The relationships and encounters we have with both real and imagined locations will form the basis of a breathtaking exhibition of recent paintings at Nottingham Trent University. Closer than you think: painting, place and mortality, is the inaugural exhibition by Terry Shave, Professor of Fine Art in the University’s School of Art and Design.
A base image layer, inspired by photographs and previous artwork by Professor Shave, is built upon over time by the hand application of multiple layers of coloured resin; the result is a collection of striking images with intense depth and colour. Each image is presented in three sections, each unique, but achieving a sense of equilibrium through the harmonising of colours which thread through the piece.
Sketches and doodles by art and design staff at Nottingham Trent University are to be shown as part of a major exhibition celebrating the practice of drawing.
Drawing Out will feature hundreds of illustrations by both academic and support staff, which will be combined to create a huge ‘drawing wall’ for the event from 21 April to 9 May.
Everybody from the Dean of the School of Art and Design, right through to academics and support staff are being invited to contribute to the exhibition, being staged in the university’s Bonington and 1851 Galleries.
The event will also feature a curated show of work by artists based in the School, which will attempt to look at drawing in its widest sense.This will range from working drawings for set and costume design, to illustrations that use new laser-cutting technology as a drawing tool; and a series of illustrations produced for publication in international newspapers, to photographic responses to archived drawings in the university’s international lace collection.
A group of visual artists from Korea are to exhibit a range of striking work at Nottingham Trent University as part of an exciting cultural exchange initiative. The artists – who specialise in painting, sculpture, design, craft and photography – are leading academics from the Chung Ang University in Seoul, and will show their work during the Scales of the Dragon exhibition from October 22 to November 21.
Work by 26 academics will be on show at the exhibition, which takes its name from the various units of art on display and the Chung Ang University symbol animal.
Among them will be painter Lee Jong-gu, a Korean Artist of the Year 2006, who for the last 20 years has focused on the struggle of Korean rural life. His work depicts both the anger and the hope that Korean farmers harbour with a sense of realism as the country’s agricultural communities collapse due to struggles with industrialism, urbanisation, and globalisation.
Ryu Ho-yeol looks at the idea of falling into daydreams in our daily lives and how they present us with a moment of relaxation – allowing us to escape from reality into a world of imagination. He uses a variety of media technology to achieve this; one of his pieces on show, a three dimensional artwork called Laufen 2007, was computer-generated and depicts a runner in continual motion.
Influenced by early 1970s modernism, An Byeong-seok uses steel brush strokes to carry the image of a grass field wavering in the wind; his affluent colours bring to mind a summer field of barley or an autumn field steeped in the setting sun. An Byeong-seok has entered national and international exhibitions such as the Cagnes International Festival of Painting (France) the Asian Art Exhibition (Japan) and Art Chicago 2000 (US).
The exhibition is part of a unique collaboration between the two institutions which has already seen fine art staff from the university’s School of Art and Design travel to Chung Ang to exhibit their work and run master classes for the Korean students. Chung Ang students also come to Nottingham Trent University for a year-long exchange, while Nottingham students take part in an art summer school in Seoul each year.
Professor Simon Lewis, the university’s Head of College of Art and Design and Built Environment, has given several lecturers at Chung Ang as part of the relationship, which was forged when Chung Ang graduate Dr Seong Hee Kim came to Nottingham Trent University to study an art and science-related PhD. Dr Seong Hee Kim is now a project co-ordinator for the university’s Centre for Effective Learning in Science.
“This exhibition is a great opportunity for people to see firsthand the work of some of Korea’s most exciting artists,” said Professor Lewis.
He said: “Nottingham Trent University’s School of Art and Design prides itself on its international partnerships and this particular collaboration enables the promotion of joint research as well as unique exchange opportunities. We’re really looking forward to the exhibition which promises to give staff, students and visitors an excellent insight into Korean art and culture.”
Before the exhibition begins, art historian Professor Kim Young-ho from Chung Ang University will give a lecture on Visual Art Today in Korea.
‘Fictions’ brings together the work of eight contemporary artists who explore the boundaries between fact and fiction. Taking its name from the collection of short stories by Argentinean writer Jorge Louis Borges, the exhibition draws on the paradoxical scenarios he creates.
In Borges’ world, ideas of language, time, memory and truth surpass our everyday expectations. As an exhibition, ‘Fictions’ aims to sketch out these relationships within the context of our contemporary society.
