The Rapid Building

The Liverpool Biennial has hosted an exhibition in an old, disused building which was the former Rapid hardware store that runs along Renshaw Street.  I used to be dragged to that store far too often as a kid, it was huge. My parents would spend what would seem like hours in there.  I was kind of sad to see it abandoned and empty, as it's such a massive space with so much potential.  When I found out part of the Biennial was being hosted there I was made up!  That place seems even bigger now it is empty, it's an amazing location for the artwork that has been shown in there.  When you enter the building you have to go upstairs, this is where the exhibition begins.  I was greeted by some beautiful, dark and dismal paintings by Tim Eitel.  My favourite paintings by this artist were named Besitz and Haufen.  They seemed so pitiful and sinister in a way, Besitz had been painted in such a way that is was hard to make out unless you got up close to it and even then all I could make out was a figure of a man.   (Click on the images to enlarge)

Eitel uses subtle light, or almost an absence of light in his paintings. He extracts details – a face, garbage bags, figures in conversation – from photographs and paints them in isolation. Working with a dark palette, with the most subtle gradation of grays, Eitel paints nearly abstract scenes of haunting stillness.

Oren Eliav paints Men – captured in embarrassing, and sometimes domineering poses, unveiling the dark side of politics and the psychological factors that lie behind most public appearances.  I particularly liked his painting, 'Summan' 2008.  He looks at the legacy of well regarded Western masters and replicates their stances and authoritative power and depicts them in an abstract style, not giving away any defining features, merely suggesting that these men are in power.

As I moved on in the gallery I was confronted by 3 paintings by Austrian artist Markus Schinwald.  His paintings consisted of  Renaissance style portraits of men and women taking part in masochistic acts by causing themselves discomfort and probably pain with braces around their bodies and heads.  The paintings have dark and sinister undertones, leaving the viewer wondering why they do it, or maybe understanding why.

My favourite piece of all in this gallery was Aimé Mpane's 'Ici on crevé'  ("here we die, are worn out . . .").  It is a collection of wooden panels carved and painted by the artist.  The images are of women and children and communicate their concerns with money, hospitalization and death and that they and the artist are sick, tired of the suffering in his Congo homeland.  It is a colourful piece that uses a vast range of mediums, it also has a sense of fun to it, strangely enough.

And lastly, my friend and I walked into a room where the floor was covered in faces of people looking up at us.  As soon as I looked up to see what they were looking at, I got the fright of my life as I saw myself hanging upside down from the ceiling.  It was a very low mirrored ceiling.   The piece was by Tala Madani, entitled 'Stargazers', it apparently showed that the people looking to the sky were not looking for a faith, or heaven, they were looking for themselves.  I wasn't too fond of this installation but it was fun to take photographs in...

I was impressed with this gallery, although I started to feel a little claustrophobic after watching 2 films by Ryan Trecartin and Lizzie Fitch.  Liverpool is such an exciting city, I'm proud to live here!

Touched, 2010

It's been an unforgivable amount of time since I last blogged.  My excuse is summer and the fact that I spent most of it in Blackburn, not by choice may I add.  Well, kind of not by choice, my other half lives there.  Anyway, it's Liverpool Biennial time, so what better way to kick start this blog by talking about Liverpool Biennial's 2010 exhibition, Touched.  From 18th September to 28th November.

Touched is exhibiting new art that is all about affecting the viewer in mind, body and soul.  Liverpool Biennial is showcasing 50 international contemporary artists and has invited prominent thinkers and artists to delivers a monthly series of talks.


Half the exhibition is in public spaces across the city and half in Liverpool's major gallery spaces such as Tate Liverpool the Bluecoat, FACT, A Foundation and Open Eye Gallery.  There is also John Moores 2010, which is a leading painting competition which is held at the Walker Art Gallery, and  Bloomberg New Contemporaries - the cream of the UK's post-graduate students.  City States - International exhibitions on cultural dynamics between cities and states.