Russell Brand at Saatchi Online artists' exhibition which opened on Thursday night
Heart of Glass, set in the maze of dark hidden basement rooms in Shoreditch Town Hall, had a queue going round the block at the opening of the new Concrete and Glass festival in London's Shoreditch on Thursday night - and for good reason. It is an ideal environment for installation-based shows and this one, showing 33 progressive artists' work, is a must see. Alistair McClymont has created a mini cyclone from fans, scaffolding and a humidifier; Kate Terry has used a room to attach fine threads crossing diagonally from ceiling to floor; and Adam King has hung his weird and wonderful 'Cuirositas (Cave of Terror)' structures made from plastic household items and mutli-coloured patterns. Everything from the taxidermy of Polly Morgan to a forest of trees and wax created by Richard Bullock has made this exhibition an incredible experience. Be prepared for the disturbingly creepy 'Cerberus' by Orlando Mostyn Owen. All in all an exploration into the darker side of art.
The Saatchi Online opening was buzzing with the likes of Russell Brand mincing around the show and a man with a certain similarity to Russell dressed in a long black robe, white mask and huge black hair. Just a coincidence I suspect.
Maurizio Anzeri, 'Late at Night'
Sarah Douglas, 'Untitled', 2008
Highlights from the show included Maurizio Anzeri's 'Late at Night'. Thick black artificial hair has been sculpted into a faceless ethereal being. Also by Anzeri are old 50's family portraits, embroidered with 'spyrograph' patterns leaving isolated bits of the face, an eye or a mouth. Elements in these works echo the Chapman Brothers' defacing of old Victorian portraits.
Sarah Douglas explored personal subject matter through her subdued pastel paintings with stylistically blurred figures and domestic settings.
Sam Zealey melded art with science in his installation made from two huge magnets attached to posts by wire raised horizontally so that at least an inch of pure air separated the two in the middle.
Continuing to support up and coming artists through the Saatchi Online program, this exhibition shows the promising potential of these young artists.
Rebecca Nassauer
On Curtain Road I stumbled upon Rebecca Nassauer's installation room in Cordy House. 'Some Way Home' is a floor structure of circular lamps connected by wires with mini cities made out of thin plastics on top. Concerned with the placements of refugees and their precarious journeys, this structure seems to expand on Mona Hatoum's 'Undercurrent', 2004, made from electrical wire and light blubs. Binoculars are provided to view each work, which puts a physical distance between the viewer and the object, perhaps suggesting our own mental detachment as UK citizens to the plight of refugees.
'Favella Descending at Village Underground' is a film installation by artist and filmmaker Gerry Fox made up of huge screens facing a central viewing point. As the name suggests, you are taken through favellas with each screen showing a different perspective on the architecture and people that make up the Mineira in Rio, one of the most dangerous and poverty stricken favellas.
Concrete and Glass continues free from Saturday onwards for around a month.
Julie Pallot
Heart of Glass
Shoreditch Town Hall
Saatchi Online Artists exhibition
2-19 October, 11am-6pm
The Gallery
Beach Blanket Babylon
19 - 23 Bethnal Green Road
London, E16JU
www.concreteandglass.co.uk
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