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| 13 March 2008 Dates confirmed for Steles exhibition Upcoming show at x-church 7-22 June 2008 'Steles', a remarkable collection of photographs taken in the Yellow River Basin, northern China in the year 2000, will be presented by Bend in the River at x-church from the 7th to the 22nd of June. This will be the first time the gallery has hung work on the walls of the former St John's church, and will be the first of three exhibitions at x-church in summer 2008. The photographer is Christopher Taylor, an assimilated Frenchman who was born and brought up on the east Lincolnshire coast. Taylor has exhibited only rarely in the UK (Photographer's Gallery London early nineties), but has shown extensively abroad over the years. Most recently his work has been shown at the International Photographers Festival in Lianzhou, China; Galerie Toshi-seitatu-kobo, Osaka, Japan; Skaftfell Cultural Centre, Seydisfjordur, Iceland; and Galerie Camera Obscura, Paris. He currently has a series of exhibitions in India showing his most recent photographs of post-colonial Calcutta. Taylor takes the title of this collection of 45 black and white 80 centimetre square photographs from the French writer Victor Segalen, whose writing on China has served as a guide. Segalen talks of how it is the geography of place, the stuff of the landscape, the environment itself that unifies both the exterior and the interior spaces of the people. Taylor is interested in the cultures that extremes of geography produce. 'China represents contradictions in myself, fear of the abyss and the desire to approach it', he writes. ' The Yellow River Basin is the source of both fertility and destruction ... this cycle reflects four millenia of Chinese history.' This exhibition coincides with 'Gainsborough Goes Oriental', the town's annual Festival, which takes place on the weekend of 7/8 June. |
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| 30 January 2007 Art fair match report BITR at LAF Around 25 thousand visitors attended the London Art Fair a couple of weeks ago, giving Bend in the River plenty to do for five days. Newcomers to the event, we had not known what to expect, and certainly were not used to such overwhelming attention. An event largely organised around the London galleries circuit, we were one of only a handful of regional venues on show. The event gave us an opportunity not only to present ourselves and our exhibition spaces here in Gainsborough, but also provided a platform for six artists that we regularly work with: Bob Billington, Peter Cartwright, Richard Devereux, Anastasia Lewis, Susan Michie and Richard Shepherd. During the week we were delighted to be supported on a daily basis by regular gallery visitors and supporters of the cause. We were also heartened by some critical interest from collectors, a visit from Sotheby's and some glowing words from Professor Richard Demarco. To date sales have exceeded expectations. Bend in the River is currently considering offers to attend other art fairs both here and abroad. |
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| 20 January 2008 Map of Essence I Richard Devereux's 'Map of Essence I' has now been installed in the home of Jos and Peter Hadfield. The artwork, which is nearly two meters high, was one of two 'Map' works on show at the gallery last autumn. The second work was on show at the London Art Fair this week. |
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| 18 January 2008 Artists' news Helen Barff Helen Barff will be Artist in Residence at Greatmore Studios, Cape Town during February and March 2008. She was awarded the place in December via the Gasworks Gallery and Triangle Arts Trust in London. Barff's photograms have been on show at the gallery this winter, and the artist now has a dedicated page on the website. |
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| 01 January 2008 New name for Church of St. John the Divine is x-church Slumgothic is the operating system but x-church is the new name for the former anglican church. |
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| 01 January 2008 www.slumgothic.co.uk is live Website tells story of x-church. One thing next to another. 2008 includes: - Bend In The River exhibitions - New productions by Performing Arts Club St. John's and MWM - Gainsborough Arts Project - after school arts Terracotta Army project - Slumgothic Teenage Arts Project including regular jamming sessions - Other stuff.....whatever |
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| 6 November 2007 Arts Council support BITR at London Art Fair Bend in the River is delighted to announce that the Arts Council will be supporting them at the forthcoming London Art Fair in Islington in January. This is the first time we have asked ACE for support, and comes at a significant moment in the gallery's development. ACE has been an enthusiastic supporter of our activities, especially in recent times. The gallery was delighted to play host to a regional meeting of the Council last month, when we had an opportunity to present our activities at both Bridge Street and the church to members from across the East Midlands. We were told afterwards that it is highly unusual for ACE to use non-funded venues for such meetings. We also acknowledge the support of Lincolnshire County Council. See www.londonartfair.co.uk |
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| 18 October 2007 Ursula-Blickle Foundation and Claudia Pilsl Artist's news Claudia Pilsl, Bend in the River's inaugural artist in residence at the former church of St John the Divine in 2005/6, has been selected for a group show at the Ursula-Blickle Foundation. The exhibition, 'Introduction to the History of Art' is concerned with how a group of international artists currently deal with the subject of 'art on the subject of art'. In particular it focusses on presentation, representation and reception. The Ursula Blickle Foundation was established in 1991 in Unterowishelm in Germany. It is an entirely independent/private organisation, founded by Ursula Blickle herself in a mid-sized town somewhat off the beaten cultural track. The foundation hosts 4 exhibitions a year, and states its remit as promoting contemporary art, artists and curators and especially new cultural positions. The artists taking part alongside Pilsl include Victor Burgin, Stephane Couturier, Thomas Struth and Katharina Mayer. 'Introduction to the History of Art' runs until 16 December. See www.ursula-blickle-stiftung.de |
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| 16 October 2007 Slumgothic Website imminent Slumgothic's website, designed by David Bailey (letskiosk.com) is imminent. |
