Eye Play: an exhibition via My Space

Connections 1
copyright Trevor Price

While at the Bankside Gallery on Wednesday I talked to award-winning artist Frank Kiely who works there part-time. He told me about a new exhibition he is curating with two other people - Bula Chakravarty and Temsuyanger Longkumer.

The three curators have hired the Bankside Gallery for the exhibition. They've also decided to develop a 'home' page on My Space for their "Eye Play" exhibition. This is helping to raise its profile and get the word out (I love the fact that it's birth sign is Virgo!)

Eye Play
A playground for the latest Prints in Town.
29th Aug - 9th Sept 2007
Curated by Bula Chakravarty Agbo, Frank Kiely & Temsuyanger Longkumer.
@ Bankside Gallery, 48 Hopton Streen, London SE1 9JH

I've heard previously about people using My Space to create an awareness of their art - but this is the first time I've seen it done really effectively for an exhibition. According to the My Space site it's an exhibition of prints featuring established and up-coming artists bringing a wide genre of images from the traditional to the contemporary expertise of printmaking.

Athena
copyright Ruth Uglow

Frank told me that the artists involved in EyePlay have mainly been nominated by each of the curators plus they accepted a small number of emailed submissions after fellow artists heard about the show through word of mouth.

Frank and his fellow curators considered each artists work carefully so they could achieve their aim of having a show showing the full diversity of artists working in print. Not all the artists are printmakers. Some are illustrators, painters, digital artist, video and installation artists who also use printmaking in their art making.

The curators have been able to attract the support of Norman Ackroyd RA who encourages exhibitions that boost the importance of printmaking as an art form. Norman Ackroyd is a Senior Academician and hung the the Print Room at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition this year.

Hollow Floor
Copyright Andrew Turnbull

The contributors to the show are mixed. They include many established RWS and RE members in the show who are happy to support this exciting exhibition. There are also some graduates of the Royal College of Art (both Kiely and Temsuyanger are RCA graduates) and graduates of the Camberwell Art College and other different colleges in the UK and abroad plus one artist without formal training.

One of the interesting things the curators noticed while putting the exhibition together is that 95% of the artists have some sort of connection with South London. Many of the participating artists live there, some went to college there while others run galleries in south London. Is this the beginning of a South London Print Movement?

It's great to see emerging artists really using the facilities at their disposal - both 'bricks and mortar' and online - to promote a gallery perspective on the sort of work which they want to promote. Good to see that they've also managed to get the support of a senior Academician which helps lend credibility to the quality of their show.

I've now got an invite to the Private View on 29th August!

Links:

• Eye Play - on My Space
  
• Bankside Gallery
• Making A Mark: Frank Kiely - an irish artist in London
• Making A Mark: Royal Society of Painter-Printmarkers - Annual Exhibition 2007 (at which Frank won a prize)