A sort of night to the mind, a kind of night for our thoughts: materiality and illusion in contemporary painting

This project emerged from my interest in the materiality of painting. Initial research identified artists with broad and contrasting approaches to surface application, media, materials, process and transformation. Co-curator Moyra Derby and myself observed that there has been little recent examination of the production and application of the painterly surface. \n \nAs artist-curator I aimed to approach artists' work from a position of questioning and provocation, addressing practical activity with the same close scrutiny as description and ideas. Within the curatorial process key issues regarding approaches to painterly application were discussed, with each curator making a distinct contribution. My own selection of artists was made with specific reference to how artists utilised applications such as print, collage, stenciling, appropriation and computer generation. The majority of London-based artists were identified and approached by me as part of the research, and my role also included arranging the touring venues, formulating the artwork and artist details for the exhibition catalogue, and editing the publication. \n \nThe resulting exhibition of 23 UK-based artists identified a group of contemporary practitioners whose practice explores ideas of materiality and illusion and who in many ways exemplify the current state of painting in the UK. The group included key contemporary painters such as Nigel Cooke, Varda Caivano, Phillip Allen, Phoebe Unwin and Claude Heath, among others. \n \nTouring the exhibition to Germany in November 2011 became an important aspect of this project, because of the rich and diverse history of painting within Germany, and Stuttgart specifically, where different ideas, processes and practices within painting are explored. The reaction to and interpretation of the works in this context became a key factor in our analysis and theoretical development. \n \nArtary Gallery, Stuttgart and Arch 402 Gallery, London funded the exhibition's tour and catalogue. Further funding was received from Southampton University and UCA.