Two exhibitions
dal 14/6/2004 al 1/8/2004
Segnalato da
14/6/2004
Two exhibitions
South London Gallery SLG, London
A life size silver foil guitarist, a pair of Styrofoam figures and an oversized breakfast cereal box are among art works made by internationally acclaimed American artist, Tom Friedman, for a major solo show at the South London Gallery. An invitation to mix records for the pleasure of plants and an artist singing like a bird are among works in Beating About The Bush, the first exhibition to take place in the overgrown and previously neglected suburban garden adjacent to the freshly refurbished South London Gallery.
Tom Friedman : Solo Exhibition
15|6|2004 - 1|8|2004
A life size silver foil guitarist, a pair of Styrofoam figures and an oversized breakfast cereal box are among art works made by internationally acclaimed American artist, Tom Friedman, for a major solo show at the South London Gallery. The show, of entirely new work, opens on 15 June 2004 and will be the first to take place at the Gallery following refurbishment of its exhibition space and facilities.
Tom Friedman transforms familiar household items, from masking tape to toilet paper and toothpicks to bubblegum, into delicate and intricate art objects. With breathtaking precision and conceptual wit, he creates work which never fails to delight and intrigue and offers a glimpse of Friedman's very individual way of looking at the world.
Friedman's previous work includes a self-portrait carved on an aspirin, a life-size tarantula modelled from human hair, and thousands of multi-coloured pills made from play dough. The works in his South London Gallery show reveal an equally extraordinary, often obsessive, attention to detail.
They include two cleverly crafted Styrofoam figures, one giant, the other tiny, craning their necks to peer at each other; an elongated Cheerios box, painstakingly assembled from four original Cheerios packets cut into tiny pieces and reconfigured; and a large intricate drawing created, centimetre by centimetre, by individually copying and scaling up a photograph of a forest.
Tom Friedman has exhibited extensively in America and internationally, most recently with a major solo exhibition at the Prada Foundation in Milan. His South London Gallery show will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue and an exhibition guide for younger visitors. There will be an extensive education programme for schools and families, and a ticketed 'in-conversation' event with the artist in June.
All images are courtesy of Stephen Friedman Gallery, London.
Related Links
'DISCOVER THE WORLD' FAMILY DAYS OUT TO THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
TOM FRIEDMAN 'IN CONVERSATION' WITH SARAH KENT
Image: Tom Friedman, Untitled 2004 (cube ball with figure)
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BEATING ABOUT THE BUSH IN THE 'SECRET GARDEN'
15|6|2004 - 1|8|2004
An invitation to mix records for the pleasure of plants and an artist singing like a bird are among works in Beating About The Bush, the first exhibition to take place in the overgrown and previously neglected suburban garden adjacent to the freshly refurbished South London Gallery.
Four artists, who in different ways explore the relationship between nature and culture in a mixture of audio visual and sculptural work, have been invited by students of the Goldsmiths College MA Curating programme, to respond to the new and unique outdoor space that has been revealed as part of the SLG's building project.
In Untitled (Greenhouse), Peter Coffin (USA) invites local musicians and visitors to play music for plants in a greenhouse installed with foliage, turntables, synthesiser, mixer and amplifier. The greenhouse is transformed into an unusual live music venue within the garden in an experiment in botanical and social interaction.
A large empty billboard is re-located from its prime street position to the secluded garden by Gabriel Kuri (Mexico). This seemingly absurd move strips the billboard of its commercial function as a promotional medium while it simultaneously emphasizes our acceptance and indifference to the products advertised around us.
The bird song in the garden is a recording by Hannah Rickards (UK) of her own voice adjusted back to its 'natural' pitch so that it sounds eerily close to the singing of real birds. Played outside of a gallery for the first time, the work highlights man's interference with the fine balance of our natural eco-systems.
William Speakman (NL) uses natural and artificial materials, combining elements of sculpture, painting and architecture, to initially create a 'studio' in the garden. In turn this facilitates the building of two further structures: one reminiscent of the Tikrit shelter where Saddam Hussein was recently captured and a second, contrastingly tranquil, inhabitable space.
Free bands will play in Peter Coffin's greenhouse every Friday from 18 June to 30 July. A free evening of performance by juneau/projects/ and screenings of artists' videos by Mark Glassner, Daniel Horn, Torsten Lauschmann, Andrew Mania, Beltran Obregon, Michael Sailstorfer, Richard T. Walker and Mark Aerial Waller will close Beating About The Bush on 30 July.
'Beating About The Bush' is supported by Eden Greenhouses; The Dutch Fund for Visual Arts, Sculpture and Architecture; The Mexican Embassy; The Royal Netherlands Embassy; Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores de Mexico and Statement Media Arts Development.
South London Gallery
65 Peckham Road - SE5 8UH
London