joseph scissorhands: Lineages

Golnaz Fathi - Untitled (19), 2012

"People mistake the character of line for the character of art. But it's really the position of line that's important..." — Roy Lichtenstein.

A really interesting proposition for an exhibition this, a gathering together of a group of disparate artists working in different disciplines, and an examination of the way in which they each use the formal artistic element of line to produce such varied outcomes. Whether it be drawn, painted, sculptural, collaged or woven, line is manifest, the common thread which binds and runs throughout the art in this exhibition. I am familiar with the work of El Anatsui and his magnificent woven metal cloth hangings but all of the other artists were unfamiliar to me, and what a joy it was to discover them and their work. A particular favourite here were the sculptural works of Eleanor Lakelin who works with wood, discovering and exploiting the natural linear rings which cover the surface and run beneath the bark to create ethereal, tactile vessels and portals of burr. The waves of organic lines found on her vessel entitled Landscape are reminiscent of the concentric rings of isobars on maps. It was one of my favourite pieces in the exhibition. Her stark white piece entitled Untitled (Gateway), was another favourite, really reminiscent of the delicate plaster works of sculptor Maria Bartuszová (here). The work of textile artists and works woven on the loom have informed some of my recent work, and I was very much impressed with the woven hangings of Bev Burkow on display which relate to and appear to be in dialogue with the metal bottle top fabrics of El Anatsui exhibited in another room. Butkow's experimental works investigate how we as people walk on this earth alone or in communities. They represent the formal artistic qualities of colour, texture and form just as strongly as they do line. Butkow's main weaving here looks like a map of different land masses. Golnaz Fathi's lyrical abstractions fall between the two camps of abstract expressionism and classical Persian calligraphy. I studied graphic design at the start of my career so I was naturally attracted to the expressive mark-making resembling that of text. Bold blocks of colour sit in the background effaced by dynamic black calligraphic brushstrokes which dance energetically across the picture surface, They are tempered by finer, more considered rhythmic lines which flow in waves across the canvas. My last mention goes to Susanne Kessler who like myself works with papers and thread amongst other media. With her paper collage works Kessler's spatial drawings treat line as a site of memory and mobility. In some pieces they are dense, knotted tangles of thread and paper resembling to my eyes at least, automatic writing and pieces of text written without conscious intention. In other pieces such as Thames in Motion: line and Current, they flow freely, meandering across the wall of the gallery relating a story like a smaller version of the Bayeux Tapestry. Again I think this is a wonderful premise for an exhibition, and one which has been really well curated.