Aesthetica Art Prize Exhibition 2014

AESTHETICA ART PRIZE EXHIBITION with York Museums Trust at York St Mary’s

A Presentation of Shortlisted Works from Eight Contemporary Artists 4 April – 22 June 2014 (Free Admission) Open Daily 10.00am – 5.00pm

FREE GUIDE

Lunchtime Talks

12.30pm - 1.00pm at York St Mary’s

Further your appreciation for contemporary art and enhance your experience of the Aesthetica Art Prize by joining us at the following talks, which are open to the public and free to attend.

Wednesday 23 April Deb Covell, artist and finalist in this year’s Aesthetica Art Prize, discusses her practice and the importance of art prizes for emerging artists.

Wednesday 7 May Sam Lackey, Curator at The Hepworth Wakefield, debates the challenges of curating in the post-medium age, and will also discuss developing public collections.

Wednesday 21 May James Boaden, lecturer in History of Art at the University of York, talks about the evolution of artists’ film, drawing upon the works in this exhibition.

Wednesday 28 May Cherie Federico, Director of Aesthetica Magazine and judge for the Aesthetica Art Prize, explains the selection process for the shortlisted artists.

Wednesday 4 June Mark Doyle, Head of Collector Development North for the Contemporary Art Society, talks about widening the appreciation and understanding of contemporary art.

For more information: www.aestheticamagazine.com/artprize | www.yorkstmarys.org.uk

The Aesthetica Art Prize Exhibition

A Presentation of Shortlisted Works from Eight Contemporary Artists

Organised by Aesthetica Magazine, in partnership with York Museums Trust, the Aesthetica Art Prize is a celebration of excellence in contemporary art from across the world, supporting compelling new works and bringing them to a wider audience.

Showcasing outstanding and innovative artworks, the Aesthetica Art Prize Exhibition features shortlisted pieces from artists in the following categories: Photographic and Digital Art; Three Dimensional Design and Sculpture; Painting and Drawing; and Video, Installation and Performance.

The medieval backdrop of York St Mary’s provides an exceptional setting for the exhibition, introducing a new conversation between the historic and the contemporary. Relevant and inspiring, the works on display provoke a series of questions and open up a debate on some of the most pressing topics of our times. This show highlights creative talent from locations including Chile, Germany, New Zealand, USA and the UK. From the thousands of entries, eight have been selected for exhibition and the work of a further 92 applicants who were longlisted is presented within the gallery on monitors. This offers you an opportunity to experience the international breadth of the work and appreciate its diversity.

The accompanying publication features 100 artists recommended by Aesthetica Magazine and is on sale at the venue, online and at galleries nationwide. We would like to thank all of the artists and extend our gratitude to our partners and sponsors, including York St John University, Arts Council England, The Hepworth Wakefield, Winsor & Newton, Stuart Semple, Barber Titleys Solicitors, York College, Thomas & Paul Gallery, Prestel and Art in Yorkshire.

Cherie Federico Editor, Aesthetica Magazine Dr Janet Barnes CBE Chief Executive, York Museums Trust

Amedeo Abello & Federico Morando, LIFE / FILE, 2013.

Amedeo Abello & Federico Morando LIFE / FILE

The LIFE / FILE project is a reflection on the relationship between concrete and virtual reality, which aims to break down the perceived opposition between the two. LIFE refers to the everyday life we lead offline, while FILE is the virtual, online life: the trail of data which we create. The connection between each entity is underlined by the fact they are anagrams of each other, illustrating that “digital” and “real” are not in fact oppositional concepts, but are two distinct elements in our daily experience of life. The time in which we live is essentially urban, necessarily digital and nostalgically analogue. Our latest works, which stem from a background in graphic design, aim to collect the contradictions that underlie this post-post-modern era, through visual and photographical experimentation. We are drawn to the idea of being in between different practices – design and photography – without favouring either of them.

Deb Covell, Black and White Paintings, 2013.

