A Maze of Minimalism at Kerlin Gallery
Off South Anne Street, at Kerlin Gallery, a woman approaches the gallery registrar, “tough read” she says and I cannot help but agree. Kerlin has been stripped back to stark white walls and on the top floor inhabits Liam Gillick’s wonderfully bright exhibition; (À bientôt, j’espère…) See you soon, I hope…. With thought provoking titles and hard visual minimalism, the show introduces you to the fusion of architecture and abstraction.
Diversity Channelled made from powder-coated aluminium, created in 2018 is a great opening to introduce you to the strong forms in this exhibit. For Gillick, stated by Kerlin, car production and kitchen design are two prominent by-products of his work. This piece welcomes us to examine the rigidness and simplicity of screws and aluminium in their simplest form. There is such a symmetrical harmony to the colour palette and size of each piece of aluminium, it draws you in while slapped you with the coldness it emanates. The kitchen design feeling is one that echoes throughout the display and simplifies the cool modern look of the contraptions. The title is interesting and pokes questions about generating new ideas, solutions and assumptions to provoke innovation, one that speaks directly to technology innovation. The colours, in my eyes, represent the diversity included.
Work number two, Liquidation in the snow made from powder-coloured aluminium with added plexiglass, again is another cool and hard work to read. Set over two pieces, the title is juxtaposed with its artwork -no liquid remains. White as snow, the sleek aluminium set within plexiglass rests at the back and mounted by screws. I recognised his work from IMMA’s permanent collection and in my opinion is the most structural of them all.
“Presented with an open book on the ground, it is inspired by a 2007 exhibit by Gillick in Colorado when the prompt for cultural discussion, was a screening of the film Week-end á in Sochaux (1972)'“
Next is a three part piece; The chance of your life, series of black wall vinyls rounded reading: “Come close! Come close! The chance of your life - You are looking for work? I’ll bring you some. What work? - You are going to build automobiles! Peugeot!.” Presented with an open book on the ground, it is inspired by a 2007 exhibit by Gillick in Colorado when the prompt for cultural discussion, was a screening of the film Week-end á in Sochaux (1972). The film involves performances that uncover the relationships of production of the Peugeot factory in Sochaux in Eastern France through said performance. The film marked the arrival of theatre performances of an activist type brought into the modern day. In Gillick’s exhibit, the film was displayed via multiple monitors projecting scenes so that it could be consumed as one at one time. The book in 2007, like our book right now, spoke. “Open the book” it entices and reads on the open page, much like was used as a performance in the 2007 show to allow the worker-activist-performer a chance to perform from Week-end á in Sochaux, designed to make fun of the offers of the car factory boss to new and potential workers. This is mirrored on the wall vinyl texts. The primary theme from this sensory piece is highlighting the importance of cultural experience and experimentation in response to social misery and as Kerlin puts it, stagnation. The performative nature of these works forces you to think about this and in this exhibit, much later than the 2007 show, that contemporary art like this, can wield power to provide discussion if not resolution to emerging societal problems. I enjoyed the immersion of senses that the book offered and took refuge in it quickly before entering again into Gillick’s structural fantasies. In between this series stood strong, Leeched Screen and Grouped Decided, anchoring us firmly into the gallery.
Distinctive Elevation is next and my personal favorite, displayed close to Acceptance Screen, flat against the wall and Negotiated Collapse. Here you get to see wholly the beauty of the powder-coloured aluminium and plexiglass. A rainbow of colours beam against the snow Kerlin walls and are playful to look through. The relatively low amount of works in the exhibition remind us of how Gillick’s pieces dynamically use space. Gillick’s work aims to uncover how social, political and economic systems are reflected in his built work -in this display he clearly aims to challenge traditional aesthetics with the maze of minimalism these three present.
“Drawing inspiration from the themes of renovation, recuperation and re-occupation, these three r’s embody Gillick’s neo-liberalism aesthetic. “
Drawing inspiration from the themes of renovation, recuperation and re-occupation, these three r’s embody Gillick’s neo-liberalism aesthetic. In Gillick’s work, the art we are faced with today, are seen in his wall dividers, cladding systems and coverings that enhance aesthetic appeal. Gillick’s work, firstly and foremost, offers a satisfying contrast of the sleek and rigid. The fusion of text, wall mounted, free standing, vinyl and performance ties together a wonderfully sensory exhibit and one full of colour.
Cover photo: The Chance of your life, Distinct Elevation and Acceptance Screen @ Kerlin Gallery