Kaleidoscope - Saatchi Gallery · the fine arts, literature, and poetry. Rhythm is very important. I am interested in the psychological effects that repetition can trigger”Tillman

- Introduction

- Overview: Kaleidoscope

- Exhibition floorplan

- Room by room guide

- Talking Points

- Artists by Theme

- Practical Activities

- Glossary of terms

Kaleidoscope

Introduction to the Gallery

The Saatchi Gallery is a contemporary art gallery.

These artworks are at the cutting edge of contemporary art.

Many of the exhibited artists have never previously shown in the UK. They may be unknown when first exhibited, not only to the general public but also to the commercial art world.

These artists are subsequently offered shows by galleries and museums internationally. To this effect, the gallery operates as a springboard for young artists to launch their careers.

The Gallery presents 3-4 new exhibitions per year.

Overview of the Exhibition: KaleidoscopeKaleidoscope will showcase 9 artists, whose work spans a variety of media andmaterials, ranging from large scale installation to painting to photography. Theexhibition as a whole will offer audience members the opportunity to exploreand engage with new works and a number of young artists, some of whomhave only just graduated. The exhibition offers an exciting mixture ofcontemporary artists from around the world.

The exhibition will itself feature a large scale, walk-in kaleidoscope, created byartist Laura Buckley. Alluring yet perplexing, Buckley’s tunnel style installationinvites the audience to enter into the heart of the work with its reflectiveinterior, varying imagery and endless audio. Other works include photographsby Pierre Carreau, which explore light and refraction through brightly chargedimages of tidal waves, and Mia Feuer’s sculptural manifestations of post-natural scenic landscapes, plus paintings by Whitney Bedford, FlorenceHutchings and Tom Howse, and illustrations by Peter Linde Busk. Additionallyceramic and mixed media 3D sculptures form part of the exhibition inBenedetto Pietromarchi’s and Tillman Kaiser’s work.

Kaleidoscope will explore the variations of human awareness, ranging fromseemingly normal domestic spaces, to unsettled nautical vistas, to utterabstraction. Kaleidoscope will likewise offer students from all disciplines of Artand Design an opportunity to engage with a variety of different processesrelevant to their own methods of making.

Kaleidoscope features the work of 9 artists:Laura Buckley, Whitney Bedford, Pierre Carreau, Benedetto Pietromarchi,Florence Hutchings, Tom Howse, Peter Linde Busk, Mia Feuer, Tillman Kaiser.

Kaleidoscope will feature the following themes:

• Identity (Buckley/ Hutchings/ Howse/ Linde Busk) self, personality, image, history, family, place, hidden, true, past, future, age, traits

• Colour (Buckley/ Carreau/ Bedford/ Pietromarchi/ Hutchings/ Howse/ Linde Busk/ Feuer/ Kaiser) tones, hues, tint, shade, blush, range, extremes, fluorescent, dull, bright, brilliant

• The domestic space (Hutchings/ Howse) home, domicile, habitat, belongings, items, clothes, space, location, familiarity

• Reflections (Buckley/ Carreau/ Kaiser) images, likenesses, echoes, mirrors, truths, lies, society, reproductions, thoughts, themes

• Shape (Buckley/ Pietromarchi/ Feuer/ Kaiser) flat, round, form, angular, sharp, soft, deliberate, accidental

• Nature (Carreau/ Bedford/ Pietromarchi/ Feuer) animals, botany, the elements, natural forms, environment, water, landscape

Overview of the Exhibition: Kaleidoscope

GROUND FLOOR: KALEIDOSCOPEG1: LAURA BUCKLEY *this room will contain flashing lights and imagery

G2: WHITNEY BEDFORD/ PIERRE CARREAU/ BENEDETTO PIETROMARCHIG3: FLORENCE HUTCHINGSG4: TOM HOWSE/ PETER LINDE BUSK/ MIA FEUERG5: TILLMAN KAISER

FIRST FLOOR:G6-G8: CARMIGNAC PHOTOJOURNALISM AWARD: 'ARCTIC: NEW FRONTIER' BY YURI KOZYREV AND KADIR VAN LOHUIZEN(https://www.saatchigallery.com/art/carmignac_2019.php)

