GALLEON
AND OTHER STORIES
The Saatchi Gallery is to open a new exhibition called Galleon and Other
Stories on 6 July 2004, the centrepiece of which will be a forty-foot
galleon by British artist Brian Griffiths. Titled Beneath The Stride of
Giants, the sculpture was created by assembling old furniture found in
skips and markets around South London. This enormous craft is of such
nautical stature and scale that you could feasibly imagine it sailing
away. Despite being crafted from Edwardian tallboys, Victorian bureaus,
architectural cornices and the like, it would not, at first glance, look
out of place in a maritime museum.
The new show
features recently acquired works with strong narrative themes and continues
to focus upon new and emerging talent from the UK and international art
scene.
It includes:
• Brood
by Kate MccGwire – an installation composed of over twenty two thousand
chicken wishbones that took over eight months to collect and over two
weeks to install in the Gallery. MccGwire is a student at the Royal College
of Art and showed Brood for her diploma show last month.
• Five of the world’s most exciting new international painters
in the Gallery’s Boiler Room – Hernan Bas, Hiroshi Sugito,
Dana Schutz, Tilo Baumgartel, John Kørner.
• Conrad Shawcross’s Light Perpetual 1 – Comprising
of an articulated arm, with a single light bulb on its end, rotating at
a speed of 200rpm to create a maniacally twisting beam. Displayed in a
darkened gallery, its luminous patterns blast through its wire cage onto
the walls to create wildly flickering shadows.
• Mally Mallinson’s JFC Bible Burgers – a fast food
epiphany. Inspired by the recent crusader-like conversion of East End
shop fronts to an army of Perfect Fried Chicken franchises, Mallinson
plays on the yob culture of chip bar worship and neo nazi-ism: His traditional
African American and Arabic snacks re-appropriated as a staple diet for
a cartoon militia of blue-eyed Klan hoods.
• Three works by Anne Chu, one of New York’s new art stars.
Drawing her inspiration from historical sculptures such as funerary carvings
from the Hang Dynasty or the medieval friezes at Chartres, Anne Chu’s
version of history is more akin to fairytale.
The Gallery is featuring individual rooms by some of the highest profile,
influential painters in the world, including Luc Tuymans, Marlene Dumas,
Martin Kippenberger, and Peter Doig.
Younger international
stars like Daniel Richter, Tal R, Michael Raedecker, and Berlinde de Bruckyere
are also being shown in individual display rooms.
The Rotunda Gallery will also continue to house some of the most iconic
works by the Chapman Brothers, Tracey Emin, Chris Ofili, Damien Hirst,
Sarah Lucas, Ron Mueck, and Jenny Saville.
Since its
launch in April 2003, the Saatchi Gallery has attracted over 750,000 visitors,
including over 500 school groups. Its aim is to introduce contemporary
art to a wider and more diverse audience and to broaden its interest and
appeal.
The Saatchi Gallery now opens till 8.00pm every night with two late nights
on Friday and Saturday when the gallery remains open until 10.00pm.
PREVIEWS: BY APPOINTMENT
PRESS OPEN DAY 10am-4pm on 6 JULY, PRIVATE PARTY 6-9pm on 6 JULY
OPENS TO THE PUBLIC 7 JULY
www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk
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