COMMA – A dynamic new series of monthly commissions
Martin Westwood
14-31 October 2009
Bloomberg SPACE
50 Finsbury Square
London EC2A 1HD
COMMA 13 Martin Westwood
Martin Westwood often works with mass-produced materials collected from the corporate environment – photocopies, carpet tiles, vinyl stickers and newspapers – which he transforms to form the highly crafted components for his installations. Westwood’s images and objects construct fictions that expose a strangely familiar, yet faded, human environment, which recalls the idealised corporate imagery of the 1980s. His complex sculptural installations are concerned with the investigation of how spaces impact on human behaviour from both social and psychological perspectives.
Continuing to develop the subtle relationship with the space in which he shows, Westwood uses the specific architectural features of the atrium of Bloomberg SPACE while responding to its functional context. For his new commission, several sculptural elements are set in tension with a short video sequence, shown on a single screen. As visitors walk into the darkened rear gallery of Bloomberg SPACE, they encounter a voluminous structure placed on the floor occupying the footprint of the ceiling above them. This structure functions as an inverted ceiling, whose depth suggests the existence of another space below. Within the structure, various small windows visible from the sides display intriguing sculptural arrangements that seem to have been buried and forgotten.
Two more elements complete the installation. A pair of water-coolers have been cast in concrete and placed in the balcony space, suggesting the idea of doubling, and therefore echoing the mirroring of the structure with the ceiling above. On the wall, a screen broadcasts unedited stock footage showing a couple walking by a small poolside decorated with rocks.
COMMA focuses entirely on the commissioning of new work providing exceptional opportunities for artists to experiment and expand their practice in relation to the particular nature of Bloomberg SPACE.
Twenty of today’s most outstanding established and emerging international artists have been invited to create new work, installations and architectural interventions in a fast paced succession of exhibitions created in response to and seen for the first time at Bloomberg SPACE.
The new programme continues Bloomberg Space’s reputation of presenting the unknown alongside the very well known drawing on a group of artists from across the globe. The programme spans a wide range of media – during the year painting, sculpture, drawing, installation, performance and film are all featured – and retains the potential for one-off or performative events.
About Bloomberg SPACE
Bloomberg SPACE is a gallery based at Bloomberg’s European headquarters in London and is dedicated to commissioning and exhibiting contemporary art. It welcomes visitors six days a week and admission is free.
COMMA continues with commissions including:
12-26 November 2009
COMMA Irina Korina
COMMA Vicky Wright
Bloomberg SPACE, 50 Finsbury Square, London EC2A 1HD
Open: Monday to Saturday 11am – 6pm
Admission Free
Nearest stations: Moorgate & Liverpool Street
W www.bloombergspace.com E gallery@bloomberg.net T + 44 20 7330 7959