G10: JEAN-FRANCOIS BOCLE

Map

Gallery 1- LAURA BUCKLEY*

• Buckley’s Fata Morgana combines installation and video

• The piece is totally immersive, being made up of bothendless visuals and an accompanying soundtrack whichleaps through human, mechanical and natural sounds

• The viewer’s need to understand the swirling mass ofimage and sound becomes part of the kaleidoscope’sappeal

• Buckley seems to use the audience as ‘persons againstpixels’, as part of her ongoing exploration of digitalimage-making

• The smooth, mirrored surfaces of the tunnel’s interioramplify the audience’s participation in the piece, sothat they are sucked in further and further

• The seemingly endless formation of geometric shapesand colours emphasises a playful element to the work

• She creates abstract moments by combing naturalsounds and images with fabricated ones

“My work with moving image comes from a backgroundin painting and installation. I aim to engage the viewer ina basic way through sound, light, pattern, movement, totake them on a sensual journey”. Laura Buckley

*Please note this room will contain flashing lights and imagery. Entry into the installation is FREE for school groups but queues are likely. Please plan your time in

the gallery accordingly.

Whitney Bedford• Bedford works within a classic, historical

framework of marine landscape painting butinfuses her images with fierce, intense colours,which act to overturn tradition. As a result hybridimages are created, showing bold and illuminatedemotion

• The paintings themselves are made up of layers ofink and oil paint on top of refined pencil drawings.Bedford has deliberately applied the ink and paintin explosive layers to emphasis action

• The bright colours add a contemporary explosivepull, with contrast key to the artists work. Bedforddescribes this as “romantic destruction” inresponse to themes such as natural landscapes,digitalisation, transportation and consumerism

Gallery 2 – BEDFORD/ CARREAU/ PIETROMARCHI

Pierre Carreau• Carreau’s Aqua Viva series, floats somewhere

between hyperrealism and painting with its sharpphotographic style

• The artist moved with his family to St. Barthelemy inthe Caribbean in 2004, where the small paradisebecame his open air studio

• Carreau sees the goal of his work to “transfer thewaves’ energy to those who view them. Water isamazing, basically it has no colour, but throughreflection and refraction it can possess all of them, theentire spectrum of light” Pierre Carreau

• There is a sculptural quality to his photographs, whichhe describes as “liquid sculptures”. This is achievedthrough the play of light on the curves of the waterssurface

Benedetto Pietromarchi• Pietromarchi’s sculptural work investigates the

relationship between nature and pretence, biology andstructure. He is interested in how these ideas areprocessed and perceived by the audience and how theaudience is influenced by their own cultures, historiesand present circumstances

• Since 2009, Pietromarchi has been exploring the field of‘Psychogeography’: an area of geography investigatinghow geographical environment affects the behaviour ofindividuals

• Pietromarchi says “The idea of creating balance and acontrast between materials is a recurrent theme in mysculpture”

• Benedetto Pietromarchi sculptures are both beautifuland bizarre

• Florence Hutchings is a young, exciting, emerging artist currently undertakinga Painting degree at Slade School of Fine Art. She was recently awarded theLynn Painters Stainers Prize (2016-2019)

• Her work is known for showcasing bold, colourful, and playful interiorsdepicting tables, chairs, and other domestic configurations

• This particular series of work started with a body of A6 chair drawings.Working from life, Hutchings produced them in her London flat emphasisingthe space around the subject matter, showing a particular interest for boththe positive and negative space which exists within the domestic space

• She initially focused on working in an abstract style but has developed aninterest in more recognisable items and imagery

• In order to retain a sense of ambiguity when translating her original studiesof chairs into large-scale paintings, she particularly focused on using colour,texture, and form

• Hutchings references Matisse, the Cobra Group, and Pierre Bonnard asinspirations

• Her paintings create an environment of flamboyant nostalgia based on theordinary

• The repetitive subject matter and abstracted forms bleed into one another,allowing the viewer to explore their own observations of domesticity

