Tim Noble and Sue Webster
dal 28/4/2011 al 15/7/2011
Segnalato da
28/4/2011
Tim Noble and Sue Webster
Blain|Southern, Berlin
Monumental both in scale and ambition, Turning the Seventh Corner is a site-specific installation inspired by the tombs of the Egyptian Pharaohs which has been made in collaboration with the internationally acclaimed architect David Adjaye. Tim Noble and Sue Webste's work also includes light sculptures which elevate the kitsch of low art forms, such as Las Vegas strip hotels and tattoo parlours, into iconic tropes of pop art.
Blain|Southern opens its Berlin gallery in April with an exhibition by the celebrated British artists Tim Noble and Sue Webster. Monumental both in scale and ambition, Turning the Seventh Corner is a site-specific installation inspired by the tombs of the Egyptian Pharaohs which has been made in collaboration with the internationally acclaimed architect David Adjaye.
The new gallery, a concrete, steel and glass structure with a floor space of more than 1,300 square metres, was formerly the printing presses of the German Liberal newspaper, Der Tagesspiegel. The publication’s motto, ‘Rerum cognoscere causas’, or ‘To know the causes of things’, has also inspired the artists.
Tim Noble and Sue Webster (pictured above) are best known for their ‘shadow sculptures’ in which they use discarded rubbish, animals and other matter that are then illuminated from a single light source creating portraits of themselves. Their work also includes light sculptures which elevate the kitsch of low art forms, such as Las Vegas strip hotels and tattoo parlours, into iconic tropes of pop art.
Turning The Seventh Corner draws on these and other practices. However, the artists’ desire for an element of surprise and mystery has led them to hold back on revealing every detail of the work, which they have created as a journey of exploration.
Upon arriving at the doorway on the second floor of the gallery the viewer enters a labyrinth of man-made tunnels, dimly lit with narrowing passages. These ascend and descend in a spiral-like manner and have been designed to disorientate and, in doing
so, steer the mind towards a more open and meditative state, one alive to enquiry.
After passing the seven corners, an allusion to the Book of Proverbs, 9:1 - "Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars", the viewer enters a tomb-like area where the secret creation by Tim Noble and Sue Webster, one of beauty, surprise, wonder and enlightenment, is revealed.
Says Webster: “Since I was a teenager I’ve been enthralled by the idea of Berlin and by the way it has attracted the creative energies of two of my great heroes David Bowie and Nick Cave - and so following in this great tradition, Tim and I are proud to initiate our most ambitious project to date in this fabulous city.”
About Tim Noble and Sue Webster:
Tim Noble (1966) and Sue Webster (1967) are among the best known and most admired British artists of their generation. They met in 1986 while studying Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University. Since their first solo show in London, British Rubbish,
1996, they have enjoyed international recognition with solo exhibitions at Rockefeller Plaza, New York, 2008; The Freud Museum, London, 2006; CAC Malaga, 2005; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2004; P.S.1/MoMA, New York, 2003; Milton Keynes Gallery, UK, 2002; Deste Foundation, Athens, 2000 and The Chisenhale Gallery, London, 1999. Their work was included in Statuephilia—Contemporary Sculptors at The British Museum, London, 2008–09, and in the exhibition Apocalypse—Beauty and
Horror in Contemporary Art, at The Royal Academy, London, 2000.
Their work is in the permanent collections of the Arken Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen; Artis-François Pinault, France; Dakis Joannou Collection, Athens; The Goss-Michael Collection, Dallas; Honart Museum, Tehran, Iran; Museum of Contemporary Art Denver; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; National Portrait Gallery, London; The Olbricht Collection, Berlin; Project Space 176–The Zabludowicz Collection, London; Saatchi Collection, London; Samsung Museum, Seoul, Korea; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.
In 2007 they received the prestigious Arken Prize for artistic achievement.
For further information on the exhibition, please contact Mark Inglefield
T: +44 758 419 9500 | E: mark@blainsouthern.com
Private View: Friday 29 April, 6–8pm
Blain|Southern
Potsdamer Strasse 77-87, 10785, Berlin
Hours: Opening to the public on 30th April 2011
Tuesday to Saturday: 11 - 18
free admision