Wysing Arts Contemporary: Performed

Wysing Arts Contemporary: PERFORMED
Elena Cologni, Simon Davenport, RJ Hinrichsen, Andy Holden, Katherine Hymers, Olga Jurgenson, CJ Mahony, Rob Smith, Townley and Bradby, and Mark Wilsher.

Wysing Arts Contemporary’s – Wysing’s curated programme of selling exhibitions at our Bourn Centre - second exhibition PERFORMED presents a selection of video, photography, installation, performances and documentation of performed actions and interventions by 10 artists based in the East of England.

From Andy Holden’s series of LP records melted and morphed into bowl and vessel structures and hung like baskets from the gallery ceiling, to CJ Mahony’s unsettling, intimate and humorous text based works exhibited in quirky and surprising locations throughout the gallery space, this stimulating exhibition explores the relationship between the artist and viewer and seeks to create a challenging and engaging meeting point between both.

Works include the durational pieces WINDscale by Rob Smith, a time-based work that reveals the random effects of the wind by only becoming fully realized when the wind conditions are right, and Mark Wilsher’s series of Estimated length drawings, 2009 that are accompanied by a live performance of
5 estimated minutes on the 12 June.

Video works include RJ Hinrichsen’s Melville Road; a video still of the actual street in London in which a choir can be heard repeatedly rehearsing and in which the moment is intensified by both the frozen image and to the people you can hear but actually not see, and Olga Jurgenson’s videos that examine the human themes of migration, work and identity. Katherine Hymers’ work spans film, video and performance, utilizing the body throughout as a presence and a tool from which to direct an enquiry out to a viewer and in PERFORMED she will show a new video work that address the viewer in a highly emotional and ambiguous space.

Elena Cologni will reprise the ‘document’ of a work made at the Tournai Cathedral in Belgium. In the work entitled Il Soffio (at the back of mind), 2008, she obsessively ‘remade’ the black white tile pattern of the floor in situ and transformed it with her own pencil drawing. Townley & Bradby will show, amongst other works, Advice to artists leading tours 2008-09, documentation of a performance in which they randomly selected members of the public who were visiting the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in Norwich and invited them to accompany the artists into the basement. Finally, Simon Davenport’s work pursues lines of flight that depart from recognizable aspects of contemporary culture. His projects are delivered with an improvised aesthetic, where the appearance of the installed objects and stage props is often subordinate to their performative function.

PERFORMED is the second curated exhibition within our Wysing Arts Contemporary programme and curated by Lotte Juul Petersen. It is an initiative that aims to show that working commercially with artists is not only an opportunity to enable art lovers to purchase exciting and affordable new work, but that art collectors can positively impact on the careers of emerging artists.

Make a night of it:
Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge launches Material Intelligence on the same evening! – Saturday 16 May 6-8pm. Featuring artists Claire Barclay, Martin Boyce, Matt Calderwood, Tony Fehar, Wade Guyton, Ian Kiaer and Shirley Tse. www.kettlesyard.co.uk

SPECIAL EVENTS ACCOMPANYING PERFORMED:

SATURDAY 30 MAY SYMPOSIUM 11am to 4pm.
A one day Symposium on performance and contemporary art practice today.
Chaired by Dr. Gavin Butt of Goldsmith College, with invited speakers: Artists Mel Brimfield & Elena Cologni, Dr Amelia Jones, Professor in Art History, Manchester University Kathy Noble, Assistant Curator, Tate Modern
Cost: £15 or £7.50 concessions (artists, unwaged, students, over 60s). Includes free lunch.
BOOKING NOW ! info@wysingartscentre.org

FRIDAY 12 JUNE, Special Late Evening of live performances from 7pm
Mark Wilsher 5 estimated minutes
Andy Holden & his band The Grubby Mitts

THURSDAY 25 June, Artists' talk
6-8pm
Artists Townley & Bradby's talk about their practice which explores the routines and rituals of public spaces through interventions, performances, walks and artists' books. Townley & Bradby are in residence at Wysing Arts Centre and featured in Performed.

SATURDAY 27th JUNE, Fabric design workshop
1pm - 4pm
Create designs for cotton shopping bags or personalise your own clothes with fabric stenciling techniques in this free, drop-in, hands-on, artist-led workshop. Olga Jurgenson, a featured artist in ‘Performed’ will help you to realize your designs on a fabric shopping bag (provided free)... or on anything else you would like to bring along to customise! FREE and suitable for all ages. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

PERFORMED runs Sunday 17 May – Sunday 28 June
Wysing is open every day from 12-5pm. Admission Free