See/ Possibilities and Losses/ 22 May to 16 August 2009
General Information
Included in the exhibition is Monument by Clare Twomey, inspired by a monumental pitcher pile she witnessed at a tile factory in Stoke-on-Trent. The broken vessels she observed were due to be ground back down to dust, and used to reconstitute raw clay body to be re-used by the factory. For Twomey, this neatly articulated the poignancy of broken china, both in terms of a personal relation to the vessel form, and an understanding of a great industrial tradition in decay, simultaneously gesturing towards a future hope.
Visitors to the exhibition will be confronted with a recreation of the artist’s experience, as hundreds of ceramic shards cascade towards them from the height of the 10metre cube gallery, creating an intensely emotive, perhaps claustrophobic, but also very beautiful work.
Next to Clare Twomey’s work, an installation by Neil Brownsword from his Salvage Series confronts the changing nature of the ceramic industry in Stoke on Trent, considering the loss of centuries old skills and the implications of this shifting landscape for the ceramic artist. Between these two works the viewer is faced with both the possibilities and the losses of the ceramic industry in Britain.
All the artists in the exhibition are leading the way in working on the borders of craft knowledge and the wider visual arts. Possibilities and Losses will explore current thinking and critical debate surrounding the relationships between the wider visual arts and challenges faced by contemporary craft makers.
An accompanying book, edited by Clare Twomey and published by the Crafts Council in partnership with mima in July, offers an in-depth analysis of contemporary clay practice. Essays by Glenn Adamson and Jorunn Veiteberg explore dialogues and histories that have led makers to seek conceptually challenging practice. To order a copy email:exhibitions@craftscouncil.org.uk.
Date Information
Closed Monday
Open Bank Holidays (Sunday opening hours apply)
Venue Information
(free parking from 4pm)
Contact Information
mima
Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art
Centre Square
Middlesbrough
TS1 2AZ
t: +44 (0) 1642 726 720
f: +44 (0) 1642 726 722
e: mima@middlesbrough.gov.uk
