Art Below Zero

Art Below Zero

26 February, 2009
by: Katuschka

Art Below Zero at Westbourne Studios, is a monthly showcase for artists who have attended the country's brightest art schools. Group shows like this can be a mixed bag, with profoundly emotive and painstakingly detailed portraiture positioned next to the inner tube of a vacuum cleaner meant to represent Baudrillard's theory of the simulacrum or something. But Art Below Zero doesn't hedge its bets: they select artists who have built up a strong personal brand and clearly aren't resting on their laurels with a saleable and talent-ridden cache.

From the moment you walk in the door and are greeted by Alexander Clarke's vertiginous, Cy Twombly-esque portraits, splattered and melting down the canvas; to that point where you start to wonder if Billy Kerry's fabric sculptures are following you around the room or moving when you're not looking; you are bombarded with the energy and enthusiasm of the next crop of talent in Britain. Looking around, I get a sense of déjà vu from previous 'next big thing' shows, including Luke Turner's confrontational, gender-distorting portraits from Xhibit at The Arts Gallery; and Tomas Rydin's minimal critiques of corporate capitalism previously shown at the SaLon Gallery; either the sign of an artist who can carry a theme well, or a valuable sense of identity; either way it bodes well for the London's art scions.

Some pieces, such as the inspiringly titled Head Up Bum Lying – a literal piece, which I like to imagine hanging on a young collector's wall as they talk their refined mother-in-law and be-monocled father-in-law through their pieces – represent the weaker side of the show. Crude gags and Julian Opie-style drawing have been overdone due to its fatefully simple style and propensity for anyone with photoshop to 'have a go'. However this is a minor gripe in an overall impressive show. Highlights included a raunchy Melodie Mousset performance which saw her making out with her sculpture With or Without You, a writhing, floor-humping doppelganger encrusted with coloured glass; Keiji Ishida's painting Sayasaya which blissfully captured a sense of calm within chaos with its loud colours and serene female subject; and Eric Ayotte's untitled piece made from spray paint and resin which looked like a tooled piece of marble.

Despite various recession-inspired, doom-mongering tomes about the death of art, of the artist, of the curator, of art criticism, of the gallery, the death of the people who clean the gallery and their pets... graduate shows such as these show a conscientious effort to move art away from the conceptual towards skill and craft, attempting to shake off art's elitism and its reputation for pretentiousness. Of course there's always going to be an element of either in the mix, but young artists seem to be breathing new life into a stale formula with a social conscience, financial savvy and lashings of style. It may still be out of your price range, but within this downturn this is art you can invest time and admiration in.

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Katuschka