21.06.13 — 27.07.13 ‘On the (im)possibility of a pure praise poem’
- Iain Andrews, 'Mythopoeia' £20
- Wieland Payer, 'Anderswelten' £25
- Henrietta Simson and Esther Teichmann, 'Lulled into Believing' £10
- Esther Teichmann, 'Silently Mirrored' £10
- Eames Demetrios, 'Discover Kymaerica' £10
- Jasper Deane, 'Colour Research: 1980 - 2006' £10
- Helga Steppan, 'Belongings Apart' £14
- Wieland Payer, Temple VII, Edition of 20 £750
- Wieland Payer, Temple VI, Edition of 20 £750
- Wieland Payer, Temple V, Edition of 20 £750
- Wieland Payer, Temple IV, Edition of 20 £750
- Wieland Payer, Temple III, Edition of 15 £750
- Wieland Payer, Temple II, Edition of 15 £750
- Wieland Payer, Temple I, Edition of 15 £750
- Larissa Nowicki, 'Meaning Obscured', Edition of 15 £800
- Larissa Nowicki, 'What You Don't See at First (on the surface)', Edition of 25 £600
- Larissa Nowicki, 'What You Don't See at First (behind the surface)', Edition of 25 £600
- Ryan Ras, 'Sorry' Artist's Book £275
- Ryan Ras, 'A Country History' £275
- Helga Steppan, 'See Through - All my things, Black' £500
- Helga Steppan, 'See Through - All my things, White (Landscape)' £500
- Helga Steppan, 'See Through - All my things, Green' £500
- Helga Steppan, 'See Through - All my things, Pink' £500
- Helga Steppan, 'See Through - All my things, Blue' £500
- Helga Steppan, 'See Through - All my things, Orange' £500
- Helga Steppan, 'See Through - All my things, Brown' £500
- Helga Steppan, 'See Through - All my things, Grey' £500
- Helga Steppan, 'See Through - All my things, Purple' £500
- Helga Steppan, 'See Through - All my things, Yellow' £500
- Helga Steppan, 'See Through - All my things, Red' £500
- Helga Steppan, 'See Through - All my things, Miscellaneous' £500
- Motala & Vadstena Tidning Magazine features Helga Steppan October 2013
- Martin Jenner from 'A KIck Up The Arts' comments on Iain Andrews' first London solo exhibition, 'Il Teatro dei Leviatano'.
- Winsor & Newton comment on Iain Andrews 'Interpreting Old Masters with Acrylics'
- Fetish Form review Wieland Payer's solo exhibition at Man&Eve
- Art and Christianity's Phil Baines reviews 'On the (im)possibility of a pure praise poem'
- Linda Petersson from 'Länstidningen Östersund' reviews Helga Steppan's latest works
- Christer Jarlås from 'Östersunds-Posten' reviews Helga Steppan's new works
- Man&Eve included in London Art Blog Top 10 list for Frieze Week 2013
- One Stop Arts reviews 'Yard Sale Project', August 2013
- Paul Carey Kent reviews 'On the (im)possibility of a pure praise poem'
- Elephant Magazine - Alex Virji's solo show 'Entropical Paradise' at Man&Eve 2013
- Ocula Review - Art13: Setting the precedent by Stephanie Bailey
- Lucy Newman Cleeve - Man&Eve on Lower Marsh
- 'Raindrops - British conceptual artist Alistair McClymont manipulates the elements with his display at Raleigh’s Contemporary Art Museum' By David Menconi, News Observer
- 'Expanding into July', review of James Brooks 'The Information Exchange' by Paul Carey Kent for 'Paul's Art World' and Saatchi online magazine
- 'ART: Diving into its pool @ PULSE' by Frank Exposito, Lookbooks
- 'Inside PULSE New York' by Alana Chloe Esposito, Artlog
- 'Sales Report: Pulse New York Keeps on Ticking With Affordable Work and Adventurous First-Time Collectors' by Alanna Martinez, Chloe Wyma, ArtInfo
