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FIRST HAND, an exhibition by /origin\forward/slash\
Sept
28
to 4 Nov
Exhibitions

FIRST HAND, an exhibition by /origin\forward/slash\

First Hand is the culmination of a three year digital placement at Flat Time House by /origin\forward/slash\, a group of artists and philosophers working together to collaboratively produce new artwork and ideas. Group members have an array of different approaches, some specialising in making, others in writing, often meeting in the hybrid space between. They are led by artist Hester Reeve and in association with the Centre for Philosophy and Art, King’s College London, and have met since 2018 to investigate the relationships between philosophical thinking and art practice.

The title of the exhibition, First Hand, refers to John Latham’s naming of his artist studio as the ‘Hand’ and the fact that this exhibition provides the first opportunity for the group to work together in person after three years online. The show includes installation, photography, video work, sculpture, digital work, painting and book-based pieces which have been developed in partnership through close discussion. Over the course of their digital placement /origin\forward/slash\ have become focused on issues of dwelling, thinking, materiality, the questioning of the domestic sphere and the objects or words we produce.

/origin\forward/slash\have used two written documents as stimulus for First Hand, both included in the show. The first is John Latham’s permanent ‘book’ sculpture, cantilevered through the facade of FTHo, which they weild as an integral aspect of the exhibition. The second is the key philosophical essay by Martin Heidegger, The Origin of the Work of Art (1950) which the group use as inspiration to move through, with and against, to locate a dialogue between members of the group. The exhibition includes contributions from dance artist Marie Hay working in collaboration with philosopher Sacha Golob, artist Mark Titmarsh with art and critical theorist Johanna Malt, artist Hester Reeve whose work has been informed by conversations with philosopher Georgios Tsagdis, and a digital contribution by artist, writer and technologist Jan Hopkins.

The exhibition will be open from the 29th of September - th 5th of November, with a preview from 6-8pm on the 28th of September. For more information, click here.

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Mindy Lee Stories from Within
May
20
to 28 May
Exhibitions

Mindy Lee Stories from Within

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Art Space Portsmouth is proud to present ‘Stories from Within’ - a solo exhibition of new paintings by London based artist Mindy Lee. This heartfelt body of work moves between everyday interactions, objects, dreams, daydreams, and memories of loved ones. Working with light stains of acrylic on transparent silk surfaces, Lee loosely depicts tales from her heart as momentary, open-ended encounters. The silks are stretched over an eclectic mix of small scale, reclaimed gold and silver frames, which act as a familiar domestic prop upon which an uncanny other world emerges.

This new body of paintings has evolved over the last couple of years.  During this time Lee attended the Waking Consciousness Seminars (Kings College, London, 2022.)  to further explore and develop a deeper understanding of what is means to be awake in relation to dreams, from the perspective of philosophy, art and science.  

The paintings move through a pivotal chapter in the artist life that echo the ebb and flow of the past few years. At the start of the pandemic Lee’s mother died whilst the world emptied out – or retreated in. Her father also died at the start of 2023. Now the tide has turned and the otherness of the world overlaps and overwrites a quieter internal place in which to dwell with family ghosts. This series of works includes imagery that re-explores her personal experiences of motherhood, parenting, guardians, play, physio, family, death, absence, and a shifting sense of self.

Lee picks apart these intimate memories, fragmenting and dissolving figures, whilst allowing invisible and intangible elements to drift into focus. This diaristic style is intercut with references to mythological tales such as Ophelia, Narcissus, Orpheus and The Three Fates and Medusa. Layering the personal and mythological allows a myriad of new reflections to unfold, between reality and fantasy, individual and collective memories, the fleeting, and re-occurring. These strangely familiar scenarios invite the viewer to imprint their own stories upon the works.

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Gauguin: The question of art and morality today
Oct
11
6:30 pm18:30
Exhibitions

Gauguin: The question of art and morality today

The National Gallery in collaboration with The Centre for Philosophy and Visual Arts at King’s College London, discuss whether we can still love the work of celebrated artists despite their immoral behaviour.

About

Gauguin’s legacy as a painter is undeniable, but his lifestyle presents a challenge to our appreciation of his greatness. To some, he was a bohemian renegade, who broke free from Europe’s bourgeois shackles in his quest for creative liberation in the South Seas. To others, he abused the myth of the noble savage, abandoning his family to satisfy his exotic fantasies, while boosting the market for his art back home.

In the wake of recent scandals, and movements such as #MeToo and #StayWoke gaining significant attention, once-admired artists, writers, actors and filmmakers have been disgraced. Can we still love the work of artists whose behaviour we loathe? Is it ever really possible for objects of beauty not to be spoiled by the dirty hands that made them? Or could Gauguin’s artistic achievements even justify what he did?

This discussion poses questions about how we can (and if we should) make such moral judgements, inviting us to reflect on our relationship to art and consider what we take to be its purpose or responsibilities. 

Speakers include Shahidha Bari, Daniel Callcut, Sacha Golob and Janet Marstine.Image: Detail from Paul Gauguin, 'Self-Portrait', 1885 © Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas (AP 1997.03)

Book tickets here

Shahidha Bari

Shahidha Bari is a writer, academic and broadcaster. She is a Fellow of the Forum for Philosophy at the London School of Economics. Bari appears regularly on BBC Radio 3's Arts and Ideas programme, 'Free Thinking', and is an occasional presenter of BBC Radio 4's 'Front Row'. Bari is currently Professor of Fashion Cultures and Histories at the London College of Fashion and is the author of 'Dressed: The Secret Life of Clothes'.