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| 10 October 2007 Artists News Mik Godley Mik Godley has been shortlisted for the Nottingham Creative Business Awards 2007, alongside Moot and Jon Burgerman. 'Greetings from Silesia' (BITR spring 07) was the first solo showing of Godley's paintings following completion of the his MA at Nottingham Trent earlier this year. In November Godley will be exhibiting a collaborative work with Graham Lester George in “Planchette” curated by Peter Suchin and hosted by “Spectre vs. Rector” at the Residence Gallery, E9. |
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| 10 October 2007 Bridge Street site news Arts Council and Gainsborough Folk Festival The gallery and cafe at 54 Bridge Street are host to the regional meeting of the Arts Council on Thursday 11 October. The meeting starts at 10.30 and continues until 4 o'clock. Visitors to the gallery are warned that there may be some disruption. The following weekend - 20/21 October - Gainsborough Folk Festival takes place. This event attracts acts from across the UK. The cafe will be host to various performers over Saturday lunchtime, starting at 12. This is not a concert, more an improvised run-thru of performers' folk repertoires, hopefully accompanied by audience participation. The lunchtime menu will be Traditional Ploughmans and a bottle of Yorkshire Black Sheep. |
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| 28 September 2007 Bournemouth Art Loan Collection and New Hall, Cambridge Artists' news Richard Devereux has been included in this years' University of Bournemouth Art Loan Collection. The scheme, which is approaching its 10th anniversary, invites twenty practising artist each year to loan a work (or works) to the university for a period of twelve months for public display. This will be the second occasion that Devereux has been included in the project, the first being in 2004/5. A major purchase, also by the University of Bournemouth of a new work by Richard Devereux has recently been confirmed – the carbon diptych is due to be installed later this year and will be accessioned into the university's permanent collection. New Hall, Cambridge University has selected one of Anastasia Lewis's 'Large Landscape' paintings for its Women's Art Collection. This collection is quite possibly the finest body of work by British women artists in the UK, and includes pieces by Elizabeth Frink, Barbara Hepworth, Maggie Hambling and this year's Turner nominee Zharina Bhimji. Anastasia Lewis had her first solo exhibition at Bend in the River this summer, and will be represented by the gallery at January's London Art Fair. |
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| 27 September 2007 Process(ion): Michael Bowdidge Second residency project at former St John's Church The results of a second residency project at the former church of St John the Divine will be on show until Saturday 29 September. The work, by Nottingham artist Michael Bowdidge, is an assemblage of materials found inside the building, in particular church chairs. For Bowdidge, the project represents a continuation and development of my recent practice, although on a much larger scale than I have previously attempted. Much of his recent work makes use of found materials, specifically old furniture. 'These things allow me to produce assemblages and installations which are rich in associations and allude to notions of presence, absence and mortality, though there is also something playful in this re-working of these materials', he says. Formal rigour is important to the artist, as well as a sensitivity to the specificities of a given context, which can include historical, cultural, and spatial factors. It is through the consideration of these various aspects of the environment (and his responses to them) that the work arises. Within Bowdidge's practice there are currently two main sculptural strands, one which deals with objects ‘as themselves’ and seeks to show them and their surroundings in a new light through changes in their position and orientation (by upending or inverting them, for example). The second makes use of similar formal strategies, but is more concerned with what these objects can become or allude to whilst still remaining ‘themselves’. Process(ion) can be read as an exploration of these two approaches and of points in between . There is no single (or simple) reading of the work, Bowdidge says it is for the viewer to make of it what s/he will, just as he has done. |
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| 11 September 2007 Slumgothic Creating an identity Identity has been the subject of the last two Slumgothic sessions. During the earlier one members made Slumgoths out of disposable overalls and placed them within the church. One piece in particular, made by Laura and attached to one of the columns, really made a dynamic impact on the interior of the church. This was a breakthrough moment because it demonstrated that even with comparatively few materials and little time, students could significantly alter the space, make it their own. At the last session the group met designer David Bailey for the first time. David mapped out a strategy for the group to move towards a graphic identity. Each member has been tasked to play around with hand-drawn versions of the word ‘Slumgothic’. He will then select a number of these to play around with himself. He talked about his career, showed the group many examples of his work and talked them through the design and decision-making processes involved in creating items such as festival programmes, CD cases, flyers and posters. Tales of working with bands went down particularly well! The next Slumgothic session is on Thursday 20th September 7-9pm, when the group will be working with artist Mike Bowdidge who has just installed Process(ion) in the church. New members, age 13-19 yrs are always welcome. Contact Marcus Hammond on 0790 877 1107 or turn up on the night. All sessions are free of charge. Funded by Cfbt. |
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| 3 August 2007 London Art Fair Bend in the River has accepted an invitation to attend next January's London Art Fair. This highly prestigious event is the UK's largest and most established event. It specialises in Modern British and Contemporary art. Heavily oversubscribed this year due to ever-increasing art market activity in London, the London Art Fair operates an increasingly rigorous selection process. For this reason it is even more of an accolade to have been selected, especially at the first time of submission. Bend in the River was described by the selection panel as 'exemplary'. It is one of only a handful of regional galleries ever to have been invited to attend the event. The London Art Fair takes place between the 15th and the 18th of January 2008. Bend in the River will be at stand G44. |