- 'Pulse Art Fair Preview: Neon, Hyper, and Life-sized' by Marina Garcia-Vasquez
- Spoonfed, Tom Jeffreys keeps you up to date with all the comings and goings of Frieze Week 2011
- Iain Andrews, front cover and review in a-n Magazine, by Stephanie Moran, May 2011
- Artists to watch - Iain Andrews, A Kick up the Arts, April 2011
- Alex Virji RISE interview in Dazed Digital, Maksymilian Fus Mickiewicz
- Review of Alex Virji's work in 'Young London', Gabriel Coxhead, Timeout London, 20.06.11
- 'The Great Process — Sam Messenger, the Grid and the Vortex' by Matthew Poirier
- Sam Messenger included in Marina Cashdan's Top 10 Emerging Artists of 2011, Huffington Post
- Dig Down in Time review by MurmurArt
- Review of Alex Virji, 'Variations on a Theme' in 'Turps Banana', 2010, by Fin Cullum
- HKART10
- Saatchi Online review by Paul Carey-Kent of 'The Borrowed Loop'
- Ben Long featured in Image Interiors July-August 2010
- Don't Panic Magazine, 'The Borrowed Loop', by Izzy Elstob
- travelogue - ARTHK10, 30 May 2010
- Keep it Unreal: Esther Teichmann's "Drinking Air", nowness.com
- Mythic Environments: Robert Smithson and Eames Demetrios by Kevin Buist, Art21 Blog
- DISCOVER KYMAERICA by Michael A. Elliott, Believermag
- Dazed Digital, 'Lulled into Believing' Esther Teichmann and Henrietta Simson explore the nature of belief and the space that exists between fiction and reality, by John-Paul Pryor
- Esther Teichmann and Henrietta Simson, 'Exhibitionist: The best art shows to see this week', Guardian Online, Skye Sherwin
- Dazed & Confused, 'Inner Landscapes', Esther Teichmann and Henrietta Simson by Mimi Haddon
- 'Is Ben's brass design a winner?', BBC Lancashire
- The Guardian Guide, 'Sarah Bridgland, London', Exhibition Previews, 13.06.09 — 19.06.09
- 'DIY Fairytale Voices, Sarah Bridgland' New York Arts Magazine, Summer 2009
- Ben Long 'Crown Jewels', The Times Literary Supplement, 'Freelance' commentary by Hugo Williams, 02.05.09
- Timeout London, 'In The Studio - Ben Long', 30.04.09.
- Larissa Nowicki, 'Illiterature' at Arena 1 Gallery, Culture Monster, Los Angeles Times, March 2009
- Ben Long Scaffolding Sculpture, Grafik Annual, 2008
- Esther Teichmann, 'Mythologies', Qvest Edition No.34, October 2008
- Michael Whittle, 'Dark Ages', Amelia's Magazine
- Esther Teichman, 'London's 40 Best Artists', Timeout, 21.10.08
- Esther Teichmann, 'Be Contemporary', October 2008
- Helga Steppan, 'Consume Peckham', ArtArtArt Issue 3, October 08, Faye Nicholson
- Ben Long, 'ART WORK', Wallpaper 05.09.08
- Ben Long, Art World - Issue 6 - August/September 2008
- Eames Demetrios, 'Discover Kymaerica: theatre or performance art?', Metro
- Esther Teichmann, 'An Impossible Place', Source, Summer 2008
- Anticipation, 'Saatchi after Saatchi', The Times - Saturday Magazine, 2008
- Anticipation, 'Kay Saatchi: Aunty to the student art scene', Times Online, 2008
- Blitzkrieg Bop, 'Is painting back on the scene?' Guardian Blog, 2008
- 'Solo Project Strikes Out on Its Own', ArtInfo, 2008
- Ben Long, 'Stag Do', Grafik Magazine, June 2008
- Ben Long, 'Stag Scaffolding Sculpture', The Times, The Knowledge, Image of the Week
- Esther Teichmann, 'Lautlose Bildstucke ', BNN Karsruhe, Germany, May 2008
