combined with the heritage of British social realist film and the brooding lyricism of 80's northern pop create a thoroughly modern 'Saturday night, Sunday Morning'.
Week 3 (23/07 – 30/07) Kerstin Schiefner will move into the 'suite' with the entire contents that were found in a deceased man's flat in Leipzig, altering the mood of the space and changing the significance of the detritus that was found.
Week 4 (30/07 – 06/08) Edwina Ashton, Jeremy Fay and Rory Macbeth work quietly animating lives lost in mis-communication, isolation and muted despair.
Week 5 (06/08 – 13/08) Bildflut (guest curated by: Uwe K. Günther / Mike Dawson / Brian Reed) appear on the horizon, consuming all in their path under the cover of darkness.
Week 6 (13/08 – 20/08) Flatpack001 takes up residency whereby modes of art practice and reception are questioned, new methods are integrated seamlessly into social fabrics.
Week 7 (20/08 – 27/08) Oliver Kossak will install his subversive drawings that aim to de-code common language and meaning.
Week 8 (27/08 – 03/09) James Emmerson and Dan Howard-Birt arrive to immerse themselves in a surreal mise-en scene. The structure is declared unsafe and out-of-bounds.
PLAZA SUITE will close on 3rd September with a live performance by Famed at 7pm. Each artist will be tattooed with a logo that has been purchased through the gallery. This unique act questions the traditions of art patronage and how it can be pushed to the extreme where 'branding' is prevalent in contemporary culture.
Free Association is a UK based collective of artists, curators, writers and cultural practitioners engaged in widening cultural discourse with overseas partners through exhibitions and unique projects. There is no membership card, no fee and no office. Members simply require professional knowledge and enthusiasm. Participants are invited to join debate as each project dictates.
Private View: 06/07/04 6-9pm
Free Association was formed in 2003 by Colin Ledwith, Jari Lager and Mark Titchner.
Please email us at: Freeassociation3@aol.com
For more information please contact +44 (0)20 7928 3388
OPENING HOURS
MONDAY-FRIDAY 10 AM-6 PM, SATURDAY 12-5 PM
UNION, 57 EWER STREET, LONDON SE1 0NR