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| 3 August 2007 2007 Big Draw Big Floor Draw returns to St John's The nationwide Big Draw event returns to St John's this October, following last year's overwhelming success. This autumn's event will be a rerun of last year's 500 Square Metre Big Floor Draw, which attracted well over 150 participants, both local and farther afield and of all ages from under 5 to over 70! We're not sure if it was the free tea, coffee and biscuits, the simple concept - plain white rectangular card placed over woodblock flooring - or the giant empty building itself that was the attraction. What we do know is that people loved it and spent ages styling their particular corner of the vast masterpiece. For some this even meant 'drawing' on the walls, adding graffitti to their card and writing sonnets - beautifully subversive creative acts, we thought, which we will be encouraging this year! The Big Draw 2007 at St John's Church will take place on Saturday 13 October. Times: 10.30-5.00. Admission and refreshments free. All ages welcome. |
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| 3 July 2007 Slumgothic: a teenage word new group to be formed for creative teenagers Is Slumgothic a teenage word? We think so, and to test the hypothesis we would like to invite 'creative' teenagers to join a new group at St John's Church. The group - which as yet has no name, this being part of their creative brief when they first meet - will be testing the creative boundaries offered up by the vast empty building itself. We think teenagers that 'get' Slumgothic might be painters, poets, posers or performers... On offer will be opportunities to be creative with a wide range of invited lateral thinking adults - graphic designers, sound mixers, urban designers... Thursday 9 August will be the first meeting of the group. Anyone who buys into the concept and qualifies as 'teenage' is warmly welcome. Time: 7-9pm. Venue: St John's Church, Ashcroft Road, Gainsborough. If you have any questions or need directions, please get in touch with Marcus on marcus@bendintheriver.co.uk The Slumgothic sessions have been funded by CfBT, whom we warmly thank for their continuing support |
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| 10 July 2007 This is our Intense Desire RICHARD DEVEREUX: new carbon works ‘This is our Intense Desire’ is the first showing of new carbon works by Richard Devereux. The exhibition starts at Bend in the River on Saturday 8 September and continues until 28 October. The exhibition comprises Devereux’s most ambitious artworks to date, using a process of applying carbon to paper that he first developed in 1986. In this exhibition, he uses the technique on a much larger scale than previously, some of the art works reaching over 6 foot. The cumulative effect is both expansive and encroaching. Devereux’s more recent practice has taken him away from sculpture (in the early to mid 1990s) and into the use of an array of ‘signature’ materials, among them limestone, lead, gold and zinc, in mostly wall-based works. But it is the element Carbon that has the most enduring fascination for the artist. He is interested in fundamentals, in carbon the elemental substance wherein life is created and to which it returns. Devereux’s practice is informed by deep contemplation and meditation; the show’s title alludes to a mantra that is used in the latter. He is interested in offering up an artwork that invites the viewer to meditate, but also to respond and explore. ‘Allowing for an overarching response has been a vital aspect of this body of work’, he says. ‘[There is] no prescriptive intervention, no single definition, they hover in a twilight region.’ As such, Devereux’s new works escape context – be it historical, cultural or spatial – and also deny the hand that made them – there are no brush strokes, no evidence of artistic decision-making. Instead, they appear as phenomena on the walls. This new exhibition of work by Richard Devereux follows an exhibition of ten years’ work by the artist at Bend in the River in May/June 2005. For full details about the artist and a back catalogue of his 2005 exhibition, view 'artists' and 'past' on our website. |
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| 10 July 2007 PROCESS(ion) Michael Bowdidge at St John's Church The Nottingham artist Michael Bowdidge will be articulating the internal and external spaces of the vast Victorian church of St John the Divine in Gainsborough in early September. He will only be using materials that are presently ‘on-site’ at the redundant building, principally 250 church chairs. As such, this project will represent a continuation and development of Bowdidge’s recent practice, which has taken him away from photo-montage (in the early to mid 1990s) and into the use of ‘ready-mades’ in sculptural installations. The St John’s project will be on a much larger scale than anything Bowdidge has previously attempted. It will draw ideas from the notion of ‘Slumgothic’, the architectural style of the building. Recent works by the artist make use of reclaimed materials, specifically old furniture. Bowdidge comments that such objects allow his installations to ‘allude to notions of presence, absence and mortality’. He regards what he calls the ‘reinscription of discard’ as offering a playful aspect to his often dramatic and unexpected sculptural forms. Bowdidge’s practice allies closely with the human mind’s ‘doors of perception’ (The Marriage of Heaven and Hell), connecting with the ideas of Blake to create a ‘poetry’ in physical form and also within the spaces it leaves behind. Bowdidge is interested in concepts presented by philosophers such as Wittgenstein. In particular, he cites the German thinker’s idea of ‘something that already lies open to view and that becomes surveyable by a rearrangement’ (Philosophical Investigations). And so, as Bowdidge works, his construction becomes comparable to the solving of an equation; seeking the simplest and most ‘elegant’ resolution, but using hardly any components to do so. What is important to the artist is his sensitivity to the formal rigor and specifications presented by a given context – be it historical, cultural or spatial. Michael Bowdidge follows Austrian artist Claudia Pilsl, who worked with residents and ex-congregants to produce video and photographic art works about the church’s past and redundant present in 2005/6. Both artists have been commissioned by Bend in the River. 'Process(ion)' will run from 8th September to 23 September inclusive, and will be open Saturday and Sundays from 11 to 5 and at other times by arrangement. Artist Resume Michael Bowdidge was born in Ilford in 1967. He studied Fine Art at Middlesex Polytechnic, 1986-89. Initially starting out as a sculptor, he began work with computers in combination with digital photography, subsequently creating several collections. From 2003 to 2005, working with the artist-led gallery initiative ‘The Surgery’, he was involved in extensive annual exhibition and workshop programmes and has been part of similar facilitated workshop events to date. He is currently living in Nottingham and is undertaking a practice-led MPhil/Phd with Professor John Newling at Nottingham Trent University. Exhibitions: Bowdidge has exhibited continuously since graduating in 1989, in particular: Urban Journeys, Red Gallery, Hull (2007); Waiting Room Gallery, London (2005); The Green Space, London (2005); ‘The Deaf of Feary’, Screenwest, London (2004); Changing Room Gallery, London (1994). |