- Ben Long, 'Join the Land of the Free', Metro, April 2008
- Esther Teichmann, 'BLIMEY!: New Photography in Britain ', Art Review, May 2008
- Brighid Lowe, Art World, April 2008
- Esther Teichmann, 'Esther Teichmann', Bedeutung, Spring 2008
- 'The master builder: BEN LONG', Dazed & Confused, April 2008
- 'Walls Have Ears', Exhibition of the week, Spoonfed
- Ben Long, Grafik Magazine, Special Report Art, February 2008
- Ryan Ras, 'Mea Culpa', Guardian Guide, Pick of the week
- Ryan Ras, 'Mea Culpa', Flavorpill
- 'Paper-thin worlds', Blueprint, December 2007
- 'Be long a part' by Helga Steppan at Man&Eve Gallery, 'Grafik Magazine', December 2007
- 'Paper-thin worlds', Flavorpill
- Esther Teichmann, 'Phantasie Fotostudio', 032c, Winter 2007/08
- 'Halfway House', Editor Art Review, BBC Collective
- Frieze, Zoo, Year_07 and Bridge Art Fair 2007, Ivar Hagendoorn
- Preview Year_07 Art Projects, Undo.net
- Esther Teichmann, 'Silently Mirrored', Mother of invention, British Journal Photography
- Esther Teichmann, 'Silently Mirrored', Dazed & Confused
- Exhibition of the week, Esther Teichmann 'Silently Mirrored', TimeOut London
- Daring Stuff
- Helga Steppan 'Be long a part', Creative Review, SEEN Reviews, Pick of the Month, August 2007
- 'Whistle Stop', Sebastian Mary catches the bus to Kymaerica
- Eames Demetrios, ‘Welcome to Kymaerica’, UPstreet LONDON, 2007
- 'You Know Who You Are', review of 'Replicas' by Nada Serafimovski, David Gleeson
- Esther Teichmann, 'Viscosity', Photographie – Hyères, April 2006
20.09.15
Man&Eve Projects at The Manchester Contemporary 201511.12.13
Sophie Clements will be showing 'The Sun Cinema Experience' as part of Madeira Micro International Film Festival07.11.13
Sophie Clements at the 7th annual Contemporary Istanbul 201302.11.13
Sophie Clements features in Art:I:Curate02.11.13
November LAST FRIDAYS at Man&Eve17.10.13
Alex Virji featured in new publication '100 London Artists' selected by Edward Lucie-Smith and Zavier Eliis17.10.13
Iain Andrews participating in 'PROJECT 04: Tip of the Iceberg: Art from Up North' at Contemporary Art Society, London15.10.13
Opening of new commissioned work for The Town Hall in Motala by Helga Steppan at Motala Culture Night 201315.10.13
Helga Steppan in group exhibition 'Shop Show' at the Form / Design Centre, Sweden.15.10.13
Michael Whittle presents his solo show 'Pattern Recognition' in Kyoto.15.10.13
Michael Whittle in collaboration at Zuiun-an Art Project Space, Kyoto.15.10.13
Sophie Clements nominated for the Marler Art Prize 2013, Germany08.10.13
Sophie Clements in touring exhibition 'The Sound of Art', Oslo08.10.13
Alistair McClymont group exhibition 'Wie eine zweite Natur' extended until January 201405.10.13
October LAST FRIDAYS at Man&Eve27.08.13
James Brook's solo exhibition at Galerie Laurent Mueller, Paris27.08.13
Sophie Clements in the group show 'An Unnatural Theatre' at AID&ABET, Cambridge27.08.13
Helga Steppan presents her solo show 'Kaleidoscopia', Sweden07.08.13
Man&Eve at the Manchester Contemporary, 26 - 29th September 201302.07.13
James Brooks group show at Trinity Contemporary01.07.13
Alistair McClymont and Sophie Clements residency and exhibition at Islington Mill, Salford01.07.13