Gallery 3- FLORENCE HUTCHINGS

Gallery 4- HOWSE/LINDE BUSK/ FEUER Tom Howse• Howse explores our domestic settings against our methods of

understanding the complexities of nature, humans and the universe

• He is interested in how humans are often drawn to cosmological explanations (like horoscopes) and folklore to sooth a fear of the unknown

• Reality and fantasy co-exist in Howse’s paintings• Each painting has a single narrative that ‘the viewer is forced to

confront’• Flat planes of colour and shape allow for a feeling of moving

through one singular world, adding a linear narrativePeter Linde Busk• Busk’s works are dark, reflective, semi-abstract portraits of

different mental states including pride, fear, and defeat• His work references literary or mythical characters such as Hamlet

or Don Quixote • He incorporates a wide range of mark making and kaleidoscopic

colour and patterns, highlighting his inspiration from Pablo Picasso and Paul Klee, as well as icon painting from the late Middle Ages, Expressionism, Art Brut, and the dark sides of Cobra art. He is also known for gluing his canvases to his studio floor, where they gather dust, paint drips and other daily marks. This adds a sense of specificity and personal history to the work

Mia Feuer• Feuer’s work makes connections between society’s ongoing

material dependency and the accelerated environmental impact non sustainable materials are having

• Many of her works stem directly from specific places that she has visited

• Many pieces are also made on location and then transported, emphasising the journey of the materials and how they decay

Clockwise from the top left: Tom Howse/ Peter Linde Busk/ Mia Feuer

Tillman Kaiser• Kaiser creates work as a painter, sculptor and photographer

• He will always listen to music while he works: “Music doesn’t influence my work directly, but its essencemost likely enters my work. My picture compositions are often based on repetitive elements, translatedinto music they would be extremely rhythmical songs. Rhythm cannot only be found in music, but also inthe fine arts, literature, and poetry. Rhythm is very important. I am interested in the psychological effectsthat repetition can trigger” Tillman Kaiser

• Some of Kaiser’s 3D objects are based on the classicchildren's paper folding game ‘fortune teller’: “I am interestedin symmetries, there is an element of rhythm where there isno above and below, no back and no front resulting in formsthat resemble the folded paper game” Tillman Kaiser

• Kaiser is always aware about the space in which theart is displayed, viewing this as part of the work

• Kaiser’s manifestation of form (3D) is created usingsymmetrical compositions and reduced colour

• “I have always been very interested in Surrealism,it appeals to my inclination toward reflection. One may notrecognize it in my work, but I have a great appreciation ofthe work of Giorgio de Chirico and of René Magritte”Tillman Kaiser

• Kaiser also regularly explores and challenges the themespresent within Cubism and Surrealism

Gallery 5 – KAISER

Kaleidoscope Talking Points

What makes up shape and form?

What defines the domestic space?

What concepts are provoked by the work?

Has anything been added or taken away?

What is the effect of these alterations?

Are there common cultural or social factors that the works were borne out of?

Does all contemporary art need to be concept driven?

Is it important to see a range of different methods and materials from a range of different artists in any one

exhibition?

How does scale effect the impact of work?

How does the inclusion of sound effect viewing and engaging with an art piece?

Are all the themes which are explored by artists in this exhibition relevant today and will they be relevant in the

future?

Artists by Theme

The Human FigurePeter Linde BuskLaura BuckleyTillman Kaiser

ContrastBenedetto PietromarchiLaura BuckleyTillman KaiserPeter Linde BuskPierre Carreau

ColourBenedetto PietromarchiLaura BuckleyTillman KaiserMia FeuerWhitney BedfordFlorence HutchingsTom HowsePeter Linde Busk

Nature/ birdsBenedetto PietromarchiMia FeuerPierre CarreauWhitney Bedford

NarrativesLaura BuckleyTillman KaiserFlorence HutchingsPeter Linde Busk

ReflectionsLaura BuckleyTillman Kaiser

Sculpture / installationBenedetto PietromarchiLaura BuckleyTillman KaiserMia Feuer

MirrorLaura BuckleyTillman Kaiser

DwellingsFlorence HutchingsTom Howse

The ElementsPierre CarreauWhitney Bedford

These themes have been selected with the curriculum in mind, following topics chosen by various exam boards.