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| 9 July 2007 New work in Salon Salon, Bend in the River's upstairs room, has a number of new works by gallery artists available for viewing. Artists include Richard Devereux, Bob Billington and Thomas and Yuki Lamb. See Salon for details. |
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| 4 July 2007 Cafe 54 A new cafe has opened at 54 Bridge Street, adjacent to the gallery and beside the river. Cafe 54 prides itself on its Taste of Lincolnshire status, which means the food it serves is all locally sourced. The cafe's daily menu varies according to produce availability but regularly includes Lincolnshire ploughman's, salad bowls, paninis, baked potatoes, local ice-cream and homemade pastries and cakes. It serves Illy coffee and herbal teas, and is a licensed premises serving selected fine wines and beers. The cafe is open throughout the week and also at weekends the same hours as the gallery. It is open on selected evenings, and can be hired for functions. To contact the cafe, phone 01427 678617 |
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| 4 May 2007 Happy visitor A visitor was captured by a photographer outside the gallery recently. It turned out to be an artist. Clearly he was enjoying his experience. |
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| 1 May 2007 Gallery artists news update Richard Devereux, who recently returned from his travels to New Zealand, took part in Lacerta 2 at the end of April. This is a weekend event on the Dorset coast that brings together a small group of artists, Brian Graham, Peter Larkin, Simon Lewty and another Bend in the River artist, Susan Michie. Richard Devereux has an upcoming show of new work at Bend in the River later this year, starting 8 September. Lacerta gave him an opportunity to exhibit several brand new pieces that will form part of the show. A first solo show of work by Susan Michie, whose studio overlooks the Solent in Dorset, comes to Bend in the River next spring. |
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| 1 April 2007 On the Edge at St John's Norfolk musicians in concert as part of Open Churches Festival As part of the West Lindsey Open Churches Festival, Bend in the River proudly presents On the Edge Ensemble LINES, LOOPS AND PHASES Saturday 12 May 2007, 8pm St John’s Church, Ashcroft Road, Gainsborough DN21 Projecting sound around the expansive space of St John the Divine will be a feature of this lively concert of music old and new for violin, saxophone and extended electronics. The programme includes short pieces by Bach, Piazzolla, Steve Reich, Telemann and Chick Corea alongside own pieces by the instrumentalists, Steve Bingham and Jane Wells. On the Edge was formed in 2002 and is a loose group of primarily Norfolk-based professional musicians. They perform mixed concerts of classical music past and present throughout the eastern region, particularly in locations that are off the beaten track. The Ensemble that will be playing at St John's will be Steve Bingham, Jane Wells and Mark Fawcett. Steve Bingham (violins/composer) graduated from the Royal Academy of Musicc in 1985 with prizes for violin, chamber music and orchestral leading and formed the Bingham String Quartet in the same year. The Quartet has become internationally renownedd both for classical and contemporary repertoire and has recorded for CD, television and radio. Stephen has guest-led many orchestras, including the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and also directs the London String Soloists. Ssolo reciptals using both acoustic and electric violin form an increasing part of his schedule. He lives in Norfolk. Jane Wells (saxophones) is a composer/saxophonist. She moved from London to Norfolk in 198 as composer/musician-in-residence for the then Wells-next-the-Sea Arts Centre. She also workedd in the mid-1990s as Lincolnshire's County Music Worker. Her compositions range from pieces for full symphony orchestra to solos. She has collaborated frequently with other disciplines with performances in London and abroad and broadcasts on Channel 4 and Anglia TV. Her work is available on CD. Mark Fawcett (sound projection) is a guitarist, songwriter and sound engineer. Drawing on his physics degree from Durham University, he specialises in recording acoustic music. In the classical music field he has recorded for the Leicester International and the Oxford Chamber Music Festivals, and worked as sound projectionist for two pieces by Thea Musgrave, one of these at the Purcell Room. Most recently, he has sound engineered Steve Bingham's debut solo album, 'Duplicity'. He lives in Norfolk. Tickets £6.00 available from Bend in the River, either by post, phone or email - see About Us for contact details info@bendintheriver.co.uk |
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| 1 April 2007 News from Slumgothic Coffee, cake and community Saturday morning, 17th March confirmed to us that some very basic things will make a positive difference to the lives of many people living in the South-West Ward. People were invited to a coffee morning in the former schoolroom attached to the church. Plans for the proposed community extension were on show and in return for free coffee and cake people were encouraged to list and elaborate on any community events from the ward’s past. What used to happen? Our archive of photographs from the church’s past prompted many reminiscences of what were obviously better times. St John's was a High Anglican church. Strong medicine, not to everyone’s taste or beliefs but the roll of events, clubs and festivals associated with the building indicate that the church’s impact on its community was not solely religious. St John's ran fetes and fairs, sent trips to the coast and even had its own sports ground on the west bank of the Trent. The man from Trent Street who arrived first and stayed most of the morning had no recollection of those golden days. He has a heart condition and lives alone in a small house whose windows he has boarded up because he fears aggressive children. He is lonely. He needs a community building. |
