CAS | Multiple Choice

PRIVATE VIEW & EXHIBITION TOUR - Multiple Choice: Contemporary Prints & Editions from Private Collections in the North (Part 2)

Saturday 19 October, 11am-1pm The Queen's Hall, Beaumont Street, Hexham, Northumberland, NE46 3LS

Join us on Saturday for the Private View and introduction to the second part of the Multiple Choice exhibition at The Queen's Hall in Hexham. Curated in collaboration with Contemporary Art Society North, the exhibition draws together art works from private, domestic contexts across the region and demonstrates that collecting art is not just for the affluent few. The exhibition in Hexham features over 50 works made work by a broad range of artists, including Fiona Banner, Marcus Coates, Benedict Drew, Ernest Edmonds, Tracey Emin, Anya Gallacio, Douglas Gordon, Eleanor Havsteen-Franklin, Becky Haugton, Gary Hume, David Mach, Michael Mulvihill, Simon Norfolk, Anja Percival, Stephen Palmer, George Shaw and Mark Wallinger. The art selected demonstrates diverse production methods, ranging from traditional printmaking techniques – etching, lithography and screenprint – to digitally-produced works on paper and machine-made 3D multiples. The exhibition has been made possible thanks to the generosity of around 30 lenders who have agreed to live with blank walls for the duration of the show, in order that their art can be enjoyed by a broader audience. It is presented in two parts, with the first part running at Granary Gallery, Berwick-upon-Tweed until 15 December. Visitors are very much encouraged to go to both towns in order to see the complete exhibition. The exhibition in Hexham continues to 23 November 2013. Please RSVP stating whether you will be bringing a guest to rebecca@contemporaryartsociety.org / 07815 830 182.

Paper Gallery | The Manchester Contemporary

Our friends at Paper Gallery in Manchester showed our George Shaw & Narbi Price lithographs at The Manchester Contemporary.

Shan’t Quit
Narbi Price
19 September – 26 October 2013
VANE
First Floor, Commercial Union House, 39 Pilgrim Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 6QE

For his solo exhibition, ‘Shan’t Quit’, Narbi Price presents a series of paintings and lithographic prints of the locations of the Whitechapel, London, ‘Jack The Ripper’ murders of 1888, based on photographs of the sites as they are today. Using the forensic information from the time, Price was able to take photographs accurate to within 30cm of the exact sites, now variously car parks, schoolyards, loading bays, etc. There is no immediate indication to the viewer of the depicted sites’ histories. The only acknowledgement is that the works’ titles are suffixed with the victims’ initials in brackets – making it possible to decode the provenance of the locations. Once the viewer knows the history of the depicted site, the reading of the painting changes irrevocably. Price invites rumination upon the contrast between the histories of any given site and the mundanity of the experience of it – an effect heightened by the mediation of the painting process.

Price has a strong interest in the perceived histories of locations and how painting can question the understanding of architectural and pictorial space. He is particularly concerned with challenging the conventions of photographically derived painting both in terms of paint application and composition, and in blurring the line between the figurative and the abstract. From a distance the paintings appear photographic in their realism, but when approached dissolve into a combination of gestural, loose brushwork and hard edge, flat colour planes.

The series of prints presented signifies something of a shift in both Price’s approach to the drawing process and in sequential working. It is also the first time that he has revisited images previously used to make paintings to transcribe them into print. Produced at the Newcastle based Hole Editions print studio, the collaborative nature of working in lithography and the heightened familiarity with the images due to the length of time spent with them required by the process, imbues these prints with a technical assurance and thoughtful confidence.

Price’s use of disparate techniques and deliberately disharmonious compositions push the works to the point where they teeter on the edge of dissolution. His intention is to produce a subtly disorientating effect in the viewer – there is an awkwardness or sense of unease about the images, but it is not immediately obvious why.

Narbi Price was born Hartlepool, UK, in 1979 and lives and works in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. He studied BA Fine Art at Northumbria University (1999-2002) and MFA, Newcastle University (2008-10). He was a prize winner in the John Moores Painting Prize, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool in 2012. Recent exhibitions include ‘Luminous Language’, Launch F18, New York, USA (2013), ‘Paper#3’, Paper Gallery, Manchester, ‘neo:artprize’, neo:gallery22, Bolton, ‘Six by Four’, Motorcade/FlashParade, Bristol, ‘Omnia Mea Mecum Porto: Works on Paper’, Kotti-Shop, Berlin, Germany ‘Arte Fiera’ (with Marc Bijl), GalleriaSIX, Bologna, Italy (2012).

New Artist | Sue Williams

This past week Sue Williams (nomorepink.com) has been collaborating with us on a series of lithographs. We pulled out a bunch of our bigger stones for her to draw on. Six approvals to print were signed this morning before Sue headed back down to Cardiff. Sue is Senior Lecturer in Fine Art at Swansea Metropolitan University, Wales, teaching BA & MA.

Litho Nod to Newcastle

Linsay Proctor of CFPR Bristol spotted this book ('What is a Print? - selections from the Museum of Modern Art') in a library recently and shared a section of the text with us.

Apron on Holiday

We always enjoy seeing where our t-shirts and aprons get out and about to. Here's Tex with Paul Gallagher having a sunset BBQ at South Uist in the Western Isles of Scotland. Photo credit goes to Clare Turner

3D Printed Registration Pins

The good folks at Maker Space (@maker_space) have been proofing some new registration pins for us with their MakerBot 3D printer. They work! And with every tweak they are getting better and better, although we do suspect that they will continue to look very much like nipples.

Helen Baker | Edge of Completion

For the past three months we have been working long and hard to proof, edition and part bind Helen Baker's book 'Raw Colour.' The completed hard bound book will be on show from Friday 26th July 2013 at The Customs House Gallery, South Shields.

Stone Maintenance

All hands on deck to freshen up the stones collected from Manchester Met Uni at the end of last year.

Gordon Close | Making Additions | Approval to Print