James Brooks' group show 'Data' at the Contemporary Art Society27.06.13
Larissa Nowicki in 'Remix: Selections from the ICC' at the Katonah Museum of Art21.06.13
Iain Andrews and Wieland Payer in 'Beautiful Things' group exhibition, Albert Dock, Liverpool21.06.13
James Brooks forthcoming 'Land Observations' performances at B-Sides Festival, Lucerne, Switzerland and Museum of Modern Art, Toulouse, France20.06.13
Wieland Payer in 'Summer of Paper', a group exhibition, Galerie Biesenbach, Köln13.06.13
Man&Eve at The Lloyds Club, London10.06.13
Alistair McClymont shortlisted as part of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering 201305.06.13
Alistair McClymont in Ars Electronica group exhibition, Berlin20.05.13
Sophie Clements in 'Handles Suspended in times of Sustainability', Milan09.05.13
Man&Eve participating in 'New British 2013' at Lloyds Club, London03.05.13
James Brooks' group show at Galerie Martina Detterer02.05.13
Michael Whittle at the 1st Annual Collectors' Contemporary Collaboration, Hong Kong Arts Centre06.04.13
Helga Steppan's two person show with Conny Karlsson Lundgren at Gothenburg Museum of Art21.03.13
James Brooks - 'Give Me Five' group show, Staedel Museum, Frankfurt, Germany11.02.13
James Brooks - 'Reporter' solo show at Platform-A Gallery31.01.13
Alistair McClymont - 'Everything we are capable of seeing', solo show at CAM Raleigh29.01.13
Man&Eve at Art13 London, 1st - 3rd March 201304.12.12
Sophie Clements - 'Artificial Garden', group show at Seoul Museum of Art17.10.12
CAS event - Iain Andrews artist talk, 25.10.12. 18:30 - 20:3017.10.12
Mark Dean, 'Scorpio Rising 2' film screening 26.10.1217.10.12
Alistair McClymont in 'Radical DIY' talk at ArtsCatalyst 30.10.1225.09.12
Man&Eve at the Manchester Contemporary 27 - 30 September 201225.09.12
Iain Andrews solo exhibition 'Mythopoeia' at Warrington Museum and Art Gallery17.09.12
Larissa Nowicki in "Remix: Selections from the International Collage Centre" touring exhibition and catalogue13.09.12
Sophie Clements - ‘I Wish This Was a Song: Music In Contemporary Art’, group show at National Museum of Contemporary Art07.09.12
James Brooks at Galerie Laurent Mueller, Paris until October 27, 201202.09.12
Wieland Payer shortlisted for Young Masters Art Prize03.08.12
Alistair McClymont chosen to be part of '100 Curators 100 Days' on Saatchi Online03.08.12
Alistair McClymont in 'Blue Skies Festival' at Dundee Contemporary Arts24.07.12
Iain Andrews nominated for Northern Art Prize 201302.05.12
Man&Eve at Pulse New York 3.5.12 - 6.5.1207.04.12
Larissa Nowicki in 'Material Measure: Use and Reinvention of Maps', The Institute Library New Haven04.04.12
Helga Steppan in 'Made-in-Sacy' at Europe House23.03.12
Alex Virji in inaugural exhibition at Block 33612.01.12
Ben Long WORDS Scaffolding Sculpture at Selfridges04.12.11
Larissa Nowicki wins the 2011 Pulse Prize17.11.11
Man&Eve at Pulse Miami 01.12.11 - 04.12.1121.09.11
Man&Eve at the Manchester Contemporary, 27.10.11 - 30.10.1101.09.11
Iain Andrews shortlisted for the Jerwood Drawing Prize 201124.08.11
Larissa Nowicki awarded residency at the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation01.08.11
Man&Eve at art:gwangju, 31.08.11 - 04.09.1113.04.11
Man&Eve at ART HK 11, 26.05.11 — 29.05.1116.03.11
