Wednesday 9th March 2016

 

“IS BRITISH PAINTING DEAD?”

(THE INDEPENDENT, MONDAY 15TH FEBRUARY 2016)

There are artists who will argue that every medium can be ‘ART’ and that art can be expressed in the form of print, performance and installation.  Sadly, according to Karen Wright of ‘The Independent’, this seems to be to the detriment of the more traditional art forms.  On her annual visit to the British Art Show 8 in Edinburgh, which claims to be “the most ambitious and significant survey of British Contemporary Art today, she found that, sadly, computers and cameras dominated leaving painting and sculpture out in the cold.

One of the highlights of the Show – Anthea Hamilton, Ant Farms, 2015, BAS8 Leeds Art Gallery

Since It’s inception in 1979, the British Art Show selects different curators every  5 years to take on the challenge of presenting a snapshot of the contemporary art scene. This year’s curators Anna Colin and Lydia Yee selected 42 artists, bravely opening up the doors to designers as well as several collectives.

One of the highlights of the show was the Scottish National Gallery’s  Rachel Maclean’s Feed Me, an engaging hour-long film juxtaposing sickly sweet colours with nightmarish imagery. Maclean  plays multiple roles in the film, which examines the nature of adolescent innocence alongside shocking moments of precocious knowingness. 

Diagrams of Love: Marriage of Eyes, 2015 (The British Art Show  8 2015)

There is a large proportion of film and installation work across all the venues of the British Art Show 8 this year.  In her defense, Lydia Yee argues that film is one of the most vibrant areas of practice at the moment and it is up to the viewer to decide on how much they choose to watch. She points out that the vast majority of non-art viewers feel more comfortable with film as a medium to engage with. For Karen Wright (of The Independent),  the amount of time spent in darkened rooms seems much too high. 

Dodo, 2014    -Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanar in (The British Art Show 8 2015)

Personally, I would argue that in a world where we seem to live our lives ‘on-screen’ through social media and television, surely it might be good for our souls to revisit painting and sculpture.

Claire Moore BA (Hons)

GALLERY MANAGER

WELCOME TO THE FLETCHER GATE FINE ART GALLERY

 

Find out more about the exhibition and get involved in the debate at britishartshow8.com