Parasol unit
14 Wharf Road
London
Greater London
N1 7RW
England
Website
Telephone
020 7490 7373
Fax
020 7490 7775
Parasol unit foundation for contemporary art is a not-for-profit exhibition space devoted to promoting contemporary art for the benefit of the public. The core activity of Parasol unit is an outstanding exhibition programme which shows innovative and thought-provoking work by international contemporary artists. The foundation mounts three to four exhibitions a year in a variety of media: sculpture, painting, installation, video and photography, including some specifically commissioned works. Most of the exhibitions are accompanied by a publication, an artist's monograph or catalogue, which is distributed worldwide.
Venue Type:
Gallery
Intercapillary Places: Common Presence
Philosopher and poet Peter Larkin will present a ‘dense phenomenological incitement of trees’
theologian and poet John Milbank will explore his idea of the ‘spiritual crust’ in a talk on ‘The Eight Diagonals’.
Suitable for
When
7-8pm
Admission
Tickets £5/£4 concessions
Sunday Family Workshop: Textures of Paint
Join artist educator Alexandra Hughes to experiment with different textures of paint, mixing in dust, glue and saw-dust, and playing with ways of applying paint onto manipulated paper and canvas surfaces.
Suitable for 5 – 15 year olds
Suitable for
- Family friendly
When
2:30-4pm
Admission
£5 per Family
Artist talk: Merlin James
Exhibiting artist Merlin James will introduce his art criticism and research in relation to his work as a painter. Glasgow-based James has exhibited nationally and internationally for two decades, and continues to lecture and write widely on the subject of painting.
Suitable for
When
7-8pm
Admission
Tickets £6/£5 concessions
Storytelling Family Workshop: Magic Windows
Merlin James finds it 'amusingly difficult' to give his paintings titles. Come and help writer/poet Francesca Beard create the perfect names for the pieces in Merlin's new exhibition, unlocking the hidden tales within each canvas.
Suitable for 5 – 15 year olds
Suitable for
When
2:30-4pm
Admission
£5 per Family
Configuring the Potential: A Response to MERLIN JAMES
An evening exploring themes of memory, tradition and structure, with participatory performance Live Diagramming (2012- ) by artist & writer Lisa Skuret, and improvised sonic over-layering performance by music collective Automatic Writing Circle. Curated by Louise O'Kelly and Fatos Ustek.
Suitable for
When
7-8pm
Admission
Tickets £6/£5 concessions
Sunday Family Workshop: Compositions of an Excursion
Join artist educator Nicola Pomery for a local excursion to document the surrounding area and source found-objects. Back at the gallery participants will piece together fragments of the urbanscape, nature and people they have recorded, transforming their journey into new compositions.
Suitable for 5 – 15 year olds
Suitable for
- Family friendly
When
2:30-4pm
Admission
£5 per Family
Adult workshop: Acrylic painting with artist Anna Ilsley
This painting workshop will explore traditional and contemporary techniques for applying and layering acrylic paint, adopting an intuitive approach to composition and perspective. Suitable for all levels.
Suitable for
When
3-4:30pm
Admission
Tickets £10 per person, materials provided but participants are welcome to bring their own.
Spaces limited, booking essential.
MERLIN JAMES
Parasol unit foundation for contemporary art presents the work of Welsh painter Merlin James from 6 June to 10 August 2013, focusing on a selection of works from his early career in the 1980s to the present. This will be the artist’s first major solo exhibition in a London institution.
James’ somewhat enigmatic paintings address a vast and eclectic range of subject matter and richly metaphoric imagery. What they frequently have in common is their modest scale, highly-considered composition and a seeming effortlessness of execution. James' works interrogate traditional approaches to painting, often actively integrating the physicality of the canvas and stretcher into the composition, as well as incorporating dust, glue or debris into the surface. James at times cuts holes in, or adds three-dimensional objects to, the work.
Although James’ draws on the 'golden age' of modern painting, and paintings by lesser known modern artists, to dwell excessively on James' sources would be to miss altogether the intensity of the viewing experience and the ensuing intellectual challenges his work offers.
Born in Cardiff, Wales, in 1960, Merlin James studied in London at the Central School of Art and the Royal College of Art. He currently lives and works in Glasgow, Scotland.
Suitable for
- Family friendly