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| 1 April 2007 Mik Godley opening Thanks go to the mini-bussed Nottingham posse who maxi-tested the capacity of Moonlight Tandoori by squashing 21 people around one table to round off a thoroughly enjoyable opening, one which was once again characterised by much earnest discussion of the paintings on show. With many gallery regulars away or ill or just not coming out to play, it was great to see such solid support for the artist himself. Greetings from Silesia is an open project in the hands of a prolific painter, and we are sure that with such strong support it will sustain and sharpen. We wish you all the very best … greetings from Bend in the River … Gainsborough |
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| Next show Anastasia Lewis: new landscapes 2 June - 22 July 2007 In 1995 Anastasia Lewis bought a tube of Titanium White. She used it infrequently, and over time the label on the tube became translucent, revealing a prior label. It read: ‘Sean Scully 18/4/93’. Lewis admits a debt to Scully in her new landscape paintings. She has studied his work closely and talks about his ‘edges’, his unashamedly modernist manner and feelings of melancholy. It is perhaps not unrealistic, then, to talk about the shadow of Scully grinning through Lewis’s canvases. The landscape Lewis chooses is not the sweeping Romantic vista of Turner’s Lake District or the verdant English underbelly of Constable’s Suffolk. It is the flat land of eastern Lincolnshire, a bleak hinterland sparsely populated and seldom visited. The artist herself is an intermittent visitor to the area. Her canvases are wrought in a London studio. A location is visited and revisited but not lived in. That said, this is a place the artist knows well, a place wherein she identifies. Arbitrary choice it is not. Indeed there is nothing random in these landscape paintings. Lewis works them with close attention to detail, employing her own particular colour-swatch logic whereby tones are over- and sometimes also under-laid. The paintings whisper Modernism and nod at Lewis’s heroes, Scully and Donald Judd. But they are not simply homage, they possess something that is also quite individual. There is feeling here, both for the history of painting and also for the peculiar ‘badland’ landscape, which Lewis renders with the most tender of brushstrokes. Lewis has been working in this way for around two years, and her upcoming exhibition at Bend in the River is the first opportunity to view a substantial body of work. Artist resume Anastasia Lewis was born in London in 1943. She studied Theatre Design at Central School of Art, London, and from the mid-sixties to 1990 was a theatre designer and costume designer, supplying and making costumes for many major television series and films. She returned to Central in 1992 to study Fine Art. She presently lives and works in London and Lincolnshire. Exhibition history includes: ArtFutures, Contemporary Art Society, London; Kettles Yard Open, Cambridge; Eastern Open, Norwich; The London Group, Barbican, London; and Jerwood Drawing Prize. Her work was first shown at Bend in the River in 2003. |
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| Next show Greetings from Silesia 24 March - 20 May 2007 Mik Godley has set himself a mission, to unearth Silesia, his mother’s homeland. His tools are the Internet and paint. Godley’s subsequent story-so-far forms the upcoming exhibition at Bend in the River, Gainsborough starting on 24 March. The Nottingham-based artist has never set foot in the Sowie Mountains of Lower Silesia in Poland, where Albert Speer oversaw the construction of a vast network of underground tunnels for the Nazi war machine. Godley was brought up in Yorkshire and was never taken to Poland by his mother. Now he has taken to painting a landscape he has never seen, painting people he is biologically linked to but who he does not know. He is using images three times removed from source. Godley uses the material he feels most empathy with, paint. His pictures are painterly ‘post-pixel’ investigations. He fixes on Internet images at whim, employing his painterly ‘eye’. The motif may be a landscape photograph of the Sowie Mountain range or a picture of a Silesian woman taken from a dating website. The same image is often painted over and over again, sometimes with deliberate variation, sometimes not. Godley’s pictures do not search for answers, but at the same time they are not reportage, a straight replication of a found image. The artist talks about Urwalt, the concept of the ‘primeval forest’ that shapes German identity. Perhaps, then, Godley is looking for a sense of empathy with the Urwalt within his painterly journey. This upcoming show by Mik Godley will be the first time he has exhibited at Bend in the River and is the first solo exhibition of this body of work. He has most recently shown at Future Factory (Nottingham Trent University), New Art Exchange (Nottingham), Angel Row (Nottingham) and a the Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb (Croatia). Mik Godley was born 1959 in Wakefield, Yorkshire. He studied Fine Art at Leeds Polytechnic and has just finished an MA at Nottingham Trent University. |
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| 13 December 2006 Gallery artists news update Two BITR artists are currently on show elsewhere in the UK. Bob Billington, who had a solo show of new paintings at the gallery in the spring, his first solo exhibition in the UK for nearly 30 years, currently has four pieces of work in the Kettle's Yard Open. Two of the works - both 'On a Country Path' pieces - were shown at Bend in the River. The other two pieces are brand new and break away from the densely worked sculpted paintings; Billington tentatively calls them 'Mesh' paintings. The Kettle's Yard Open continues until 7 January, and is well worth a trip to Cambridge to see. Full listings are at www.kettlesyard.co.uk The gallery's first commissioned residency artist, Claudia Pilsl, has had her St John's work on show in several settings this autumn, including the Liverpool Biennial, ROOM Bristol and also at Sheila Wakely's house in London. Claudia is currently applying to the Jerwood Cell competition with the work. The artist was appointed to the committee of the artists' networking forum AIR this autumn. We wish her all the very best in this new position. |
