Helen Beard: It's Her Factory

I Reflect On My Reflection, 2019

October as usual proves to be a busy month in London's art calendar, kick-started by the arrival of Frieze. The smaller galleries though have been pulling out all the stops to compete. I did the rounds of of some of the shows of course, and first stop was Unit London to see more of the colour saturated paintings of Helen Beard - a veritable pornucopia of smut. The works consisted of singles, couples and the odd threesome tirelessly working their way through every concievable combination of coitus worthy of any well-thumbed copy of the Kama Sutra. The colours Beard employs are lovely, and are a definate strength in these works along with the textural paint strokes which make up the surface. I think the smaller, more abstract pieces worked better however, and it's difficult to see where Beard can take and develop these explicit pieces further. This said, the less explicit It's Her Factory 2019, painting channelling the collages of Matisse works, as it is less overt and reliant on the explicitness of porn. Beard claims to be subverting pornography by taking back ownership from the predominently male gaze. I am not so convinced, given that most of the pictures contain single women pleasuring themselves, or couples engaged in girl-on-girl action, which is apparently exactly what the majority heterosexual 'male gaze' fantasy wants to look at in porn. I would argue that if Beard wants to subvert pornography she would turn to the work of female directors of pornography for her subject matter whose work is more sympathetic to the female gaze. There were some interesting aspects of her oeuvre that I had not seen before here at this exhibition though such as the tapestries which translate and adapt to the colour fields of her paintings really well. The vibrators with little colourful, crocheted hats as sculptural wall installations were very arch, and fun too.

 Her Corporeal Appetite, 2019

 Take Good Care of Yourself, 2019

The Blue Monarch, 2019

 Systemic Totem, 2019

 The Seducer, 2019

Royal Flush, 2019

 Inside Straight, 2019

 Remember Me As A Sunny Day, 2019

 Study for Sheela-na-gig, 2019

 Study For Big Night In, 2019

Tender Pink, 2019

 I'm into you, are you into me? 2009

 New Beginnings, 2019

Hercules, 2014

It's Her Factory, 2019

Helen Beard: It's Her Factory
ended on 6th October
Unit London
3 Hanover Square
Mayfair 
London

Halima Cassell: Eclectica-Global Inspirations/Virtues of Unity

I only discovered the very sculptural ceramics of Halima Cassell earlier this year whilst visiting the large ceramics department of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The piece below sits next to the wonderful looping work of Merete Rasmussen (here), and immediately spoke to me. I enjoy both her technique and process, which I don't believe I have encountered in ceramics before. I homed in on its deeply, decoratively carved surface, which was reminiscent to my eyes of the carvings found on buildings in certain ancient cultures. The carving (done whilst the clay is nearly dried out), on Cassell's vessels is rhythmic and structured, utilising the poetries of geometry and symmetry. This technique produces complex patterns in her physically sculptural works, which in part resemble Islamic architectural structures. It also resembles elements found in the body like ribs, or the spine, and organic structures from nature based on the Golden Ratio or Fibonacci sequences.

 Halima Cassell - Dark Trivalve, 2008, V&A Museum

I was curious and eager to see more of Cassells's work, and as luck would have it, on one of my regular visits to Manchester, I was delighted to discover the exhibition Halima Cassell: Eclectica-Global Inspirations and Virtues of Unity at the Manchester Art Gallery. It is a stunning one-woman show, showcasing the whole of her current oeuvre in clay, stone, bronze and wood. The works of both Cassell and Rasmussen have given me a new appreciation of the skills and versatility of ceramic artists.

After visiting Cassell's exhibition I went upstairs to see the showcase of Nordic Craft and Design, and couldn't help but be struck by the obvious similarities in complex, sculptural, geometrical forms in her work and those of the designers of Nordic lighting such as Poul Henningsen, Jørn Utzen, Poul Christiansen and Simon Karkov, featured below. 

At the side entrance to the art gallery is this wonderfully patterened, towering totem pole-like construction of Cassell's entitled Fan Construction, which again was covered in rich, rhythmic, geometric decorative detail. The form of Fan Construction invites comparison with Brancusi's Enless Column, but differentiates itself through the addition of the lovely patterns carved onto its surface. Below is a short video in which Cassell discusses her Kashmiri/Mancunian roots, as well as the development of her work and creative processes.

Halima Cassell: Eclectica Global Inspirations/Virtues of Unity
until 5th January 2020
Manchester Art Gallery
Mosley Street
Manchester

Chris Perani: Butterflies Through Other Eyes #49

Couldn't resist following the last post on Damien Hirst's butterfly mandalas with these amazingly detailed microscopic macro photograhs of the colourful, irridescent scales on actual butterfly wings captured by Chris Perani.