ActivitiesThe activities on the following pages have been designed in line with curriculum aims. Activities can be adapted to suit different age groups and learning abilities. It is indicated if the activity is to be used in the gallery or in school.

Art & Curation In-gallery/ in-school

Ask students to tour the entire exhibition, paying particular attention to the layout and structure of the work.

In their sketchbooks, students should draw a floor plan of the gallery and draw in where each piece of work is on display. Ask students to explain why they think each piece is where it is and if they would change the placement of any work, explaining why.

Students should consider:

- Scale- Medium- Context

This task should then be extended for students to consider and plan an exhibition/ the presentation of their own work back in school.

Pattern & SpaceIn-gallery/ at home

Ask students to select 3 different geometric shapes. Looking at the work of Laura Buckley, students should then create a repeat pattern, which incorporates each shape seamlessly. Work can be completed in sketchbooks using pencils and colouring pencils.

Students should then colour in their repeat patterns and think about how they can use it as a starting point for creating print/ textiles work.

Meeting the artistIn-gallery

A useful activity when visiting anyexhibition is to split the group intosmaller groups and ask them to devise aset of questions that they would like toask the artist. After a given time, ask thegroups to swap questions and worktogether to come up with the answers.

Compare and ContrastIn-gallery

Ask students to select three artists who work with different materials. They should then select one piece of work from each artist and compare and contrast focusing on….

Appearance EffectColourSubject

Feedback to the rest of the group, detailing how medium effects the impact and meaning of work.

Collaborative TaskIn-gallery

In groups each student should start drawing on folded paper. Allow 10 minutes and then swap. Keep unfolding the paper to allow for another layer to be added to the drawing. All students in each group should be working from one image in the gallery. Feedback as a group on how they found the exercise.

Consider:- How did the final image look?- Could each students style be seen and

how were they different? - Did it work as a final piece?- What techniques might you adopt from

someone else’s style of drawing?- Did it allow students to look at the

artwork in more detail? Would they have normally spent this long studying it? Did it change each time you drew another section?

Discussion of termsIn-gallery / in-school

Discuss the meaning of the following terms:

shape / contrast / appropriation

The activities on the following pages have been designed in line with curriculum aims. Activities can be adapted to suit different age groups and learningabilities. It is indicated if the activity is to be used in the gallery or in school.

Activities

Glossary of termsKaleidoscope: a constantly changing pattern or sequence of elements

Identity: who we are: personality/ personal history/ traits

Appropriation: the deliberate reworking of images and styles from earlier,well-known works of art or artistic genres

Reflection: the throwing back by a body or surface of light, heat, or soundwithout absorbing it (or) an image seen in a mirror or shiny surface

Composition: the nature of something's ingredients or constituents; theway in which a whole or mixture is made up

Form: the visible shape or configuration of something, usually 3D (or) aparticular way in which a thing exists or appears

Geometric: structured shapes often explored in maths: squares/ rectangles

Autobiographic: Work which is marked by or dealing with one's ownexperiences or life history

Modernity: the self-definition of a generation about its own technologicalinnovation, governance, and socioeconomics. To participate in modernitywas to conceive of one’s society as engaging in organizational andknowledge advances that make one’s immediate predecessors appearantiquated or, at least, surpassed

Narrative: stories and storytelling

Abstraction: Art that does not attempt to represent reality, insteadusing shapes, forms, colours, and textures

Figuration: Art that is clearly derived from real object sources

Surrealism: A literary and artistic movement of the 1900s thatattempts to express the workings of the subconscious and ischaracterized by fantastic imagery

Cubism: painting and sculpture developed in Paris in the early 20thcentury, characterized by the reduction and fragmentation of naturalforms into abstract, often geometric structures

Cobra art: Expressionist group of painters whose name is derivedfrom the first letters of the three northern European cities—Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam. Their work was inspired by thework of children

Juxtaposed: things or ideas close together for contrasting effect

Aesthetics: The appearance of something or someone or a piece ofart

Multi-media: Art which uses a range of materials in the production ofone or more pieces

Anthropocene: a time in the earth’s history in which human actions shape the planet

Source: dictionary.com and Google.com