Deb Covell

Black and White Paintings

I am mostly concerned with bringing a form into being by exploring the material and sculptural potential of acrylic paint. By omitting the pictorial and eschewing the traditional canvas foundation, I engage the viewer with the purely formal and sensual aspects of my work. I start by painting layers of acrylic paint onto stretched plastic sheets which are then peeled off to create a support. Illusional spacial depth is brought in by the use of black and white diagonal bands painted randomly onto these props. Eventually the diagonal gives way to the upright and the parallel and accrued layers of paint break out from the flat vertical support into real space. A process of folding, creasing, cutting and collapsing follows until a sculptural form emerges. Key references include early 20 th century abstraction, particularly the reductive, geometric language of Russian Suprematism.

Elke Finkenauer, Draw a Line Somewhere, 2012.

Elke Finkenauer Draw a Line Somewhere

This work is a reflection upon the many facets of human nature. No one who achieves huge success does so alone. Whereas a monument commemorates only heroic qualities, the piece can be considered an “anti-monument” which instead celebrates the mundane reality of the “everyperson.” It reveals softness, fluidity, brightness and darkness, all compressed into one whole. My creations examine different possible approaches to drawing, through engagement with surface, line, gesture and process.

In Draw A Line Somewhere, however, I have combined the techniques of drawing with those of soft sculpture, to produce a “soft drawing.” While the materiality of the piece hints at 3D, it still exhibits the characteristics of drawing, with a flat surface as a ground and line created through processes of cutting and stitching. While the form appears organic, it is the product of meticulous labour.

Harriet Lewars, Frustum Super Planum Cum Filia Lyrae, 2013.

Harriet Lewars

Frustum Super Planum Cum Filia Lyrae

The work I present here is part of an on-going project at the interface between art and music. Drawing on examples of interdisciplinary artwork from the latter half of the 21st century, my developing sculptural practice is about the possibilities of cross-disciplinary art objects. “Frustums� are truncated cones, built in sheet steel and mounted above horizontal planes. The metal acts as a soundboard from which many strings (more than two hundred in the largest example) are stretched. The frequencies of the pitched tones produced are inversely proportional to the string lengths defined by the geometry of the structure. Acknowledging the visual appeal of musical instruments, the work adopts a formal language that refers to constructivist and abstract geometric sculptural practice. As instruments, they offer a wide range of potential performance approaches, both musical and theatrical.

Inés Molina Navea, 541 días, 2013.

Inés Molina Navea 541 días

In my digital portraits, I superimpose details taken from photographs of up to five different faces in order to create images of people who have never existed. As well as being a deconstruction of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s idea of “the decisive moment” in photography, I want to use these images to reveal modern practices of social control. To be fully considered as a human subject is a privilege that is granted to some, while others are marginalised. The hooded person in 541 días, then, is a universal image of those who are outsiders in a world, which presents itself as democratic and as a place where all are respected, but that is built on an economic system of exploitation. It is a reminder of social inequality and those who are marginalised or criminalised by this system, which we are all part of, ultimately reminding us that many are stripped of their full humanity by social and economic forces.

Ingrid Hu, Longplayer, 2013.

Ingrid Hu Longplayer

I practise scenography on an urban scale. Drawing on my background in theatre and large-scale multidisciplinary design, I approach each project through research and critical thinking, with the aim of creating idiosyncratic installations relevant to their spatial and social context. The submitted entry, Longplayer bowl display, is a permanent structure that functions as a display and storage of 234 singing bowls that were used in Longplayer Live, the live version of the 1,000-year-long composition Longplayer, originally commissioned by Artangel. The original installation is housed in the Lighthouse at Trinity Buoy Wharf, London. Each tier of the structure, containing 39 bowls positioned sequentially, corresponds to one of the six concentric rings of the Longplayer Live instrument. The curved form evokes the movement of the Longplayer Live instrument and the cycle of the music itself.

Julia Weißenberg, There is no real way of knowing, 2013.

Julia Weißenberg

There is no real way of knowing

The starting point for the video travelogue There is no real way of knowing was an article in an Icelandic newspaper, which reported on the discovery of a 5,300-year-old tree. Trees store information on natural history, such as the climatic conditions during their lifetime; indeed, scientists can date archaeological excavations using historic wood. Trees are a part of our historiography. I was interested in this tree in Iceland, which was thought to be around 500 years older than the oldest tree known about at the time. So I started to search for it. Eventually my quest turned into a research project, which meanders between fact and fiction, knowledge and myth. I am interested in the methods of current scientific findings. I work mainly with video and my practice revolves around topics such as memory and perception. My way of working is perhaps best described as “artistic research.”

