I have seen quite a few works of art over the last few days in Dublin and Cardiff and here are some highlights. At the Irish Museum of Modern Art, I saw some fascinating sculptural installations by Sheela Gowda and a site-specific installation made with neon lights by Vong Phaophanit called Line Writing. In this piece the floorboards were removed from one of the gallery spaces and the dirt on the ground beneath the surface of the building became the backdrop. The words are in Lao and are the names of six Equatorial diseases. The artist was thinking of the ripping away of the floorboards as a metaphoric action that could represent disease or illness. In the 17th century the museum was a hospital for British soldiers so her work is a specific response to the site. I always think learning about art is discovering what is permissible to do and while there have been other artists (such as Chris Burden) who have excavated beneath the floors of a museum or gallery, this is the first time I have seen a work of art installed in this manner. I like to see how artists can reinvent an ordinary gallery space and make us see things new. 

In a contemporary art space that was a twenty minute walk from Cardiff's city centre, I discovered the work of Jonathan Baldock. His work filled three rooms, each painted a specific colour to create an atmospheric effect. The work consisted of a range of pieces constructed of felt and knitted surfaces, looking somewhere between children's toys, natural history artifacts, folk art and sculptural forms. Although this is not mentioned in the write-ups of the work, I learned from the gallery's director that the work is named after William Burroughs story, The Soft Machine, with each room representing a section of the story. Its worth a read because you can see how an artist would be inspired to translate Burrough's story into a visual form as it is packed full of strange and fantastical imagery. The strength of the exhibition is that the artist took a very imaginative and non-literal approach to interpreting Burrough's narrative. As a viewer you are immediately engaged by these extremely well-crafted and bizarrely elegant objects that are scattered throughout the rooms.

The National Museum in Cardiff had an exhibition called Wales Visitation: Poetry, Romanticism and Myth in Art This exhibition included the some landscape paintings by Graham Sutherland, a UK artist who worked in a surrealist style, with a definite Francis Bacon influence (they were good friends) in the 1940's up until his death in 1980. Juxtaposed with Sutherland's work was one painting by a young contemporary artist Clare Woods. Woods' work is oil and enamel on board and there is a sense that it is depicting a paint-by-number painting that has gone awry. The work is rich and imaginative and it is easy to see how Clare Woods might be the Graham Sutherland of the present time in the way she is pushing the boundaries of how we might define landscape painting.

Included as part of the above exhibition was a video projection of Allan Ginsberg reading his poem Wales Visitation to conservative anchor person, William F Buckley. I have included a link in the video below because it was extremely delightful to see how Buckley, despite his own expectations, was quite moved by Ginsberg's reading. You can see from this video how the power of Ginsberg's physical expressions and vocal intonations truly brings the poem alive.

I have seen so many fantastic landscapes on my travels and the question is always how can a photograph do justice to all the wonderful views nature provides? To find the answer to this question, I suggest you enroll in Tara Nicholson's Landscape Photography offered on Wednesday mornings starting May 14. 

 

Taking a landscape photography course would be a wonderful start to your summer because you'll get to spend a lot of time outdoors during class time and also it will inspire you to take photographs of the landscapes around you, whether at home or when you travel.

 

To register on-line

 

Wednesdays, May 14-June 18

Cost: $235

 

(Image right: I walked along the trail on the right during my walking tour of the Wicklow Mountains, Ireland)

One thing I know for sure from all my years of teaching and running an art school is that confidence can produce better art. Sure learning skills and developing your imagination helps, but it is confidence that will keep you going through the thick and thin of it. As students develop confidence, they are able to break free and rely on their own imaginations and way of working to push themselves forward.

 

It is for this reason I am offering a course called The Confident Creative: Drawing to Free the Hand and Mind. This course is ideal for someone with no experience or for the more seasoned artist that might be looking for a new way of seeing their work. The course is inspired by Cat Bennett's book (scroll down on page link) of the same name. Here is a trailer to the book:Confident Creative Trailer.

 

This course is about using drawing as a tool to relax, to develop confidence, to learn about yourself, to get ideas and to make art.

 

To register on-line

 

Thursdays, May 15-June 19

Cost: $235 (Material fee: $20)

I am offering a new course called 20th Century Painting: 60 Artists To Know which will be a fun way to introduce you to many of the influential painters from the 20th Century. 

 

This would be a good course to take if you are a painter and want to develop your skills: one of the best ways of growing as an artist is to look at the work of other artists. The course would also be very informative if you plan to travel in the near future and visit galleries; this course will give you a background on many artists that you will see in the modern and contemporary sections of museums.

 

I can't think of a better way to spend a Friday afternoon, can you?

 

To register on-line

 

Fridays, May 16-June 20

Cost: $235

Sunday, April 27 at 2pm 

Chris Lindsaywill talk about his exhibition
I like the wind

 

I like the wind follows an exploration of the non-conventional mark-making potential of the rust process. The exhibition is comprised of a series of prints generated through several experimental strategies where discarded sheet steel was activated to rust while in contact with pieces of fabric. The inventive attitude of the artist and the dynamic physical character of the rust process are captured, reflecting our connection to the world outside of our selves and our relationship to that which we imagine and bring physically into this world.

Xchanges Artists' Gallery and Studios
2333 Government Street, Suite 6E
Victoria, BC V8T 4P4

Free Admission

Exhibition ends Sunday April 27th at 4pm