Sam Messenger in "Now WHAT?" at Norton Museum of Art, Palm Beach, 15.12.10 — 13.03.1116.03.11
Sam Messenger included in Marina Cashdan's 'Top Ten Emerging Artists of 2011', Huffington Post04.02.11
Helga Steppan solo exhibition, 'The Lines Between Us', UNDERresidens BUS, Stockholm, 04.02.11 — 19.02.1116.01.11
Ben Long in 'Modern British Sculpture' at Gimpel Fils, 20.01.11 — 05.03.1117.11.10
Work by Henrietta Simson and Michael Whittle included in BFAMI annual auction20.10.10
Henrietta Simson in ‘With These Walls We Are Shaped’, Wolstenholme Creative Space, Liverpool Biennial 201030.09.10
Man&Eve at Manchester Contemporary, 201029.09.10
'Drinking Air' Esther Teichmann's Solo Exhibition at Severed Head, Dublin14.09.10
Sarah Bridgland in 'The Jolly (Good) Show' at Collyer Bristow Gallery20.08.10
Helga Steppan in 'Parallelistic l'imitation' solo exhibition at Château de Sacy, France06.08.10
Larissa Nowicki in 'Illiterature', Chico, California28.07.10
Esther Teichmann, New website launched28.07.10
Esther Teichmann in 'Mythologies' solo exhibition at Severed Head, Dublin22.07.10
Esther Teichmann in 'Regarding Painting', Kevin Kavanagh Gallery, Dublin18.06.10
Henrietta Simson in 'Shelf', Whitstable Satellite, Whitstable Biennale, 201018.06.10
Henrietta Simson shortlisted for John Moores Contemporary Painting Prize, 201011.06.10
Michael Whittle in 'Flatland — A Romance of many directions' at APT Gallery, Deptford, London02.06.10
Esther Teichmann book signing at Self Publish, Be Happy Weekend, The Photographers Gallery, London21.05.10
Man&Eve at ART HK 1020.05.10
Esther Teichmann - Talk and Q & A at Redeye, Manchester, 26th May 201012.05.10
Henrietta Simson in 'Cities Methodologies 2010', Slade Research Centre, UCL, London05.05.10
Esther Teichmann in group show at Kevin Kavanagh Gallery, Dublin05.05.10
Ben Long in 'Heart of Glass' at 20 Hoxton Square Projects05.05.10
Ben Long in 'Material Worlds' at F. E. McWilliam Gallery, Banbridge, Co. Down, Northern Ireland28.01.10
Man&Eve relocating to a new venue14.01.10
Man&Eve at VOLTA NY, 201014.01.10
Sam Messenger in 'If You Could Collaborate' at A Foundation Gallery, Rochelle School, 15 — 24 January 201013.12.09
Man&Eve Christmas and New Year opening times14.11.09
Michael Whittle in 'Workshop of Hereafter', curated by Andrea Gregson at Blyth Gallery, Imperial College, 25th Nov — 18th Dec 0903.11.09
Man&Eve at NADA Art Fair, Miami Beach 200914.08.09
Ben Long 'Brass Bandstand' shortlisted for Artists Taking the Lead commission25.07.09
Esther Teichmann solo exhibition 'Mythologies' at Field36 gallery, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia22.07.09
Henrietta Simson in 'spaces/places/senses/places/senses/spaces' at The Visual Arts Centre, Portsmouth, Virginia18.07.09
Michael Whittle awarded Japanese Government Monbusho Scholarship07.05.09
Esther Teichmann in 'The Space Between Us' at The Crypt, St Pancras Church, London N120.02.09
Man&Eve presents Michael Whittle at CIGE Beijing 'International Solo Shows'20.02.09
Ben Long's 'Horse Scaffolding Sculpture' at the Economist Plaza09.02.09
Sam Messenger in '40 Artists - 80 Drawings' at The Drawing Gallery01.02.09
Larissa Nowicki in group exhibition 'Illiterature' at Frumkin Gallery in Los Angeles26.01.09
Esther Teichmann nominated for KLM Huf Award05.01.09
