The Jerwood Contemporary Painters opens tonight

Claire Pestaille, The Soldier Boys, 2006
Copyright the artist, courtesy Rokeby

The Jerwood Contemporary Painters is the newest outing of the Jerwood Foundation’s exhibitions that promotes young artists. In previous years the Jerwood Painting Prize was restricted to a handful of artists and there was one prize winner. This year however the format offers the opportunity to see work by 30 selected artists who each receive £1,000 participation fee.

The exhibition aims to promote, discover and support imaginative and vibrant practice in contemporary painting and the works are wide ranging in their approach. There is no theme, idea, tradition, or technique shared by all. However, they are united by the particular interests of the selectors: Graham Crowley; David Rayson; and Elizabeth Magill who have selected the artists on the grounds of innovation, critical content, and skill. The selectors themselves are respected artists who work within painting and who spent months pulling together a long list of artists who interest them and who represent some of the debates within the subject. Look out for Duncan Swann’s challenging and controversial work Storyteller, Adam Latham’s creamy confection in Desserted hut andClaire Pestaille’s dark fairytale triptych The soldier boys. Five artists in particular challenge our perceptions of what constitutes a painting. They do not paint in the traditional sense. Each of the artists approach their work in a painterly fashion, each is concerned with the discourse of painting. For example, Damien Roach’s River, trees, cloud, sky is essentially a pile of books. Standing back from this arrangement, you can see a very definite landscape in the colours on the spines. Roach is appropriating a different media for his work, but he treats these books like paint.

The Jerwood Contemporary Painters exhibition runs from 15 February – 31 March at the Jerwood Space, Union Street, London SE1, open 10am – 5pm weekdays and 10am – 3pm weekends. The exhibition then tours from 18 April – 18 May to Bay Arts, Cardiff, and from 30 June – 23 September to The Lowry, Salford Quays. More information: 01372 462190.

Between the Space interventions

Olivia Plender, 'Work', 2006, courtesy the artist

Between the Space is a series of visual art interventions by UK based artists Arnaud Desjardin, Olivia Plender and Jo Roberts taking place from January to April 2007 on First Great Western trains travelling between Reading and Paddington and at their respective stations.

For his project Stranger on the Train Arnaud Desjardin has taken up a transitory residency on the trains offering his services to the public as an ‘artist for engagement’. He is inviting people to book meetings with him during his journeys to discuss his practice, the practice of other artists, and most importantly the assumed and implied roles of socially engaged arts practices, where the artist is hoped to better contemporary society according to current political agendas.

Olivia Plender has gained access to First Great Western's free in-house magazine Reach, where her new cartoon, Work, has been printed. The cartoon has been produced as a result of Plender's research and engagement with staff at Reading station and extends one of her current modes of practice, the comic. The cartoon depicts a long-standing station employee, Barry, who started work for First Great Western over 17 years ago through the Conservative government’s Youth Training Scheme. The image and snippet of personal history humanizes Barry, the station employee, prompting a feeling of mutual respect between customer and service. Work also reinforces and questions our understanding of political and social responsibility.

Jo Roberts has produced a free printed booklet available at Reading and London Paddington stations for her project Back and Forth. Inspired by her time spent on the local stopper trains between Reading and Paddington, Roberts’ not only documents her observations of the geographical journey but also, and perhaps more importantly, takes note of the very personal encounters that are taking place on the trains through mobile connection in this crossover of private and public space.

To arrange a meeting with Arnaud Desjardint and make your journey more interesting text: 07804 174962.

Between the Space is curated by Erica Burton.

Tate Britain today unveiled a brand new work by Bad Boys Jake and Dinos Chapman

Jake and Dinos Chapman
When Humans walked the Earth: Instalation Shot 1 2007
© The artists, Jay Jopling/White Cube (London). Photo: Photo credit: Rod Tidnam/Tate Photography

With an exhibition currently on at Tate Liverpool the brothers should rightly be feeling very smug with themselves.

When Humans Walked the Earth is allied with their 1993 sculpture Little Death Machine (Castrated), also in the Tate Collection. Elements of the earlier piece – including a brain, milk-bottles and tools - are reproduced in bronze to create a series of impossible machines which imitate states such as breathing and thinking along with other biological states close to the Chapman’s heart, death and sex.
When Humans Walked the Earth references Dada tactics in transforming everyday objects into something that challenges conventional perception. However the objects are cast in the traditional medium of bronze undermining the scatological imagery and the artist’s rebellious streak.
When Humans Walked the Earth is on display at Tate Britain from today.

