Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2014
20 September–26 October 2014
World Museum
William Brown Street
Liverpool L3 8EN
Hours: Monday–Sunday 10am–5pm
Free admission
www.newcontemporaries.org.uk
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An integral part of Liverpool Biennial since 1999, this year’s Bloomberg New Contemporaries launches at World Museum, Liverpool from 20 September to 26 October before touring to ICA, London from 26 November 2014 to 25 January 2015.
55 artists join the roster of Bloomberg New Contemporaries which includes previous exhibitors Jake & Dinos Chapman, Tacita Dean, Mona Hatoum, Damien Hirst and Mike Nelson as well as more recent emerging artists including Ed Atkins, Becky Beasley, Haroon Mirza and Laure Prouvost.
This year’s selectors are Marvin Gaye Chetwynd, Enrico David and Goshka Macuga and the resulting exhibition is an incisive snapshot of contemporary practice, spanning diverse media, processes, themes, influences and approaches—from moving image and performance to more traditional approaches to making work such as printmaking, painting and sculpture.
The construction of language and narrative, space and time are present throughout, often framed by current socio-political and economic concerns. Alice Hartley’s We’re All Very Disappointed, a large-scale screen print which looks at the structure of spoken language and the cathartic release of unspoken thoughts, is pasted onto a four-meter-high wall as you enter the show at World Museum, Liverpool. Matt Copson’s multi-media work Reynard with a Vengeance draws heavily from contemporary British culture and more ancient forms of storytelling. Through the persona of Reynard the fox, and its relationship to others, Matt Copson creates a complex, often troubled worldview. While Xin Shen’s moving-image work Counting Blessings is ostensibly a video portrait of her father and artist Daohong Shen, but which slowly reveals itself also to be a study of the complexities inherent in the relationship between cultures, modes of art-making and global economics.
Whilst a number of artists are concerned with the formal aspects of art production and materiality, “the body” and performative practices also take centre stage. Ian Tricker’s work Flux, which is concerned with materiality, balance and form, centres on the sculpture’s perceived weight resting on the structure’s smallest part, a notion that provides a heightened sense of anticipation and tension. Whilst Yi Dai’s Nocturne No. 1, a provocative and seductive work that appears abstract in nature, on closer inspection reveals a composition of highly charged materials including the artist’s own hair, shards of mirror and stockings, adding another layer of meaning and interpretation. Frances Williams’s performance-related practice investigates the space between “looking away” and “paying attention,” whilst Charles Richardson’s Rehearsal explores the performance of male identity.
Selected artists for Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2014 are Lucy Beech, Dinah Berger, Louise Bradley, Jesc Bunyard, Matt Copson, Racheal Crowther, Yi Dai, Tajinder Dhami, Bee Flowers, Alice Gauthier, Marco Godoy, Victoria Grenier, Stacey Guthrie, Alice Hartley, Katie Hayward, Edward Hill, Yussef Hu, Matthew Humphreys, Henry Hussey, Marie Jacotey-Voyatzis, Lucy Joyce, Melissa Kime, Xiao-Yang Li, Inga Lineviciute, Andrea Medjesi-Jones, Jonathan Meira, MKLK, Ebrel Moore, Emily Motto, Emely Neu, Laura O’Neill, Lydia Ourahmane, Athena Papadopoulos, Catherine Parsonage, Imran Perretta, Miroslav Pomichal, Charles Richardson, Simon Senn, Xin Shen, Will Sheridan Jr., Mustafa Sidki, David Cyrus Smith, Marilia Stagkouraki, Jane Stobart, Camille Summers-Valli, John Thole, Ian Tricker, Milou van der Maaden, Tess Vaughan, Adam Wallace, Deborah Westmancoat, Joseph Whitmore, Frances Williams, Ben Zawalich and Adam Zoltowski.
“At a time when creativity and innovation has never been so vital, this year’s selected artists demonstrate the relevance of contemporary art as analytical commentary in everyday life. Offering a unique nationwide insight into British art schools today, this year’s national touring exhibition offers a unique opportunity for selected works to be seen on an international platform at Liverpool Biennial and ICA, London.”
–Kirsty Ogg, Director, Bloomberg New Contemporaries
