Royal College of Art, School of Fine Art
Dyson Building, Lecture Theatre
1 Hester Road
London SW11 4AN
The acclaimed Visual Cultures Lecture Series at the Royal College of Art’s School of Fine Art campus in Battersea continues this year with a focus on sculpture and moving image.
The first series saw leading contemporary artists such as Yinka Shonibare, Elmgreen & Dragset and Willie Doherty share their experiences of producing new work. The current series features talks by international artists Mark Leckey, Gerard Byrne, Christine Borland, Fiona Tan and Thomas Hirschhorn. As a focal point, each artist will talk in-depth about a single project, exploring all aspects of production.
The first lecture of the 2013–14 series was given on 12 November by Turner Prize-winning artist Mark Leckey with a talk titled ‘The Universal Addressability of Dumb Things.’ Leckey’s practice ranges across performance, film, sculpture and sound, often creating a space where personal and cultural histories merge and transform.
Lectures are free and open to the public. No booking is required, but early arrival is advised.
26 November, 6:30–8pm: Gerard Byrne
Gerard Byrne is a visual artist working with photographic, video, and live art. In 2007 he represented Ireland at the Venice Biennale. Other major presentations of his work at international biennials include the biennales of Gwangju and Sydney in 2008, Lyon in 2007, the Tate Triennial in 2006, and the Istanbul Biennale in 2003. Solo exhibitions of his work have been presented at the ICA Boston and the Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen (both 2008); Dusseldorf Kunstverein and the Charles H. Scott Gallery, Vancouver (2007); the Frankfurter Kunstverein (2003) and at the Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin (2002). In 2006 he was a recipient of the Paul Hamlyn award.
28 January 2014, 6:30–8pm: Fiona Tan
Fiona Tan lives and works in Amsterdam. Tan works primarily with lens-based media. She is best known for her skillfully crafted video and film installations, in which explorations of memory, time, history and the role of visual images are key. She has had solo exhibitions in museums and galleries worldwide including the New Museum, New York; Vancouver Artgallery; Sackler Galleries, Washington, DC; Aargauer Kunsthaus, Switzerland; Stichting de Pont, Tilburg; Villa Arson, Nice; Akademie der Künsten, Berlin; Kunstverein Hamburg; Konsthal Lund; Landesgalerie Linz; Musée d’Art Contemporain, Montréal; Modern Art Oxford; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles. In 2009 she represented The Netherlands at the Venice Bienniale with her solo presentation Disorient. She has participated in Documenta 11, the Yokohama Triennale, the Berlin Biennale, Sao Paulo Biennial, the Istanbul Biennial, the Sydney Biennial and Asian Pacific Triennial.
11 February 2014, 6:30–8pm: Christine Borland and Brody Condon
UK-based artist Christine Borland works around the topics of ethics and bio-politics in art, investigating collaborations between arts and medicine. In 1997 Borland was nominated for the Turner Prize. She has shown internationally in numerous museums and large-scale exhibitions, most recently at Glasgow Sculpture Studios and Camden Arts Centre, London. Borland collaborated with artist Brody Condon for the Edinburgh Art Festival 2013. Condon, based in New York and Berlin, creates performances, videos and sculptures that relate to obsession with fantasy in contemporary culture, exploring the world of games, fiction and collective experience. He recently presented work at the Machine Project, LA (2012); Hessel Museum of Art, Bard College, NY (2011); Los Angeles County Museum of Art (2010); Greater New York, MoMA PS1 (2010); and Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2010).
11 March 2014, 6:30–8pm: Thomas Hirschhorn
Swiss-born artist Thomas Hirschhorn creates mixed-media installations, often using everyday materials such as cardboard, foil and duct tape, juxtaposed with found imagery such as violent scenes and pornography. Influencing his use of common materials as a political statement in the 1980s, Hirschhorn worked in a group of political graphic artists in Paris. With each exhibition—in museums, galleries, alternative spaces—as well as with specific works in public space, Thomas Hirschhorn asserts his commitment toward a non-exclusive public. Hirschhorn’s work has been shown in numerous museums, galleries and group exhibitions including the Venice Biennale (1999); Documenta 11 (2002); 27th Sao Paolo Biennale (2006); the 55th Carnegie International, Pittsburgh (2008); the Swiss Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale (2011); La Triennale at Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2012); the 9th Shanghai Biennale (2012); and Gladstone Gallery New York (2012). A selection of his writings has recently been published by MIT Press (October Books) titled Critical Laboratory: The Writings of Thomas Hirschhorn.
