Islington Exhibits

Unlocking Venues
Exhibiting Art

John Jones was excited to hear about this local project which unlocks hidden venues in the Islington to give artists and craft persons a space to display their work.

Islington Exhibits are inviting applications for four artist-in-residence projects, each worth at least £1,000. The residencies are:

• Archway Herbal Clinic
• Islington Council Town Hall
• St. Luke's Centre
• St. Martin of Tours Housing Association

Application deadline: 21 February 2010

Islington Exhibits will run from 24 June until 4 July 2010. As well as offering the residencies, the scheme encourages artists to seek out their own local venues and mount their own exhibition or alternatively apply to exhibit in the Summer Salon at Islington Arts Factory.

In addition they would love to hear from any venues who would like to be approached by artists. Interested venues can post their details onto the website.

Islington Exhibits will be holding a public meeting to enable people to find out more. This will take place on Tuesday 16 March, 6pm till 7:45pm, at North Library, Manor Gardens, London N7.

For further details or to register as a venue looking for an artist, click here.

John Jones Artist in Residence Mariana Heilmann

Entry 2

BLADES
PARCHMENT PAPER
GREAT STUDIO
UNINTERRUPTED TIME
SPACE
EXPOSURE TO JJ WORKSHOPS AND POTENTIAL MATERIALS
ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES
EXTREMELY HELPFUL AND EXPERT TEAM ALL AROUND
BEGINNING NEW COMMISSION

All the above are topics I could write about at length, but for now I will just keep them as they are…headings of all the important aspects of this week.
A dream come true, I only fear that one month is just not going to be long enough to explore all the possibilities that are around me at John Jones.
In this light I have decided to make small sketches with as many of the materials available to me as possible, so that at a later date I may go back and expand on them both in scale and in form.

Parallel to the work I will be doing with materials gathered at JJ, I have also started a commission measuring 215 x 133cm. (Wave of Peace II) The process to make this piece is extremely slow and meticulous; there are around 14000 pieces which I will pin to a support specially designed and made for me at John Jones. The pieces are made from plastic milk bottles which my local community and friends in Barnes have collected for me. This commission comes as a result of a recent collection of work which I showed late last year.

The reception to the work was very enthusiastic, and I have a line of large commissions to complete as a consequence. I will have one of these hanging at John Jones during Feb. (Water II)

On Thursday I moved from the display area into what will be my studio whilst I am resident artist. It is quite far removed from the main area but it is perfectly situated in terms of being within arms reach of the workshops; my suppliers of materials!

Ignacio Iasparra Solo Show on View at John Jones through 15 March

Presented by Lodeveans Collection and John Jones, Argentine photographer Ignacio Iasparra's debut show in the UK opened with great success last Friday. This remarkable series of images made between 2003 and 2008 depict what Isparra describes as various ‘moments of light and colour,’ shot in different settings throughout Argentina, including the forests and woodlands of the Tigré and Paraná Deltas.

The series offers the viewer a speculative experience, revealing subtle and endless variations of light, colour and shadow. Each image effectively becomes dislocated from any specific sense of place, as Iasparra‘s photographs present ambiguous and only partially defined environments. A fragmented subjectivity, achieved through the act of framing, creates an impression of disruption and estrangement, as well as a sense of immersion and immediacy.

I realized that on each occasion the place mattered less. I was not looking for images of a certain place, but for sensations. My intention was to confront clear images with vague sensations. I thought it was important that the elements of the image were recognizable, that it didn’t turn into pure abstraction. After all, they are photographs…My search was for an almost abstract estrangement and sense of wonder.
Ignacio Iasparra, 2010.

Born in 1973 in a rural town near Buenos Aires, Iasparra continues to work in Argentina. He graduated from the Escuela Argentina de Fotografia, where he studied under Ricardo Torosian and Fabiana Barreda. He has had a number of solo exhibitions in Buenos Aires, and his work has been part of various seminal group shows.

