StepSeries

STEP
Curated by Charlie Levine

A single piece of work exhibited by a single artist at a time.

Will Clifford, Beverley Holden and Caitlin Griffiths

"As a contemporary curator I often find myself in a self-debate; am I a curator interested in artistic and thoughtful modes of display? Or am I an artist interested in curatorial practice?" Charlie Levine

Crowd6 presents curator Charlie Levine's first series of 'Steps.' A series of shows developed from the exploration of curatorial practice and the idealised utopic functions of art, in particular curator Rudi Fuchs, a gentleman with his own set of questions:

'on the one hand [Fuchs] claimed that he would restore to art its precious autonomy, while on the other hand he made no secret of his desire to manipulate the individual works of art in conformity with his inflated self-image as master artist of the exhibition.' The Art of Exhibition, Douglas Crimp, 2000

What holds more importance? The works on show or their mode of display? Have we literally placed art on a pedestal out of reach of the man on the street? Is there anything wrong with fetishizing these objects and the role of curator? Here Levine presents the first three Steps to answering and confronting these questions of contemporary art, its display and the role of artist and curator.

Will Clifford – 1st – 7th Feb 2008
Plastic Cup
Household Emulsion Paint, 2007

Throughout the history of art the medium of paint has been used by artists to create representational images of objects in the world. Plastic Cup is part of a series of artworks that explores the inherent qualities and potential of paint as a material. Created using a painting technique similar to casting, the image is formed from thin layers of paint. This work seeks to address the divide between painting and sculpture, by pushing the traditionally flat picture plain into space to form an image.

Beverley Holden – 8th – 14th Feb 2008
Untitled
Antique christening gown, metal box, glass buttons, wire, 2007

Holden uses glass and textiles in a multi-centered display; she sees her work as transgressive and aims to show the viewer the familiar and domestic but taken out of the home context and eroticised in the white cube. The smooth prettiness of the glass buttons on the christening gown are shattered by wobbly unevenness and transcribed with culturally confrontational language to create a visually beautiful piece with a seedy and initially unexpected undertone.

Caitlin Griffiths – 15th – 21st Feb 2008
Art Histories #2
Book, 2008

Talking to other artists, linked together through their exhibitions at Crowd6, Griffiths collects memories associated with a defining moment in each of their lives. Through stealing their experiences she invents histories, injecting herself into what was once someone else’s story. Describing this process as “the cuckoo approach to creativity,” she muscles in on established artists territories in a deliberate attempt to steal a bit of their kudos.

step series

Steps are a series of shows based on a Rudi Fuchs concept where he believed you should give art works as much room and space as possible without interruption, therefore being viewed in a utopic way.  Steps has then become an ongoing series of shows where a single piece of work by a single artist is exhibited at a time.  

Artists show so far include Will Clifford, Beverley Holden and Caitlin Griffiths.  

Crowd6, Birmingham, 2008

Step One - Will Clifford Preview

Step One Preview

Plastic Cup - Will Clifford

Step Two - Beverley Holden Installation

Untitled - Beverley Holden

Dress detail - Beverley Holden

Button detail - Beverley Holden

Untitled - Beverley Holden

Step Three - Art Histories 2 - Caitlin Griffiths

Art Histories 2 - Caitlin Griffiths

Caitlin Griffiths detail

Caitlin Griffiths Installation

Closing event