Info

New Material: living in a new material world

Curated by Tyler Mallison

A.P.T Gallery

Preview: 6-8pm Thursday 9 March

10.03.17 – 02.04.17

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Supported by Arts Council England Grants for the Arts

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New Material: living in a new material world is a group exhibition of new work by 8 international artists, which seeks to address the shift in the ‘material world’ from the Gen-X perspective of the mid 1980s; a time of pensive self-awareness and anxiety, to our current new material world; one of 21st century post-truth Trumpist politics and Brexit Britain. Work spans sculpture, installation, performance, photography, video and the expanded field of painting.

The title of the exhibition references the 1984 song Material Girl by Madonna. The hit was written at a time when living in a ‘material world’ meant aligning with the collective shift towards aspirational image, status brands and global corporations. Fast-forward 30+ years and now, what defines the ‘new material world’? The Internet is a given, the virtual seems real, and geographic borders have eroded in the exchange of artistic capital. Tensions suspended by millennial optimism are beginning to resurface in the face of post-truth Trumpist politics, Brexit Britain and recognition of the Anthropocene and its environmental impact. Moreover, around the artist has emerged a sophisticated international art market with an estimated worth of 50 billion Euros.

New Material presents a platform for investigating the conditions of this unstable, shifting and often contradictory ‘space’ through pluralist concerns (body/mind, public/private, virtual/real, authentic/fake) that give form and insight into materiality today. The work of the 8 artists brings to the surface strategies used to navigate their experience against the backdrop of an increasingly challenging climate for expression and artistic production. They themselves are the product of the new normal in contemporary art: relationships organically forged via precarious channels of alternative education, artist-led initiatives, open formats, studio disruption and social media.

During the exhibition, a dialogue will unfold amongst the artists and expand through community engagement and planned public talks involving guest artists. The aim of the events is to spark discussion with other artists and the public about what characterises life and art in this new material world. 

For further information:

follow #newmat17 @APTGallery 

visit aptstudios.org or contact the gallery