The Persistence of Objects
20 June–31 August 2015
Lismore Castle Arts
Lismore
Co Waterford
Ireland
T +353 (0) 58 54061
Carol Bove, Gerard Byrne, Duncan Campbell, Steven Claydon, Gabriel Kuri, Basim Magdy, Wolfgang Tillmans and Hayley Tompkins
Curated by The Common Guild
Marking its tenth year of visual arts exhibitions, Lismore Castle Arts is delighted to present its most ambitious project to date, The Persistence of Objects. Curated by The Common Guild this exhibition will be staged in existing gallery spaces, as well as a number of other locations around Lismore.
The Persistence of Objects includes works by eight remarkable artists and offers an observation of concrete things that defy change, through a range of approaches and perspectives. These may be objects that have endured through ages or generations, the immutable remnants of previous times—much like the 11th-century relics found in St Carthage’s Cathedral, Lismore—or simple, timeless, constants occurring in nature in the face of radical and dramatic changes in the world they inhabit.
Artists participating in the exhibition each make works that in some way approach the object. For some, it is the changing cultural associations, meanings and values that accrue to objects over time that is the focus of their interest, while for others the sheer, dumb universality and constancy of the persistent object that is brought to the fore.
The exhibition will comprise newly commissioned works by Steven Claydon and Hayley Tompkins, alongside new and existing works by Carol Bove, Gerard Byrne, Duncan Campbell, Gabriel Kuri, Basim Magdy and Wolfgang Tillmans.
“Only stone, bronze and the sky shall outlive all the rest”
So reads one of the texts that appear throughout Basim Magdy’s recent film The Many Colours of the Sky Radiate Forgetfulness, a poetic layering of colour, image and words. More prosaic, commonplace objects appear in Hayley Tompkins’s painted works, while both Carol Bove and Wolfgang Tillmans present natural objects—such as shells or vegetables—that are heavily mediated yet that remain unchanged.
Presented as one exhibition across several venues, including locations beyond the Castle grounds, The Persistence of Objects creates a new way of experiencing Lismore through some compelling artworks, sited in the gallery and locations ranging from the imposing surroundings of St. Carthage Cathedral to small, disused shop units.
Duncan Campbell’s acclaimed film It for Others—shown here in the context of Lismore Heritage Centre—tracks the object, from African artefacts to cheap, mass-market commodities, while Gerard Byrne’s series of museum paintings offers a view of historic paintings as objects—photographed from behind, where their making and history is most evident
Gabriel Kuri’s works, which will be shown in St. Carthage Hall and St. Carthage Cathedral, prompt questions about the use and value of everyday objects and our physical relationship with their material form, while Steve Claydon’s work brings together an eclectic combination of objects, materials and processes that draw on a range of associations and understandings. His newly commissioned works, which will be shown in the gallery and grounds of Lismore Castle, combine objects that reference the history and context of the castle, and place it within a greater, more epic narrative.
The exhibition is conceived and curated for Lismore Castle Arts by The Common Guild, Glasgow. A publication designed to accompany the show, featuring an essay by Maria Fusco, Reader at Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh, will be published in July 2015.
During the exhibition there will be an opportunity to see Richard Wright’s work originally made for the exhibition Still Life in 2011, curated by Polly Staple.
