Bill Bollinger
The Fruitmarket Gallery
45 Market Street
Edinburgh, EH1 1DF
Open seven days. Always free
www.fruitmarket.co.uk
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Opening Hours
Mon–Sat 11am–6pm, Sun 12–5pm
Festive Closure closed 24 Dec–1 Jan (inclusive)
Normal hours resume 2 Jan
Bollinger’s work is characterised by his sensitive use of the idiosyncrasies and possibilities offered by technical and industrial materials. His use of aluminium pipes, rope, rubber hoses, chain-link fencing, lightbulbs and wheelbarrows is as radical and direct as it is elegant, exploiting physical laws such as gravity, balance, and the intrinsic properties of water. His sculpture, created in the 1960s at the height of the space race, has an astonishing energy and power, even today.
The exhibition brings together major sculptures and drawings by Bollinger, including most of his existing works from collections in Europe and America, and careful reconstructions of lost works from his celebrated solo exhibitions, and from his participation in iconic group exhibitions from the late 1960s in New York. It provides the first ever overview of Bollinger’s brief, but extremely intense, artistic career, and provides an opportunity to rediscover the radical practice of this exceptional artist who, in his own words, was ‘not interested in the aesthetics of form but the fact of form’; who considered his work ‘not as primarily expressive through form but declarative through state’.
Organised by Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein in collaboration with The Fruitmarket Gallery. Exhibition supported by The Henry Moore Foundation
Talks
Curator’s Talk
Fri 28 Oct, 3pm. Free.
Guest curator Christiane Meyer-Stoll (Curator, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein) in conversation with Fiona Bradley, Director of The Fruitmarket Gallery
Enough Discipline: Bill Bollinger’s Drawings
Wed 16 Nov, 6.30pm. Free.
Stephanie Straine (University College London /Tate) discusses Bollinger’s works on paper and his use of graphite powder as installation material through a consideration of the discipline, tension and industrial experimentation that underpin his practice.
The Ground Plane and the Water Level
Wed 23 Nov, 6.30pm. Free.
Alistair Rider (University of St Andrews) explores how we might position Bollinger’s artistic interests in relation to Minimalism, Post-Minimalism and Earth Art.
Booking is recommended for all talks. To book your place call 0131 226 8181 or email bookshop@fruitmarket.co.uk
Notes to Editors
Bill Bollinger was born in Brooklyn, New York on 15 July 1939 and died 26 May 1988 (aged 48).
This is the first retrospective exhibition of Bill Bollinger’s work. It is curated by Christiane Meyer-Stoll (Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein) in conceptual collaboration with Rolf Ricke, in a joint production with the Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, the ZKM Centre for Art and Media, Karlsruhe and The Fruitmarket Gallery.
A publication has been produced which provides a detailed and lavishly illustrated history of Bollinger’s exhibitions, including many photographs published for the first time. Essays by Christiane Meyer-Stoll, Saul Ostrow, Harris Rosenstein and Peter Schjeldahl complement the artist’s own writings, as well as thoughts and recollections of him by Deedee Agee, Carl Andre, Siah Armajani, David Chittick, Fran Cohen, Dale Culleton, Elle Ellison, Rafael Ferrer, Robert Grosvenor, Robert Huot, Klaus Kertess, Gary Kuehn, Dorothy Lichtenstein, Egidio Marzona, Robert Mattson, Olaf Metzel, Paul Morgensen, Rolf Ricke, Dorothea Rockburne, Wade Saunders, Roman Signer, Keith Sonnier, Barbra Toll, Marcia Tucker and George Knight Wilson.
The Fruitmarket Gallery is a publicly-funded art gallery of national and international significance, which aims to make contemporary art accessible without compromising art or underestimating audiences. The Gallery is Foundation Funded by Creative Scotland for around 50% of its running costs and must fundraise to support its exhibitions, education and publishing programmes.
*Image above:
© Roy Lichtenstein Foundation. Photo: Shunk-Kender.