Henrietta Simson in 'the voice and nothing more' at the Slade Research Centre28.11.08
Larissa Nowicki in group exhibition '8 1/2 x 11 / A4' at James Fuentes Gallery, NYC28.11.08
Helga Steppan nominated for IPG / Terry Neill Award 200814.11.08
Esther Teichmann selected for inclusion in the Artsway Open 0831.10.08
Henrietta Simson,'Lost Narratives' at The Slade Research Centre, November 200822.10.08
Esther Teichmann named in Timeout's 'London's 40 best artists under 40' by Helen Sumpter and Ossian Ward30.09.08
Larissa Nowicki in group exhibition 'Illiterature' at LIMN Gallery in San Fransisco02.09.08
Sarah Bridgland featured in new Black Dog publication 'Collage: Assembling Contemporary Art'01.09.08
Sarah Bridgland in '10: The Chris Orr Years 1998 — 2008' at the Royal College of Art01.09.08
Helga Steppan in 'Art in the Car Park', Liverpool Biennial 200801.09.08
Sarah Bridgland in 'Material Worlds' at Barts Gallery18.08.08
Larissa Nowicki selected for the RISD New York Alumni Biennial 200807.07.08
Helga Steppan in 'Consume Peckham' as part of 'I love Peckham' Summer Festival30.06.08
Eames Demetrios at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival15.06.08
Sam Messenger in 'You Silently (Two): Image-Object-Text' at The Courtauld Institute of Art, curated by Dawn Ades and Marina Warner01.06.08
Michael Whittle at Gallery NV in Seoul, Korea30.05.08
Esther Teichmann nominated for Sovereign European Art Prize16.05.08
Helga Steppan receives and Honorable Mention in the Magenta Foundation Flash Forward Award 200809.05.08
Esther Teichmann included in ANTICIPATION at Selfridges, London, 26th June - 3rd August08.05.08
Man&Eve at The Solo Project, Basel, 2 — 8th June 200807.05.08
Sarah Bridgland in Summer exhibition at Knoedler Project Space, New York, June 19th — August 1st06.05.08
Ben Long - Stag Scaffolding Sculpture at the Elephant & Castle - Extended throughout August06.05.08
Esther Teichmann selected for New Contemporaries 200801.05.08
Helga Steppan: Residency at the Nordic Artists’ Centre, Norway23.04.08
Man&Eve screening at Brixton Ritzy as part of Picturehouse Artspace series16.04.08
Man&Eve at NEXT art fair, Chicago15.04.08
Esther Teichmann solo exhibition at Galerie Karlheinz Meyer in Karlsruhe, Germany31.03.08
Esther Teichmann included in ‘In Our World. New Photography in Britain’ exhibition at Galleria Civica di Modena, Italy18.03.08
Michael Whittle at the Sferra Building in Kyoto, Japan16.03.08
Sam Messenger in 'Blink, Cut + Repeat' at The Courtauld Institute of Art18.02.08
Helga Steppan 'See Through: All my things' at The Royal London Hospital02.02.08
Helga Steppan included in group exhibition at James Harris Gallery, Seattle11.10.07
Ben Long in 'Drawn Apart East', a group show by Day+Gluckman Curatorial Partnership10.10.07
Eames Demetrios new film 'A Gathering of Elephants'09.10.07
Man&Eve at Year_07 art projects09.10.07
Man&Eve at Aqua Wynwood Miami 200707.10.07
ArtFacts Preview of Year_0706.10.07
Helga Steppan awarded The Magenta Foundation Prize15.08.07
'Phantasie Fotostudio: The Esthacus Teichwynd Photos' at Gallery Giti Nourbakhsch01.08.07
'The Region of Unlikeness' at Bank Gallery, Los Angeles18.02.19
Alex Virji, 'Entropical Paradise'
Read the full exhibition essay here.