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| 24 November 2006 Bowett at Sotheby's a second time A second consignment of work by the late Druie Bowett has been auctioned at Sotheby’s, following excellent sales of her work earlier this year. Bend in the River has been handling the artist’s estate since her death in 1998, and are delighted that this year the work has reached the London auction market. Druie’s association with us dates back to the early years of Gallery 58, our former gallery. We were involved in her last solo show, at Angel Row in Nottingham in 1996, when some of her very last works were exhibited. Concurrent with that show, at Gainsborough we exhibited her paintings from the 1960s and 70s, and it is this work that has now caught the market’s attention. A founder member in the early 1960s of the Midlands Group, Bowett had a close allegiance to the region that was her home. She exhibited variously in cities throughout the Midlands and her work has subsequently made its way into various regional and national public collections. Of the five works by the artist were auctioned at Sotheby's Olympia on 23 November, best prices were obtained for San Gimignano (a paper work dated 1970), and an oil from 1964 entitled Industrial Constructions. |
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| 19 October 2006 Slumgothic Big Draw Floor transformed by white card creatives St John's church, site of the Slumgothic project, was transformed last weekend when over 100 people took part in a giant geometric floor draw as part of the UK's Big Draw Day. Using some 8,000 pieces of rectangular white card, cut to match the size of the parquet flooring, participants not only covered the entire floor but also moved on to the walls and pillars of the nave. Free rein was given to the imagination, with absolutely no intervention from event organisers, Bend in the River. Participants created robots, space ships, fallen figures, a garden with flowers, geometric forms and a range of 3D innovations. Others customised their cards, writing messages, signing names and drawing. Visitors came from London, Nottingham and Sheffield as well as Gainsborough town and from the streets around the church, embracing a staggering range of people from all walks of life and of all ages. The success of this event - the first such 'happening' organised by BITR at the churcch - is both a testament to the inspiring nature of the building and to the power of the creative urge that is inherent in every individual. BITR would like to thank everyone who was involved in making the day so enjoyable. Thanks are also due to West Lindsey District Council for their support. And to Andy Rawlins for the photography. |
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| 15 September 2006 The Big Draw Bend in the River is organizing a mammoth 500 square metre floor draw at St John’s as part of the UK's Big Draw event taking place on 14 October. The plan is that a vast floor pattern will be created with pieces of precut card that are the same dimension as the existing parquet. The challenge of the day may well lie in the negotiations over floor space, let alone the discussions over the nature of the design! BITR are therefore urging all would-be participants to come armed not only with knee pads but also with diplomacy and powers of persuasion! As a reward for everyone's hard labour, we promise plenty of tea, coffee and cake. The Big Draw at St John’s takes place on Saturday 14 October, 10am-5pm. All ages welcome and the event is absolutely free. |
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| 15 September 2006 Slumgothic Workshops Bend in the River was extremely grateful to the teenagers who grasped the Slumgothic nettle during two August workshops at St John’s. What is Slumgothic? - this was a challenging brief indeed! Both workshops spent time thinking, drawing, writing and making in response to seven artists: Basquiat, Christo, Duchamp, Klein, Hirschorn, Hundertwasser and Malevich. Workshop One built up to the construction of a large Gothic cardboard church which was connected to three figures in a slum environment made from old clothes, carpets, polythene and newspaper. Workshop Two built up to an afternoon of making Slumgothic logos. A fast brainstorming session condensed into a number of cardboard templates which were sprayed through to make striking visuals for Slumgothic ... the brand. These two daylong sessions were very much pilots and BITR is very grateful to the Confederation of British Teachers for providing some funding to enable them to happen. There will definitely be more workshops in the future and we would urge any 13-18 year olds with a strong interest in art, particularly any thinking of going to art school, to contact the gallery. Future workshops will be listed here, on the News Page. |
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| 19 July 2006 Slumgothic Bend in the River invite any 14–18 year olds with a strong interest in art/architecture and who live or school in Gainsborough to two day-long brainstorming workshops at the redundant church of St John the Divine, Ashcroft Road, Gainsborough. Consideration will be given to the work of artists Jean Michel Basquiat, Christo, Yves Klein, Thomas Hirschorn and Hundertwasser. Workshop 1 14 August, 10am – 5pm Workshop 2 21 August, 10am – 5pm Drinks and food provided Sign up for one or both workshops Someone described the architectural style of this church as Slumgothic. What could this mean? Please bring: an open mind * no money * old clothes Contact : Marcus Hammond t. 01427 617044 m. 0790 877 1107 marcus@bendintheriver.co.uk |
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| 1 June 2006 DEN Bend in the River has been awarded a grant of £25,000 towards the funding of a children's play space in the grounds of St John's church. The project, which goes under the working title 'DEN', draws inspiration from the innovative play schemes that are presently being adopted in some Scandinavian countries, in particular Norway. Watch this space for the forthcoming advertisement of an exciting brief for an artist/designer/architect... BITR would like to thank all the partners who contributed to the application: Gainsborough Adventure Playground, Surestart, Gainsborough South-West Ward Residents Action Group, Eye of Newt and West Lindsey District Council. |
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| 26 May 2006 Bowett auction success All ten Druie Bowett paintings sold at Sotheby's 25 May sale of Modern British Paintings, with a new auction record for the artist set by Untitled (Landscape with Cooling Towers) a mid-1970s work. Bend in the River is excited by the prospect of continued involvement with the estate of this artist, who gave the gallery great support in its early years. |
