The innovative London based Rook and Raven presented a fascinating number of exhibitions across a variety of media during their programme in 2014 including the dramatic light and sound installation, Altered Perspectives, by Rupert Newman and the exhibition Material Identity, inspired by Columbian artist Olga de Amaral. January sees Rook and Raven present their inaugural exhibition of 2015 in the shape of two major installations by acclaimed contemporary artist Corrine Felgate titled Bigger than the Both of Us (MoMA) and Studio X Y Z. The installations draw on Corrine Felgate’s ongoing investigations into our relationship with our urban environment and our reaction to making and industry in a digital age.
Bigger than the Both of US (MoMA) finds Corrine Felgate questioning our roles in modern society and the legacy of our cultural industrial and political histories. Tackling similar topics to artists such as Daniel Arsham in his Welcome to the Future exhibition and Lucien Shapiro in The Wore show, Felgate with her installations, that resemble kitsch versions of the classic grid systems employed by Mondrian, also a feature of the work in Laced by Christina Niederberger, is exploring both the seductive properties and value of material objects in the modern world.
The Studio X Y Z performance installation develops the research of Corrine Felgate into the physical production of artworks in the digital age, exploring the processes of setting up low-fi production systems and reawakening the creative pre-industrial urges in us, often with a wry sense of humour. Ross Bleckner describes it perfectly in this video on his daily routine, mentioning cottage industry and the simple pleasures of sweeping the studio floor, the side of the artist many don’t see. With Studio X Y Z Felgate is displaying the making of the works revealing they are both meticulous and ridiculous and that they are in fact simply a documentation of a performance, an archive from her cottage industry.
Corrine Felgate, born in the UK, 1984 has become known for her site and context specific works that are created using a wide range of materials, processes and techniques that lead us to question both the techniques in creating artworks and our relationships to the modern world and everyday objects through luxury, sexuality, power, failure and industry. While Felgate is not the only contemporary artist to be questioning our place in the world, check out The Future is Always Tomorrow article for a slightly different take on the subject by Micah Ganske; she is certainly approaching the topic in a more traditional way with her approach, a love of cottage industries and presenting works in Bigger than the Both of Us (MoMA) that resemble luxurious glitter encrusted versions of historical paintings that invite dialogues about the contemporary issues of art, design and fashion production
Bigger than the Both of Us (MoMA) by Corrine Felgate will open at Rook and Raven on the 23rd January, 2015 and run through until 28th February, 2015.
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Featured image Corrine Felgate - Bigger than the Both of Us (MoMA) Installation view.
All images courtesy of Rook and Raven