FINISHED
26 January – 12 February
A year since the virtual MORE THAN exhibition opened online, Is any of the work finished?
It’s a question we’ll explore on Wednesday 2nd February 6 – 8 Open to all.
Exhibiting artists will be working in the Gallery daily 11 – 3
Exhibiting artists: Amanda Hopkins, Andrea Coltman, Angela Dewar, Anne Fontenoy, Maria Turner, Angela Stocker, Rosalind Barker, Jocelyn Bailey, Margaret Devitt, Jenny Dalton, Sue Evans, Teddy Kempster, Louisa Crispin, Cherie Lubbock, Franny Swann, Sally Eldars, Sarah Cliff, Roger Lee, Victoria Granville, Ann Bridges.
Finished is the physical exhibition of two online shows by SVAF members during lockdown. MORE THAN and MOREMORE THAN extended the idea of renewal. The choice for the artists was to swap a piece of work with another artist or look back into their own archive and renew the piece in the light of their current practice and concerns. The focus of thinking for the second show was around the concept of ‘finished’.
What does it mean to be finished?
How do we know?
What comes in to play to make the judgement?
Does a work of art have duration?
It’s an age old debate and we add our contribution to the thinking.
‘Finished’ is a selection of work from our two online exhibitions, ‘More Than’ and ‘More More Than’, that were made and shown in 2020 and 2021.
‘MORE THAN’ February 2021
To produce the exhibits artists formed pairs and donated works- in-progress to each other. Their task was then to finish the donated work taking into account the spirit of the original while reflecting their own practice.
Intriguing problems such as the level of respect due to the original, the right to destroy, the right to claim ownership were thrown up. While considering hidden potential, cyclical relationships and new connections the question, ‘When is a work finished?’ came to the fore. It became the focus of
‘MORE MORE THAN’ May 2021
Participants could either collaborate with another artist as above or search their own archive for material to update.
Made during lockdown, several works reflected recent experience and centred on the idea that completion mirrors the times. Others presented completion as fluid rather than final and reflected on the relationship of the journey to the resolution. Some asked if once the formal, practical and conceptual intentions of the artist are fulfilled is the work closed and protected from further attention.
The question is age old and our thoughts, comments and musings to join in the conversation debated by giants.
For some the question has not been resolved and artists will be working in the gallery during the exhibition.
Both online exhibitions, curated by Sally Eldars, can be viewed More Than virtual exhibition