Daniel Callcut

Daniel Callcut is a freelance writer and philosopher with a wide interest in the arts. He writes for 'Prospect' magazine, 'Aeon', and 'Arts Professional'. Cambridge University Press and Routledge have published Callcut’s academic work and he is the editor of 'Reading Bernard Williams', an extensive collection of essays on one of the great philosophers of his generation.

Sacha Golob

Sacha Golob is a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at King’s College London. He is the Director of the Centre for Philosophy and Visual Arts and the Associate Editor of the British Journal for the History of Philosophy. Golob has published extensively on French and German Philosophy and the Philosophy of Art. His current research looks at contemporary conceptions of degeneration, transformation and virtue.

Janet Marstine

Janet Marstine is Honorary (Retired) Associate Professor, School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester. She writes on diverse aspects of museum ethics from codes of practice to diversity initiatives and artists’ interventions as drivers for ethical change. She is author of 'Critical Practice: Artists, museums, ethics' (Routledge 2017), among other titles, and co-editor, with Svetlana Mintcheva, of the forthcoming volume 'Curating Under Pressure: International perspectives on negotiating conflict and upholding integrity'.

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What Makes us Human: Anxiety
Jun
2
2:00 pm14:00
Exhibitions

What Makes us Human: Anxiety

Lynette Yiadom-Boayke Works on Canvas

Join an artist, a historian and a philosopher to explore representations of anxiety within the visual arts.

In the final session of this three-part series responding to the All Too Human exhibition, an artist, historian and philosopher explore the concept, experience and representation of anxiety, from the personal to the societal, within the visual arts. Speakers include poet and visual artist Heather Phillipson, art historian Caterina Albano and philosopher Aaron James Wendland. The panel discussion will be chaired by Dr. Sacha Golob from The Centre for Philosophy and the Visual Art, King's College London. Read more here.

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What Makes us Human: the Body
May
19
2:00 pm14:00
Exhibitions

What Makes us Human: the Body

Study for Portrait of Lucian Freud, 1964 (oil on canvas) by Bacon, Francis (1909-92); 198x147.8 cm; Private Collection; (add.info.: Study for Portrait of Lucian Freud. Francis Bacon (1909-1992). Oil on canvas. Painted in 1964. 198 x 147.8cm.); Photo © Christie's Images;

Whenever I really want to know what someone looks like I always ask a queer – because homosexuals are always more ruthless and more precise about appearance. After all, they spend their whole lives watching themselves and others, then pulling the way they look to pieces.

- Francis Bacon

Join artists, historians and philosophers for a discussion around the concept of the body in response to the All Too Human exhibitionIn the second of a three-part series, artists, historians and philosophers explore the concept of the body within the visual arts. How is the reality of embodiment conveyed through mediums such as photography or painting? What is the political or social significance of the bodies chosen and of their framing? And to what extent is the artistic process itself an embodied one?

The panel discussion will be chaired by Dr. Dominic Johnson with speakers including artist Michael Armitage, artist Noemi Lakmaier, philosopher Hans Maes and art historian Gregory Salter.​ The panel discussion will be chaired by Dr. Sacha Golob from The Centre for Philosophy and Art, King's College London. Read more here.

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What Makes us Human: the Gaze
May
12
2:00 pm14:00
Exhibitions

What Makes us Human: the Gaze

What is the gaze? Why does it make us aware of ourselves in an unexpected way? How does it shape our sense of who we are? What is the connection between the gaze and gender or between the gaze and objectification? Why might it be intimate, uncomfortable or disturbing to be subjected to someone’s gaze? How does the idea of the gaze change as we move from painting to photography to contemporary social media?

In this first of a three-part series responding to the All Too Human exhibition, Amalia Ulman (artist), Timothy Secret (philosopher) and Katharina Günther (art historian) will lead a discussion exploring the concept of the gaze within the visual arts, its power to objectify or be objective, create intimacy or distance. The event will be chaired by Sacha Golob, CPA Director. Join us afterwards for a discussion with the CPA team from 15.30–17.30 in the Duffield Room. This two hour seminar explores some of the key philosophical issues raised by the notion of the gaze. The first half opens with Jean-Paul Sartre's classic discussion: Sartre uses the story of a voyeur caught in the act to explore objectification and shame through the lens of the gaze. We'll examine how the gaze relates to gender and subjectivity, and we'll consider to what degree it might be a positive, as well as a negative, phenomenon. The second half broadens the discussion to look at the gaze across different formats - how should we understand it in the context of painting, photography, social media or even writing? Each session will provide a concise introduction to the core themes and their significance for philosophy and the arts. We’ll then break into smaller groups for a guided discussion in which participants can explore the ideas and develop their own take on them in relation to the exhibition and to contemporary events.  No prior knowledge is required. There will be a 10 minute interval between the two halves.The seminar will be led by Dr. Sacha Golob, Dr. Emma Syea and Vanessa Brassey from the King's College London, Centre for Philosophy and the Visual Arts. Participants will have the opportunity to contribute to a research article on the relationship between philosophy and their experience of the All Too Human exhibition.

This event is part of the three-part series: What Makes Us Human: Conversation on Art and Philosophy.

You can book tickets here.

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