“Poetry all art is one of universal worships a l’insu of god the unknown.” Dom Sylvester Houédard
In an interview with Ian MacMillan in 2006, the poet Geoffrey Hill spoke about “the impossibility of a pure praise poem”.1 Hill’s bold assertion forms the basis of enquiry for this exhibition, which brings together work by the late Benedictine priest, theologian and Concrete poet Dom Sylvester Houédard (aka dsh), with work by three contemporary artists: Aliki Braine, Mark Dean and Anna Sikorska. The exhibition explores, in various media, whether the creative act and its product can ever comprise ‘pure praise’, or whether the incidence of a ‘pure praise poem’ (or equally of a pure praise photograph, painting, video or sculpture) is unattainable.
A number of intriguing symmetries occur within the exhibition, not least the fact that it includes work made by two ordained priests (dsh and Dean). dsh understood his visual poems and ‘typestracts’ as “icons depicting sacred questions,”2 and Dean’s video works, which have been described by David Curtis as “votive offerings,”3 also function in the interrogative mode. In each case, there is a tacit acceptance that answers will not be forthcoming. For dsh, questions are met with mysteries, “to which the appropriate response can never be an ‘answer’ but has to be a growth of awareness and awe – gratitude, depth and pleasure.”4 This attitude of praise defines the creative act, but cannot necessarily be conveyed to the viewer who joins with the artist in constructing the meaning of the work.
Dean’s work relies heavily upon the appropriation of, often iconic, film and video footage and music. It introduces visual and aural puns that behave as the generators and interrogators of meaning within the work, setting up a series of disputations between the different elements being sampled. Although the work is always carefully constructed, the reverberations and analogies created by placing potent symbols side by side are myriad. The screen becomes a crucible in which layers of meaning are compounded, burnt and refined.
Symmetries also exist between Braine’s photographs and dsh’s typestracts in the extent to which both artists seek to release their content from the dictatorial and paternalistic constraints of language and symbolism. Indeed, Braine’s work could be described as ‘Concrete photography’ in its attempt to allow the physical photograph to become part of the work, rather than simply the medium through which an image is captured. Braine has responded to the exhibition title by producing a series of black and white ‘Pure Praise Photographs’, made using non exposed-colour 120 film, with varying sized holes punched into them. This deliberate rupturing of the surface of the negative is one of several tactics (including hole-punching, pricking, drawing, sticking and blocking) that she uses in order to draw attention to the photograph as an object. The resulting ‘polka dot’ images offer playful allusions to Kusama and Hirst, as well as to the Zen circles that appear in dsh’s work. If there is a creative act of praise going on here, then its object is the materiality of the photograph.
Sikorska’s work also resists hierarchies in its glorification of the physicality of mundane objects. A laundry basket is inverted and cast in lead to form a ‘Colosseum’, whilst a wooden drying rack is transformed into a shimmering and playful structure that almost, but not quite, belies its humble origins. Like Dean, Sikorska employs visual puns that extend the meaning of her work, but the question lingers as to whether her creative action frees it from the contamination of its’ base associations. In ‘Colosseum’ she has created a comic micro-monument that questions our praise and elevation of monuments of human conceit.
