SS Blue Jacket
BERYL COOK, PETER LANYON, SHANA MOULTON, EDWARD STEIN, LUCY STEIN, MERLIN JAMES, ROBERT LENKIEWICZ, SIMON BAYLISS, SIMON FUJIWARA
Curated by Simon Bayliss & Lucy Stein
05.12.13 - 08.12.13
Painters Lucy Stein and Simon Bayliss became friends whilst living on the West Coast of Ireland, and both possess strong ties to the South West of England. Their ongoing conversation about art which plumbs the depths, baring an artist’s psyche and heritage, has given way to this exhibition. An anchor for thought has been their erotically charged interpretation of this curious - one could say fishy - local tale. The bizarre but tender account of SS Blue Jacket aptly describes the romantic struggle they experience as painters, when instinctively pursuing an inevitable image.
The emphasis within this multi-generational exhibition is painting; the sea and the West Country coast serve as a grand backdrop or animistic force behind the artists’ practices. Art-world notions of insider or outsider, high or low, old or new, have been eroded in the tidal-wash, replaced by an atavistic engagement with sexuality, the genius loci (spirit of place), and the personal mythologies of the artists involved.
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Catalogue
The accompanying catalogue has been designed by graphic artist Rupert Gowar-Cliffe, who regularly produces publications for a variety of art organisations including Tate, The V & A and the Royal Academy. It includes a ’conversation’ between Stein and Bayliss which outlines the themes of the exhibition, based on the personal discussions which sparked it. Also included are commissioned essays in response to the project, by Gimpel Fils gallerist René Gimpel and Glasgow-based writer Rachal Bradley.
To purchase a catalogue please email info@karst.org.uk
Retail price £7.