In 2005, Iasparra was elected Photographer of the Year by the Argentine Association of Art Critics. He has works in the Museum of Modern Art in Buenos Aires and MALBA’s Colección Costantini. He continues to explore the array of photographic possibilities of Argentina and beyond, through the ongoing development of his artistic practice.

Special thanks to John Jones, the Lodeveans Collection, the Argentine Embassy in the United Kingdom, Sarah Toplis (Curator) and Yinan Zhang (Exhibition Assistant).

For more information please visit John Jones and Lodeveans Collection.

John Jones Artist In Residence Mariana Heilmann

Artist Residency at John Jones February 2010

Mariana Heilmann transforms mundane objects into works of intense lyrical beauty. Taking disposable objects she creates sculptural two-dimensional pieces that have an extraordinary clarity and resonance

As part of documenting her month long residency at John Jones, Mariana will be posting several blog updates to discuss the progress of her work and her experience of working at John Jones.

Entry 1

I will be starting an artist’s residency at John Jones next Tuesday for the month of February. Having already spent many hours and days there completing several commissions, I know from experience how things work at JJ….“Professionally” would be an understatement. Everything runs like clockwork; quietly, efficiently, precisely…all the while, works of art of all shapes, sizes, styles and mediums arrive and leave in beautiful, perfectly crafted and pristine frames.
It is an inspiration just to be there.

The byproducts of such an extensive establishment are manifold. Many materials are handled and utilized, and in the process a myriad of waste products are generated. In my current work I explore the potential of abandoned and discarded products of our contemporary life….it is in objects such as plastic milk bottles for example, that I see endless possibilities to explore the qualities of this otherwise unappreciated material. I cast a light on the materials of discarded objects revealing and enhancing the unapparent beauty.

Whilst at John Jones my intention is to create a small body of work using the waste products that I will gather from the workshops. I have some ideas of where to begin, but it is in the handling that the possibilities will show themselves. I will also be working on a large commission made entirely with the plastic from about 200 milk bottles. (Wave of PeaceII)

Rosalind Davis A-N Winner for Blog of the Year 2009

Andrew Bryant announces the A-N Magazine 2009 blogger prizes,

' One of the three winning blogs of 2009 is Rosalind Davis' Projection Space for its honest self-critique and insight into both making work and developing a career. '

You can also read Rosalind's blog here:
http://www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/533863
as well as the new blog ' I am Part of Something'

Or read it/ sign up to follow it on another site here
http://rosalinddavis.blogspot.com/

Create for Tate

Bob and Roberta Smith Blocks

Culture Label have just launched the 2010 edition of RELEASE, a design competition to hunt out innovative new product designs for museum and gallery shops and to put the word out to the creative community.

Culture Label are delighted to announce that this year they are collaborating with Tate to find two innovative new product designs to be produced and sold in Tate’s shops, at Tate Online and on CultureLabel.com. There is also a £500 cash prize plus a revenue share from sales of the product. For further information, to see a detailed design brief, or to enter the competition, take a look at www.CultureLabel.com/release

The Salon Video Art Prize

Due to a lack of support for Video artists Matt Roberts Arts has spent the last 8 months developing a new art prize concentrating on showcasing new media work.

The Salon Video Art Prize is the 4th open submission exhibition organised by Matt Roberts Arts since 2007, as part of a long term commitment to increasing opportunities and exposure for early – mid career artists. The Video Art Prize will be selected by Mike Sperlinger (Assistant Director - Lux), and Zineb Sedira (artist working in Photography, and Video) and will include 40 - 50 artists working in video, video installation, animation and experimental film.

The exhibition will take place at Matt Robert Arts Project Space, on Vyner Street, in East London, opening on Thursday 4th March, 2010. There is a selectors' prize of £800(GBP) for a chosen exhibitor, and the exhibition is likely to receive over 1000 visitors including national and international critics, curators and collectors.

The deadline for DVD submissions is 5pm, Saturday 23rd January, 2010. If you would like to know more please visit www.salonartprize.com or email salon10@mattroberts.org.uk