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| 23 May 2006 Wet but well attended And a big thank you to Claudia Pilsl Rain, rain, rain but in spite of it 200 people visited St John's during its Open Churches Festival weekend. A stimulating mix of BITR people, festival visitors and local residents confirmed us in the belief that the genius of St John's rests within its people as much as in its structure and scale. Lots of locals came but there were also visitors from London, Bristol, Sheffield, Derby and Nottingham. We are particularly pleased that so many people were moved by Claudia's Sightings piece, which was screened in one of the vestries. If ever proof were needed that an artist can generate real meaning out of sensitive contact with people whose lives are apparently very different, then this is it. Bend in the River thanks Claudia for making such a success of the first residency at St John's and wishes her all the very best with her twin sons Oscar and Felix, who were born in Bristol on May 5th 2006. We could never have imagined quite how prescient her show title, 'One Two Infinity' was. We thought it was just a clever adjustment of the date St John's was opened, 1882. Stranger still, its opening date was May 6th. If only she could have waited just a little longer... |
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| 3 May 2006 St. John's Open Days Saturday 20 May, 11– 5 & Sunday 21 May, 2– 5 Artwork from Claudia Pilsl’s recent residency at the church plus tea and cakes Consult the genius of the place in all (Alexander Pope) Marcus and Hilary are in the process of setting up Slumgothic Ltd, whose task it will be to manage the rebirth of St John’s. As part of this process, and to coincide with West Lindsey’s Open Churches Festival, we are opening the redundant building for people to come in, see the space and contribute to the plan. Much of the genius of this place resides in the vast ambition of the structure, but we do not forget the genius that resides within the community that the church once served. The primary driver for Slumgothic is visual arts use of the space in conjunction with Bend in the River. However, we would also expect there to be opportunities for other uses, some of which will be generated directly out of the needs of the community. Delivery of a project which can deliver both ambitious visual arts projects of regional and national significance alongside other more community-driven uses is a big challenge, which we fully embrace. Two pieces of artwork by Claudia Pilsl will be shown at the church during the forthcoming open weekend, St John the Divine 174’ x 57’3” and St John’s Sightings. The first piece, a looped 14 minute video projection, will be screened directly onto the walls of the church. It shows footage filmed from various locations within the church that has been overlaid with a soundtrack of recorded footsteps charting the dimensions of the church. The dimensions in the title refer to the dimensions of the building. Sightings, which comprises archival images taken from three photograph albums kept by congregants of the church, is also experienced with an accompanying soundtrack, this time interviews with past and present building users. St John’s will be open 11-5 on Saturday and 2-5 Sunday, and weather permitting tea and cake will be served on the lawn outside. Parking is freely available around the church, which is situated on Ashcroft Road. Signage will be posted on strategic roads to help locate the venue. The church traditionally made much of the May Day festival, as the photograph presently on our homepage illustrates. It shows the crowning of the May Queen at St John’s circa 1930s. |
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| 3 May 2006 Sotheby’s to auction Bowetts 25 May 2006 Ten paintings by Druie Bowett will be auctioned at Sotheby’s Olympia on 25 May. The artist’s entire studio has been stored at Bend in the River, 54 Bridge Street since her death in 1998. The auction house viewed the work at Gainsborough late last year, following growing interest from public collections in the region and various private buyers. The paintings selected to go under the hammer span four decades and include work from the 1960s, the period we regard as her strongest. We first met Druie in 1995. By then she had been painting for over 50 years. Her home and studio, at Manor Lodge near Blyth, Worksop, was crammed with artwork, including many eminent twentieth-century British artists. Alongside this, her own paintings, some 240 artworks, were stored. We exhibited Druie for the first time in 1996 (paintings from the 1960s), concurrently with her major solo show at Angel Row in Nottingham. By this time her career was nearing its end. She had been instrumental in forming the Midland Group in the late 1950s – a regionally influential collective of Modernist painters based in Nottingham with links to the St Ives group, Evelyn Gibb and Wilhelmina Barns-Graham – and had exhibited consistently for five decades, including shows at Crane Kalman and Drian in London, Cartwright Hall, Bradford and Abbot Hall in Kendal. Bowett’s work invariably originates in landscape. The lots selected for auction plot her fascination with the world around her, as she systematically strips it to the underlying geometry of its topography and reformulates it into her own stylized compositions. The artist’s studio is presently in storage in Leeds, but can be accessed via Bend in the River. To view the ten paintings visit www.sothebys.com |
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| 11 March 2006 Bob Billington: paintings 2004 – 6 3 June – 23 July 2006 The paintings Bob Billington makes do not conform to the four-sided flat plane model, they are painted composites with rippling surfaces that stand slightly prone of the wall. Billington likes process, the practice of painting. He sets up rules, instructions for a procedure. These can be macro in scale – ‘something I can hold’ – or micro – ‘only right angles’. He also likes the idea of making a painting from scratch, being able to create the object’s surface itself before painting on it. This going back to source is what he calls the ‘nowhere’. There is a strong sense that Billington wants his audience to see the paintings from a similarly neutral, nowhere viewpoint. He wants you to see the surface, the shapes, not the fibreglass, the leaves torn from old books that form the templates. That said, his titling gives clues to points of reference – ‘On a Country Path’ nods to Heidegger, for example . The forthcoming show of recent work by the artist will be the first time he has exhibited at Bend in the River and the first time his work has been shown in the region. Based in Norfolk, he has exhibited intermittently since the early 1970s, when he graduated from the Slade, University College London. He is a John Moores exhibitor and has exhibited at Northern Young Contemporaries, the National Portrait Gallery and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In recent years he has taken part in various music collaborations. |