More opening this thursday

Shay Kun, copyright the artist, courtesy Seventeen Gallery.

At Dalston Kingsland Road’s friendliest of galleries Seventeen will be showing New York based Goldsmiths painter, Shay Kun (18.00 – 21.00) also that night is Lisson’s opening of work by Sean Snyder (18.00 – 20.00) at 52-54 Bell Street and Peter Joseph at number 29.

Back east and the Centre For Recent Drawing launches a solo exhibition True Love by Rachel Cattle (18.00 – 20.00) and White Cube, Hoxton Square, hosts a private view for Christian Marclay (18.00 – 20.00). Artists run space Bartletts group exhibition Why We Are Ourselves opens late till 22.00 and further east Terrace Studios has a group show of three Glasgow College of Art students, 100 Years too Early, 100 Years too late (18.00 – 21.00). If you head south the South London Gallery exhibition of John Armleder also opens on Thursday.

For the start of the weekend both MOT and Cell Project Space both have openings. MOT hosts Good Riddance an interesting looking group show (18.30 – 21.00) and Cell Project Space launches another group show SNAP (18.30 – 21.30).

To round of your night how about AMP + Resurrection Project presents: BACK 2 HACKNEY, featuring:Richard Niman, Mark Jones, Raul Pina, Le Roy Monde, Cedric Christie, Oliver Dungey, Velika Janceva, Gavin Turk, Simon Ould, Mandy McCartin, Homer. R Turdcup, Tony Brennan, Calum F. Kerr, Paul Sakoilsky, Paul Gildea and more, from 18.30 – 21.00 at AMP, 255 Mare Street.

A week of openings around London

We thought it would be useful to list a selection of the best openings and private views at London galleries, so without further ado, here is this weeks listings.



Photograph courtesy Clara Molden

Opening tonight – 23.-01.2007 is Canal at PEER. During January and February 2007, Canal is hosted by Peer where three events will take place. Starting with: Phyllida Barlow presents: A Man Escaped (1956) by Robert Bresson. This is followed by a short reading, 'How to make (or artist as hostage)' which starts at 20.00. Also tonight is Ice Trade, curated by Matt Packer and Kim Dhillon at Chelsea Space (18.00 – 20.30). Stephen Friedman Gallery hosts Memory and Obsession, a group show with a private view between 18.30 and 20.30.
Wednesday 24.01.2007 is the opening of May the Twelfth, a group show at Store , 18.30 and 20.30. Followed on Thursday by opening s of work by Nina Gehl at Trolley (18.30 – 21.00), Caro Neiderer at Hauser and Wirth (18.00 – 20.00) 6-8pm, Abstract Things, at Laura Bartlett from 18.00 – 20.00 and one not to miss at White Cube’s Mason’s Yard: Anselm Kiefer from 18.30 – 20.30.
The same night sees David Ben White open Studio 1.1 (18.00 – 21.00) and young painter Lee Maelzer at Museum 52 (18.00 – 21.00).
On Friday 26.01 there are two eastend events in the form of a screening of Forrest by Brock Enright and Ivan Hurzeler at Keith Talent from 18.30 and Carcus, group show at V22 Ashwin Street, 18.00 – 21.00.
Next week Discksmith opens a solo exhibition of work by Meiro Koizumi on Wednesday (31.01.2207, 18.00 – 20.00) and Emma Hill Eagle Gallery launches the group show Slippery Slope the same night (18. 30 - 20.30).

Turner Prize moves

When Tomma Abts won the Turner Prize this year some claimed that it was about time a woman and a painter won; it is nearly a decade since this happened.



Tomma Abts, Sebo 2002
Gaby and Wilhelm Schurmann © Copyright the artist
Acrylic and oil on canvas, 48 x 38 cm

It is an exciting move for Liverpool to be host to the Turner Prize the year before the city is named European Capital of Culture. Though some cynics may argue that the move is a nod on behalf of the Tate to buzz words such as diversity and access or that it will increase numbers to the small sister of Britain and Modern or even that it will redirect criticism that the Tate is Londoncentric. Whatever your argument the Turner Prize will be missed by London.
The work of the prize’s four short-listed artists will go on display at Tate Liverpool’s Albert Dock gallery from Oct. 19, 2007 to Jan. 13, 2008. The jury of judges has been announced and includes the mighty Thelma Golden, director and chief curator at the Studio Museum, Harlem; Fiona Bradley, director of the Fruit Market Gallery in Edinburgh; critic Michael Bracewell; and broadcaster and writer Miranda Sawyer. Tate Liverpool director Christoph Grunenberg will be chairman of the jury.