New Contemporaries with Director, Kirsty Ogg
Kirsty Ogg Introduces Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2019, at South London Gallery, to the Creative United team.
Creative United had a team away day this month to check out the New Contemporaries Exhibition at South London Gallery. BNC19 features the works of 45 artists, chosen by a panel of guest selectors comprising Rana Begum, Sonia Boyce and Ben Rivers, and marks the New Contemporaries 70th anniversary.
With Creative United’s Chief Executive, Mary-Alice Stack, being our boss as well as on the New Contemporaries Board of Directors, we were lucky enough to get an in-depth introduction from New Contemporaries’ Director, Kirsty Ogg.
New Contemporaries has supported contemporary visual artists to successfully transition from education into professional practise since 1949.
Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2019 will be exhibiting at both SLG sites until 23 February 2020.
Hannah: “I thought the breadth of the exhibition was amazing and meant that different tastes and interests were covered. In the main gallery my favourite work was Stephania Zocco and the digital noise painting ‘Looks like a cloud’. And in the Fire Station, it had to be the textile ‘Paper Piece 1’ by Isobel Napier.”
Angela: “I also really liked ‘Paper Piece 1’ by Isobel Napier – this was probably my favourite because it’s just so beautiful. I love the contrast of the harsh, mechanical process of production (laser-cutting) with the soft, delicate materiality of the paper. It also reminds me of a lot of the traditional tapa/Tava cloth printing process indigenous to Samoan and Tongan cultures. For me, the fragility of the work to its environment (humidity, light, movement) speaks to the precarity of life on earth, both human and all other organisms, in the face of accelerated changes – often toxic and harmful – to our environment.”
Sophie: “My fav was the screenshot drawings because it made me see something that can be so normal/mundane in a different way.”
Lorna: “My favourite pieces were the Screen Studies by Laura Hindmarsh – I love their focus on representations of women in film, and on an aesthetic level there’s something about seeing computer screenshots recreated in a more traditional medium like watercolour which I found really compelling.”
Stephen: “I really enjoyed the exhibition and thought the diversity and range of styles/art forms were very interesting.”
“The pieces that stick in the memory are ‘Timeliner’ by Jonas Pequeno. This piece hit me before I saw it, as the penetrating sound design permeated throughout the gallery as soon as you entered the space. At first, I didn’t like it and found the sound quite irritating. However, when I came across the piece I was fascinated by the relation between the sound and the moving elements of the installation. From an initial uncomfortable experience to fascination and intrigue, of all the pieces it drew my most attention and has stuck with me.”
“Klara Vith, ‘Untitled’ (You should now make arrangements to leave), 2018, Vinyl – I enjoyed encountering these prompt, decisive messages that felt more akin to being in a shopping centre at closing time than a gallery. They were unavoidable and gave the gallery experience a new dimension; a sense of temperance that I have not consciously considered in a gallery before.”
“Roland Carline (Video): who doesn’t love seeing someone dressed as SpongeBob Square Pants getting his head kicked in!”
Mia: “George Stamenov‘s YONAK moving image had me entranced and I could have been stood in front of it for hours. It’s located at the South London Gallery Fire Station and was the most bizarre and comforting experience for me. It was like I had already dreamt it before and it was putting me back to the state of when I first experienced it. Having now read about it, I understand I was watching 8 mins of “abstract depictions of the director’s personal ‘unnecessary memories'”.”
“Another highlight of the exhibition has got to be, HANDS DOWN, Ismay Bright‘s Bad Luck Brian. Simple, relatable, and I love the name ‘Brian’. Always wanted a cat called Brian.”
Sarah: “I liked the bears and the sounds……”
Make sure you catch the Exhibition on view until 23rd February 2020.
Head to www.newcontemporaries.org.uk for more information and to read up on the fantastic artists exhibiting.