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| January 2006 Five sales on first weekend of show Friday the 13th was no jinx for what proved to be a jolly good opening characterised by real engagement with the paintings. A turnout of around 100 people created a buzz and allowed for some space to actually look at the work. Bernard's project is lonely and obsessional. He starts eight and finishes eight paintings every week. The eight started are not necessarily the eight finished - there is a rolling programme. The racks and stacks of completed pictures are slowly closing down the space in which he must work. Bernard should show and sell more, if only to clear some space, but he just wants to paint. Looking at the pictures, and watching other people looking at them, it is obvious that his singular approach communicates. These images of alienation (head plus shoulders set against blank backgrounds) are clearly not alienating. Bend in the River is grateful for commercial confirmation, which came in the shape of five sales on the first weekend. |
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| Opportunity Rijksakademie Research Residency call for entries The Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam is a working and meeting place for young professional artists from all over the world. Fifty resident artists work for one or two years on research, projects and production. Such a work period is most valuable after three to five years of professional experience, after (the last) art education. Concentration on the work, reflection and discussion are central to the residency. Residents are supported on an artistic, technical and theoretical level by internationally recognized artists, art critics, curators and other advisors. Technical specialists advise on research, experiment and production; technical facilities with a broad range are at hand. Resident artists pursue all major contemporary visual art disciplines: painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, sculpture, video, film, sound and new media, and can link up with other disciplines such as architecture, theatre, music, dance, literature and film. Applying The Rijksakademie has some fifty studios. Each year approximately twenty-five artists are selected for a residency. Artists can apply for the Residency 2007 (January – December) through the online application form. The deadline for application is 1 February 2006. More information on the residency and application, see www.rijksakademie.nl |
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| Next Show 1∞∞2 : one two infinity Claudia Pilsl : lens-based work 2002-6 25 March – 21 May 2006 Recent projects by Claudia Pilsl have almost exclusively focused on specific buildings and in particular on art galleries and museums. Bend in the River is currently looking at expanding into the vast Victorian church of St John the Divine in Gainsborough, and has commissioned Pilsl to work with the building in its current state – a redundant church and potential art space. The title of the exhibition, ‘1∞∞2 : one two infinity’, is a clever adjustment of the date St John’s opened, 1882. The three pieces she is making at St John’s (video, audio, photographs) will be juxtaposed in this exhibition with works made in the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern (2002) and at the Schweitzer Garten, the park which surrounds the Museum des Zwanzigsten Jahrhundents, the Museum of the Twentieth Century in Vienna (2005). All these works position people in relation to space in relation to architecture. In the 12-hour long video loop, people move through the cavernous Turbine Hall. The man leaning on the tree in the Schweitzer Garten is positioned between the closed modernist museum and its softened reflection. Footsteps in the dissynchronised St John’s video inhabit a space which is both present and historical. Currently based in Bristol, Claudia Pilsl graduated in 1994 and has worked throughout Europe. Exhibitions include: ‘For the Time Being: a Promise of Progress’, Victoria Baths (winner of BBC’s ‘Restoration’ programme), Manchester (group, 2004); ‘Space Encounters’, Landesgalerie am Oberosterreichischen Landesmuseum, Linz, Austria (solo, 2002); ‘Liminal/Minimal/Nominal: Architectural Traces’, Gallery Westland Place, London and John Hansard Gallery, Southampton (group, 2001). |
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| 1 January 2006 First project at St John the Divine, Gainsborough As part of the planning process which, we hope, will lead to Bend in the River expanding into the redundant church of St John the Divine, Gainsborough, BITR has commissioned a project from Austrian artist Claudia Pilsl. Funded by Gainsborough Local Alchemy (a New Economics Foundation grass-roots economic regeneration initiative), her project brief is to use the building in its current rundown state as a catalyst for artwork(s). Built in the style which has been characterised as ‘Slum Gothic’, St John’s is a vast yet unfinished building. Grand ambition opened it in 1882, high Anglicanism sustained it and stark realities closed it in 2000 – a second churchwarden could not be found among the much reduced congregation. Whether the grand restraint of an architectural solution which brilliantly balances grace and statement was achieved in spite or because of the money running out will never be known. In its heyday the juxtaposition of plain, spacious architecture with high ceremony made for a compelling aesthetic and religious experience. Claudia’s project, and those that follow, will generate new meanings and rekindle some of the warmth which attaches to the story of a significant building. |
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| Press release 16 Nov Mixed Christmas opening is extremely lively Around 250 visitors turned out on Saturday 12 November for the launch of Mixed Christmas. Numbers were boosted by the guest appearance of folk/blues guitarist Martin Simpson, who played for half an hour in the main exhibition space. The guitarist was at Bend in the River as a guest of Dizzy Gumbo, the new music shop on the first floor at no. 54. Eight artists involved in the exhibition attended, coming in from London, Dorset, Wales, Nottinghamshire and south Lincolnshire. Warm punch was served, conversation was lively and convivial, and sales good, the books and cards of Assheton Gorton attracting particular attention. The exhibition, which continues until 18 December, is open Thursday through to Sunday and can also be accessed by appointment. In addition to framed artwork on display, the gallery also has unframed work by Asif Kamal, David Willetts and Assheton Gorton. Work by Richard Devereux can also be viewed. |