This exhibition is curated by High Dichmont and Fay Nicholson, who will be exhibiting work alongside fellow artists Eugenia Ivanissevich, Glen Jamieson, Aaron Juneau, Girolamo Marri, Helen Perkins and Marianna Simnett.
The private view for this exhibition will take place in the Bonington Gallery on Thursday 19th March between 6-8pm. All are welcome to attend.
A major car crash has occurred in the gallery – a head on collision. Skid marks are emblazoned across the floor, there is wreckage everywhere and blood is splattered up the walls – glistening and fresh. You are being filmed by surveillance cameras, are you the victim or perpetrator? Sections of the gallery seem inaccessible, areas cordoned off by hazard tape… is it a major disaster, a crime scene or spoof horror film?
Craig Fisher’s exhibition, CAT-AS-TROPHE consists of a large-scale sculptural installation. Fisher’s sculpture, It’s Uncanny 2008 (two replica mini cooper cars) are constructed from carefully selected fabrics which are seductive in nature and ask the viewer to question the representation of violence laid out before them. Fisher makes work that situates itself in a world of contradictions. He plays with our perception, challenging us to consider notions of art and craft. He references both high and low culture and juxtaposes the pictorial with the sculptural, creating potential spaces of slippage which act as a challenge to our habits of looking.
The theatricality of Fisher’s installations allow the viewer to engage in a narrative interplay and his work often makes reference to ideas of filmic or cartoon violence. A sense of saturation and the anodyne is at play in Fisher’s work. It is easy to miss the horror through the materiality of the artwork. The strange familiarity of crafted objects, and the voyeuristic quality of such imagery is highlighted by the craftsmanship of the detailing, sewing and pattern-cutting. By contrasting fabric and craft with these images, the artist subverts the significance of masculinity and challenges notions of representation.
Funded by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
Katja Hock is a practising artist and a senior lecturer in Photography in the School of Art and Design at Nottingham Trent University. Her latest exhibition will present a slide installation, Stillness and Silence that has been developed over the last three years. The work addresses the importance of historical memory to our present perception of our cultural and social context.
As part of this exhibition Katja Hock will be in conversation with Susan Trangmar, Reader in Fine Art, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. Located in the Bonington Gallery, this event is open the general public and admission is free.
During the summer of 2008, ten disabled actors from Teesside University were asked to explore their own day-to-day movements: dancing, cycling, cleaning, walking, running and eating. The resulting work, Motion Disabled, uses motion capture and 3D animation to create a kinetic connection with the human form – beautiful everyday, virtual movements highlighting all the intricacies and uniqueness of each person’s physicality.
Nottingham Trent University is proud to present this exciting installation by Simon McKeown, which enables the viewer to engage and explore ideas of normality and difference.
15 Years of Philip Watts Design – A retrospective presents of one of the UK’s leading creative design companies. NTU graduate Philip has designed an extensive and diverse range of award-winning products since the conception of Philip Watts Design, and this exhibition will show some of the most memorable: candle holders, mooing cow salt and pepper pots, giant melting staircases, radiators, door handles, lights and urinals.
Philip Watts Design has exhibited in over 20 countries, spanning four continents, and this will be the first time all this work will be seen together as a complete history of creative output.
Peter Matthews completed his studies in Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University and as a practicing artist was invited, as part of the Artists Access to Art Colleges scheme, to accept a residency within the School of Art and Design during 2008/09.
This exhibition presents work that Matthews developed during his residency. Issues such as war, politics, and the environment collectively fuse into sculptures that are poised to stimulate questions and speculation about the world and environment we live in.
Peter Matthews completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University and as a practicing artist was invited, as part of the Artists Access to Art Colleges (AA2A) scheme, to accept a residency within the School of Art and Design during 2008/09.
Sculptures from the Media Stream presents work that Matthews has developed during his residency; questioning and exploring the ever-changing condition and identity of contemporary society. Issues such as war, politics, and the environment collectively fuse into sculptures that are provocatively poised to stimulate questions and speculation about the world and environment we live in.
This exciting and directional exhibition showcases a collection of innovative textile designs by Professor Junichi Arai and Dr Kinor Jiang from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. A series of striking combinations of colour and texture, their work captures the essence of oriental style with a contemporary direction.
Bonington Gallery is proud to present Metallic Sound as part of an exhibition exchange between The Hong Kong Polytechnic and Nottingham Trent University, reflecting the strong educational links between both universities through established fashion and textiles research.
