(Above) Matt Calderwood, Double Ladder (Cross) (2009). Courtesy the artist
Exhibition: Quiet Revolution, Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston, September 19-November 12 2009
"There's no way I could pick a favourite," insists curator Chris Fite-Wassilak, dissecting his Quiet Revolution exhibition.
"They're all little experiments and they all add something to the whole thing. I dare people to try and make a rectangle out of 10kg of flour like I've had to do with Joelle Tuerlinckx's work, though. It's not as easy as you think."
Starring seven international artists, this playful show of "sculptural doodles" beat 80 entries to win the Southbank Centre's Hayward Curatorial Open.
Preston, where Fite-Wassilak is currently busy installing the pieces, is the second stop on an opening tour which started at Milton Keynes Gallery in July, using brooms, string, hula hoops, buckets and mirrors.
Matt Calderwood, Some Things Just Work (2004). Courtesy the artist
"I'd been noticing a certain kind of work that I was trying to put my finger on," says the Dublin-based comic book editor and writer.
"They had a tone of fun and experimentation about them. The Open presented an opportunity to put an ambitious group show together.
"I can't separate my surprise from my excitement at winning – the panel was unanimous in going with my proposal apparently, which is amazing considering the number of submissions they received."
Alice Channer, Peach New Look (2008). Courtesy the artist
He says the process of realising the plan was "a different, more churning" thrill, relying on his artists to trust his positioning of their work.
"It's been amazing working with them," he reflects. "What I saw in common in their work has translated to some real personal connections. I'm in effect acting on their behalf in the placement of each work, ensuring that it works with its context and surroundings in the right way.
"Each artist has a keen and acute sense of placement and a highly sensitive instinct, and I want that to come through when I bring them all together."
As well as Belgian Turlinckx's flour, exhibits include tools tied together by Matt Calderwood, gravity-defying patterns from Alice Channer and contributions from Icelandic, Irish and American improvisers.
"They use non-art materials, but don't dwell on that as a witticism in itself," warns Fite-Wassilak.
"The act of putting these objects in the gallery isn't an end for these artists. It's more an incessant exploration – a process of finding, making, ongoing experimentation and feeling."
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