Sybille Neumeyer, Song for the Last Queen, 2013.

Sybille Neumeyer Song for the Last Queen

The work Song for the Last Queen  refers to the endangerment of bees, a species with a vital role in maintaining our ecosystem. Working with beekeepers in the USA, Japan and Germany, I researched the current problem of dying bee colonies. I collected honeycomb, wax and dead bees from a collapsed beehive – examining each, both as evidence and as a significant and extraordinary material. Creating a muted preparation of a perished bee colony in honey, I ask questions about scientific practices, future perspectives and our responsibility to our environment. I am a travelling artist and designer, whose work investigates the relation between humans and nature as I address phenomena found in science, culture and the natural world. During my travels, I aim to understand global structures as well local peculiarities. Small details attract me and become a starting point for experiments and observations.

The Aesthetica Art Prize Longlist These artists’ works are available to view on the monitors • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Agne Stasiauskaite Agnieszka Dabrowska Alec Von Bargen Alice Gur-Arie Amir Guberstein Amy Larimer Amy Moffat Ana Catarina Pereira André Lichtenberg Anja Borowicz Anna Lilleengen Anne Arden McDonald Anyes Galleani Arthur Lanyon Barbara Ceriani Basilico & Alessandro Mancassola Belen Paton Benjamin Storch Chanti Phaophanit Charlotte Cousins Charlotte Segall Clara Aparicio Yoldi Cristina Nuñez Dario Vidal Darren Nisbett Davide Luciano & Claudia Ficca David Ricci David Tweedy Day Bowman Deborah Barrett Echo Morgan

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Eric K. Yue Erika Dueck Eva Stenram Fabiola Menchelli Frank Leuwer Gemis Luciani Ghanesh Das Henry Iddon Hyojin Park Jakov Labrović Jamal de Jong James Andean & Merja Nieminen James De Vere Jean Fernandes Jenne Giles Jennifer Kelly Johan Keely Jo Nash Jonny Briggs Karl Singporewala Katharina Ludwig Kathy Hinde Kelly Blevins Kuen-Po Huang Kyler Zeleny Liesbeth Doornbosch Luca Bray Marie Brenneis Martha Zmpounou Mat Hay Matthew Worthington

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Megan Kellythorn Michelee Scott Miranda Meijer Miriam Donkers Nicholas Gentilli Nick Dunmur Nicola Thomas Nika Neelova Nina Fowler Nina Röder Pamela Bowden Pamela Z. Daum Philip Gurrey Rhona Byrne Ryota Kajita Sam Heydt Samuel Harriman Sarah Jane Palmer Sara Naim Sheau Ming Song Steve Hoskins Tamara Dean Teri Havens Toby Poolman Tom Brannigan Trevor Furlong Vivien Zhang WE (Wilson-Eflerová) Wendy MacMillan William Reardon Wycliffe Stutchbury

Left column from top to bottom: Sam Heydt, Chrysanthemums, 2012. Miriam Donkers, No night, No light (village #0.1). Sarah Jane Palmer, Net, 2013.

Day Bowman, Refinery 1, 2012. Darren Nisbett, Anesthetic, 2012. Middle column from top to bottom: David Ricci, Which Winch. Anyes Galleani, Father & Daughter, 2013. Nicholas Gentilli, Au bord de la Mer. Ryota Kajita, Frozen Bubbles #2, Ice Formation Series, 2012. Samuel Harriman, De Coloribus, 2013.

Right column from top to bottom: Tamara Dean, Centre of the Universe, 2011. Anne Arden McDonald, Bones, 2011. Echo Morgan, Be the Inside of the Vase, 2012. Michelee Scott, Route 66-A-Series. Karl Singporewala, Dial M for Monument, 2012.

Art in Yorkshire 2014 supported by

the Art Fund is a celebration of visual art in 22 public galleries throughout Yorkshire during 2014.

For more information go to

artinyorkshire.org.uk

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AESTHETICA ART PRIZE EXHIBITION with York Museums Trust at York St Mary’s A Presentation of Shortlisted Works from Eight Contemporary Artists