Nottingham Contemporary

This week a brand new contemporary Art gallery has opened in my old stomping ground of Nottingham. It sits on the crest of a hill which has provided the Caruso St John architects with a unique site that they have taken full advantage of. They play with its various aspects and levels; framing the appealing views with carefully placed windows as well as carving out some new rights of way for any pedestrian. Unlike the design of many contemporary art galleries the architects have not been brazen with its form- it sits comfortably within the existing skyline, yet not too comfortably that it is not intriguing. I especially loved the lace imprint made onto some of the exterior concrete panels, a little nod to its site on the edge of the old lace market.

All in all I can hardly criticise any initiative that adds exciting new architecture to the city skyline, let alone free Art to the residents of that city... a resounding thumbs up!

Quote of the Day

" A building should be to a city as a brick is to a brick wall"

- Mamdar Puranik

Radical Nature @ The Barbican

I trekked across London last week to catch this exhibition before it closed. Radical Nature: Art and Architecture for a changing planet was to me a bit of a disappointment. I don't want to be too harsh as individually there where some exciting pieces; instead my dissolution rests with the organizers of the exhibition, who put together something that was shoddily presented and with no real narrative to drive the spectator through the space. Dealing with such a relevant issue of the relationship between nature and architecture it failed to make any clear statement- most of the pieces being highly conceptual and unable to relate to contemporary life. The curators chose pieces that were not subtle about their chosen subject, In fact many seemed to shout "Im an artist dealing with nature!", an example of this poster art being the section of rainforest tipped on its side in Henrik Hakansson's Fallen Forest (2006). Having been to so many wonderfully exhibitions of late that employ a meaningful narrative that enhance the spectators experience, it was hard to feel that they had got the most out of this topic at the Barbican.

Telling Tales @ The V&A

This current exhibition explores the unique and high-end pieces of contemporary designers who deal with themes of opulence, fantasy and nightmare. We visited on a busy saturday afternoon which meant that the surreal atmosphere constructed by the curators was partly destroyed by the bustle of visitors. Spectators 'oohd' and 'arrd' at the sensationalist design pieces - a favorite being the bath in the form of a boat. Personally, I enjoyed many of the pieces, and found the theatrical stage set upon which they were placed was a good way of presenting them in there full glory. The latter part of the exhibition which dealt with the theme of nightmares was less successful in this regard. Pieces where obscured by fragmentary viewing windows which, instead of providing a justified framing became irritating, complicating the spectators experience to an unnecessary degree.

Serpentine Pavillion 2009

I went to visit the new serpentine pavilion last week with Ricardo and Beefy in a rare moment of sunshine across London town. It is designed by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA. By reading the information available I learnt that the intended effect of the thin aluminum sheets that forms the piece, was to blend into its surroundings - almost camouflaged. Although on first arrival you are met by an apparent airiness, as my friends pointed out, the low sheets and haphazard arrangement was somewhat imposing.

AA Summer Dazzler

The new summer pavilion is up in Bedford Square - and this year it is particularly stunning. It is a very sculptural piece that doesn't exactly provide shelter like a traditional pavilion. Instead, it creates an encapsulated space inside its undulating form. Reminiscent of Heatherwick's monocoque shell in his East Beach Cafe - the design was derived from organic forms such as driftwood. I specifically like the way the shape works around the existing lamppost on the square... although seemingly alien it manages to connect intuitively to its site.

Alcoholic Architecture

In a little shop off Carnaby street, Bompas and Parr - two predictably eccentric englishmen (pictured above) have created the first walk in cocktail! Once you arrive at your designated time slot, you are channelled into girl/boy changing rooms where you are given white jumpsuits (this in itself was very exciting to me). You proceed through the bar and down the stairs into a mirky basement where you enter a sticky room which is supposed to be like walking into a giant glass of Gin and Tonic- a solitary green light, a giant slice of lime and a big straw are within to add to the effect. The alcoholic vapour inside the room was definitely potent, though we couldn't be entirely objective as we had had some gin in liquid form a little earlier- dooogh! Although we were in an adventurous mood we didn't actually manage to stay down in the room for too long as it became quite claustrophobic and everything became sticky, which was not helped by the particularly humid weather outside. Alcoholic Architecture is really an interactive art installation that relies more on causing a stir then actual substance, however, I have to confess a weakness for a gimmick and this certainly fulfilled my sillyness quotient for a while.

(Photos provided by Fung Boy Ltd.)