19.03 — 30.03.2010 — Rock, Paper, Scissors. British Council Collection

British Council in Ukraine, Foundation Contemporary Art Center, Bottega gallery invite you to visit the exhibition of graphics

Henry Moore, Gilbert and George, Eduardo Paolozzi, Anish Kapoor, Damien Hirst, Liam Gillick, Tracey Emin, Bernard Medovz, William Turnbull, Barry Flanagan,Bruce Mclean, Bill Woodrow, Anya Gallaccio, David Shrigley, Richard Deacon, Mike Nelson, Hayley Newman.

Rock, Paper, Scissors is an exhibition of prints by sculptors in the British Council Collection, from the 1950s to the present day. Looking at the artists featured, it is apparent that the process of printmaking, be it etching, screen print, lino-cut or lithograph remains a very popular way for sculptors to develop ideas and expand their portfolios. The works in the show are drawn from the Collection’s rich holding of prints, it will feature recent acquisitions, some of which are being exhibited for the first time.

The exhibition offers a display of various printing processes available to sculptors; for example, screen printing, which creates an incredibly fine poster-like finish and produces multiple exact copies, whereas linocut or etching, a more labour intensive process, can be a much more unpredictable technique, the result only seen when the paper is lifted from the printing plate.

Although they are best known for their large-scale three-dimensional work, the prominent sculptors Henry Moore (1898 – 1986) and Eduardo Paolozzi (1924 – 2005) generated a great number of prints. Moore’s work is represented through two lithographs produced late in his career, yet he can still be seen here exploring the relation between the two and three-dimensional in print. The earliest works in the show however are those by Paolozzi, an artist who was at the centre of the explosion of printmaking that occurred in Britain in the 1960s. In contrast to Moore’s formal investigations, Paolozzi also used the medium to explore the possibilities offered by contemporary printing techniques, more specifically the relation between text and image, and the politics of representation in a society of mass consumption.

These two trends, the examination of the relation between the two and three-dimensional, as well as the possibilities offered by the printed material on our perception of form on the other was to inform the work of subsequent generations of artists. Anish Kapoor (b. 1954) is interested in how his work affects the viewer’s perception of form and space, often using pure pigments in the process. His prints also offer a sensory experience through their bright colours or ethereal forms. Tracey Emin (b. 1963) frequently produces monoprints, which she draws directly onto the printing plate, thereby offering a raw and unique record of her thoughts and feelings. Her prints often form the starting point for her sculptural works, for example her blankets or installations.

Gilbert and George (b. 1943 and 1942) explore the concept of the expanded sculptural form through their postal sculptures. Their series of postcards were designed to be sent to a receiver and feature an image of the two artists posing in a series of settings, as well as a poem or limerick on the reverse. Anya Gallaccio’s (b. 1963) re-interpretations of nature in her prints reflect her ongoing interest in natural form and decay. Another sculptor fascinated by nature was Barry Flanagan (1941 – 2009) whose etchings of Loch Ness stand in contrast to his sculptural renditions of animals and offer a more personal record of his life.

Prints offer not only a starting point for a sculptural form, they also offer a record of the original. David Shrigley’s (b. 1968) illustrated map expands on the series of sculptures on show in the city of Munster during the Sculpture Projects in 1997, whilst Mike Nelson’s (b. 1967) photographic prints records the installation of one of his works entitled The Coral Reef. Finally, by their nature prints bring to the fore the subject of artistic reproducibility. Damien Hirst’s (b. 1965) spin prints were made by using centrifugal force, that is by spinning the paper and applying inks at random to create circular patterns. Ultimately this begs the question, where do a sculptor’s investigations end and their printing practice start?

Collection:
For more than sixty years the British Council has been collecting works of art, craft and design to promote abroad the achievements of our artists, craft practitioners and designers. The Collection, started in the late 1930s with a modest group of works on paper, has now grown to a collection of more than 8000 artworks covering all media and all aspects of British art and design of the 20th and 21st Centuries. The Collection has no permanent gallery and has been referred to as a ‘Museum Without Walls’.

Anish Kapoor

Hayley Newman

Henry Moore