(Above) Bernd Ribbeck, Untitled (2009). Indian ink / paper. Courtesy the artist & Alison Jacques, London
Exhibition: The Long Dark, Kettle's Yard, Cambridge, until September 19 2010
The nine artists in this exhibition share a peculiar fascination with the Middle Ages, so it’s no wonder that the enduring influence of Medievalism is to be found in many of the works on show.
Featuring a wide variety of media including sculpture, painting, photography and print, The Long Dark seems to reclaim as well as draw influences from the art of the Middle Ages.
At the vanguard stands John Ruskin's 1853 essay, On the Nature of Gothic Architecture, audaciously championing the qualities of workmanship and artistic liberty in a Gothic style.
Maria Loboda, Objects of Everyday Life (2009). Courtesy schleicher+lange, Paris
At a time when British architecture and the decorative arts are being incessantly remodelled by modern, mechanical methods of production, it's interesting to return to Ruskin and his portrayal of the art of designing buildings as a purely "political" art.
However, the sculptural work of Eva Berendes queue jumps to the front of this quirky display, by focusing visitors' attention on the formal language of early 20th century geometric abstract painting.
Her spray-painted textiles, hung from the gallery ceiling are like medieval banners that reflect on current fashions in applied art and design.
Alexandra Bircken's woven screens and Maria Loboda's "poisonous" wall drawings follow and exploit a wide range of techniques and materials to conjure a mixture of visual and cultural references ranging from harlequins and new age mysticism to Gothic architecture and constructivist patterns.
Peter Linde Busk, My Heart is a Kingdom, Where the King is Hurt (2010). Mixed media on canvas on board. Galleri Christina Wilson
As the journey through this exhibition advances, materials and imagery appear thickly layered or collaged. Raphael Danke’s prints captivate the eye by reproducing the effects of strong light on single magazine pages, which then seem to merge with ambiguous, spectral results.
Peter Linde Busk's collaged photographic paintings can also cause confusion. Featuring fragments of other drawings, paintings and etchings, they offer rich veils full of ornamental and figurative forms.
"I develop every photograph just once," says the artist, "like seeing it for a moment, against the sun, blinking."
Alexandra Bircken, Receptor (2009). Wool, fibre, stainless steel, rubber. Image: Herald St, London
Bernd Ribbeck's geometric compositions on the other hand involve several applications of paint or ink which are then scraped back or washed away to combine the progressive vocabulary of Modernism with the patina of antiquity.
Kalin Lindena's "flags" continue this process of merging with items of mass produced clothing, salvaged fragments of coloured glass and welded steel whilst Simon Bill's oval paintings bring a pop sensibility to heraldic composition.
Curated by Michelle Cotton and originally commissioned by Manchester’s International 3, The Long Dark is a pleasing meander through the meanings and style of medieval art.
Admission free. Open 11.30am – 5pm Tuesday – Sunday (also Bank Holiday Monday). Visit the exhibition online for more details and video interviews with Michelle Cotton, Alexandra Bircken, Kalin Lindena and Maria Loboda.
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