[1] Interview broadcast as part of the programme ‘The Verb’, BBC Radio 3, Saturday 14 January 2006, 22:00-22:45
[2] First published in ‘Art Without Boundaries: 1950-70’, Gerald Woods, Philip Thompson and John Williams (eds), Thames and Hudson, London, 1972
[3] David Curtis, ‘A History of Artist’s Film and Video in Britain’, 1897-2004, BFI Publishing, 2007
[4] First published in ‘Art Without Boundaries: 1950-70’, Gerald Woods, Philip Thompson and John Williams (eds), Thames and Hudson, London, 1972
Dom Sylvester Houédard was, along with Ian Hamilton Finlay, one of the two principal founders of the Concrete Poetry movement in Britain. He began experimenting with ‘typestracts’ in the 1940s, and developed a highly distinctive style of typewritten visual poetry, using coloured typewriter ribbons and carbon papers. When Concrete Poetry emerged as an international movement in the early 1960s, he became – through his legendary letter writing–one of its most active participants, advocates and theorists. In 1971 was given a solo show at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Houédard wrote extensively on new approaches to art, spirituality and philosophy as well as collaborating with artists including Gustav Metzger and Yoko Ono, and the composer John Cage.
Aliki Braine studied for her BFA in Fine Art at Ruskin School, Oxford University followed by an MA at The Slade School of Fine Art. She then went to the Courtauld Institute to do an MA in the History of Art. This grounding in both the practice and theory of art is combined in her work as she draws upon the recurrent themes of the historical painted landscape. Recent solo exhibitions include ‘Wilful Damage’, Galerie Raum Mit Licht, Vienna, Austria (2011), ‘Black Out / White Out’, Fruela Gallery, Madrid (2007), ‘Dessine moi un arbre…’, Jerwood Space, London (2006). Her work is included in this exhibition courtesy of Troika Editions.
Mark Dean has been exhibiting video and sound works in the UK and internationally since 1992, when he began working with appropriated film and music. Solo exhibitions include City Racing (1996), The Imperial War Museum (1999), Laurent Delaye Gallery (1999, 2000, 2002), Casa de las Conchas, Salamanca (2000), Ikon Gallery (2001), Volker Diehl Gallery (Berlin) 2002, Sketch (2004), Beaconsfield (2005, 2010, 2011), Matthew Brown Gallery (2007). The ‘religious’ aspect of Dean’s work has become more explicit since he was ordained in the Church of England, in 2009. He is interested in the historical and potential relation of art and religion, and in 2013 he was appointed as a chaplain to the University of the Arts London. However, he remains clear that there is no easy relation between contemporary art and religious faith, not least because there is no shared language with which to discuss it; this is the context in which he makes use of appropriation techniques.
Anna Sikorska studied at the Slade School of Fine Art (2004 – 8), incorporating study at Bezalel Academy, Jerusalem and Heythrop College, London, before gaining an MA in Sculpture from the Royal College of Art (2010). Recent exhibitions include ‘Change of Heart’, Leicester University Botanical Garden (2013), ‘Tabu Registration’, exhibition and journal publication, Tel Aviv (2013), ‘I Heart 3D’ at Christies, London (2012), ‘The King and the Minotaur’, Wignall and Moore, London (2011), ‘Museums at Night’, PumpHouse Gallery, London (2010), ‘Rapidform’, V&A Museum (2010) and ‘Exchange and Harbour’ solo show at the Corn Exchange Gallery, Edinburgh (2009).
A private view will take place on Thursday 20th June, 6 – 8pm.
Two limited edition letterpress prints will be available from Man&Eve to accompany the exhibition:
Limited edition hand-set reproduction by Fraser Muggeridge Studio of ‘Ken Cox Memorial’ artwork by Dom Sylvester Houédard (1968), letterpress print, 87 × 77 cm, edition of 125.
Limited edition letterpress print by Alan Kitching (who printed with dsh in the 1960s), in response to original work by Dom Sylvester Houédard, edition of 20.
Please contact us for more details.
Man&Eve would like to thank William Allen Word & Image, Fraser Muggeridge Studio, Alan Kitching, Stephen Rothholz and Troika Editions for helping to make this exhibition possible.