Gordon Faulds | Contemporary Artist

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artblog entry 26.04.10 Live Stock Market presents: an interactive performance with Gavin Turk The Bust Party Hackney Wick, London, 24 April 2010 Invitation only Busts stacked ready on shelves A continuation of the project initiated for The Gervasuti Foundation, Venice Biennale 2009. Based on an original life size clay self portrait, multiple casts from that original are presented, for the invited audience to modify or re-interpret. The work evolving, as the sculpted busts are altered and mutated, becoming the artwork, as the installation proceeds towards conclusion. My clay modelling, perhaps owing something to my visit that afternoon to the Henry Moore exhibition at Tate Britain. At least the intention was going in a reductive primitivist direction, before time ran out on the meter and the next guest, artist Tony Brennan, took over...		All photographs by Elizabeth Earley www.elizabethearley.co.uk

artblog entry 08.03.10

The House Of Fairy Tales Exhibition - Opening
Millennium Gallery, Street-an-pol, St Ives, Cornwall
Saturday 06 March 2010

Angela Cockayne - Skitterings

Saturday Opening

Alice Herrick (Curator, House of Fairy Tales Exhibition), Joseph Clarke (Director, Millennium Gallery)

Gavin Turk (Artist), Mark Hammond (Artist). Painted headwear by Maria Teresa Gavazzi

Gavin Turk
Dorian Gray

Two days St Ives and Penzance

Strata, St Ives Island

Aloe, Penzance

Window, Penzance

Wine, water, candle.

Damien Meade
Structure IV

Tim Shaw
Funerary Figures

Gordon Faulds
Finial

Mark Hammond (Artist)

Stones, St Ives

artblog entry 03.11.09

Exquisite Trove and Old Halloween 31.10.09

Exquisite Trove
The New Art Gallery Walsall
Gallery Square, Walsall, WS2 8LG
Exhibition runs
31st October 2009 - 10th January 2010

Contributing Artists
Frida Alvinzi, Fiona Banner, Lydia Barnes,
Felix Berning de Monchaux, Peter Bond, Tony Brennan,
Clare Burgess, Rachel Cattle, Paul Chaney, Cedric Christie,
Toby Christian, Angela Cockayne, Container PLUS,
Tom Crawford, Adam Dant, Ian Dawson, Jo Digger,
Annabel Elgar, Gordon Faulds, FIELDCLUB, Jen Franklin,
Dmitri Galitzine, Maria Teresa Gavazzi, Bert Gilbert,
Rob Goodwin, Carolyn Gowdy, Anne Hardy, Mark Hammond, Alice Herrick, Jimp, John Jones, Nicola Jones, Josh Knowles, Daniel Langton, LEO, Dan Lobb, Ruth MacDougall, Otto Mama, Maitland Mason, Jeff McMillan, Charlotte Mew, Angus Mill,
B Minns, Cathy de Monchaux, Amanda Moore,
Anne Charlotte Morgenstein, Annie Morris, Rachel Newsome, Richard Niman, Lois Olmstead, Orly Orbach, Cornelia Parker, Hadrian Pigott, Raul Pina, Marlowe Chan-Reeves, Max Reeves, Steve Richards, Paul Sakoilsky, Lindsay Sekulowicz, Colin Self, Jane Simpson, Rodrigo Soloranzo, David Spero,
Brigitte Stepputtis, Samantha Sweeting, Francis Thorburn, Katherine Tulloh, Caesar Turk, Gavin Turk, Francis Upritchard,
Raisa Veikkola, Julie Vermeille, Jessica Voorsanger, Jon Welsh, Vivienne Westwood, Simon Willems, Viktor Wynd, Elliott Young, Yoke & Zoom.

An accumulation of artefacts, treasures, beach-combings, memorabilia, unique objet trouvé, and idiosyncratic sculptures, drawings and photographs.

At once, curious, endearing, fascinating and macabre, the fabric of the installation has been selected and curated from the studios and homes of contributing artists by artist Alice Herrick.

Beautifully displayed, lending extraordinary significance to objects and stuff, some of which, in isolation, could so easily be passed over. In other cases, the new context and relationship offers completely alternative readings of the items on display. This decided eclecticism, reflects both the essence of The House of Fairy Tales ethos, to foster creative engagement with and curiosity for the unique experience, as originally conceived by writer Deborah Curtis and artist Gavin Turk.

Derived, with a tip of the hat, in deference to André Breton's Exquisite Corpse, the Surrealist, chance inspired, Consequences like, game. The thread of Dada and Surrealism comes coursing down through a century of artistic revolution, counter-revolution and evolution.

Perhaps though, even stronger and more profound, the links to our archaic past in the form of storytelling, myth-making and fetish. The principle then, as now, being one of a passing-on of wisdom, of a key knowledge base and learning tools. As much as the joy and celebration of, the wonders of the universe, being, in the detail and the diversity, and in our unique powers of observation and accumulation.

The installation of both Exquisite Trove and The House of Fairy Tales Portfolio here, at New Art Gallery Walsall, is uncanny in it's seamless assimilation within the existing, extensive and similarly, eclectic Garman Ryan Collection the legacy of Sir Jacob Epstien's lover, then wife, Kathleen Garman and her life-long friend, the sculptor, Sally Ryan.

From the exhibition Press Release

"Exquisite Trove is an exploration of our passions and interests in collecting, displaying, documenting and telling tales through those things that surround us which reflect our own folklores and mythologies.

Many of the contributors are involved with The House of Fairy Tales as exhibiting artists, players or supporters and include a few children. The sense of playfulness at the heart of the show is a reminder that child-like play is a crucial part of our
understanding of life."
Alice Herrick

Hand by Cathy de Monchaux

Journey to Old Halloween - March of The Dead, through the streets of Walsall - 18.00hrs 31 October 2009

Master Of Ceremonies

The parade through the streets of Walsall, began as a shambolic promenade of players, artists, gallery staff, members of the public and assorted stragglers, ambling along Park Street, from the New Art Gallery Walsall. At City Square, as the drumbeats reached peak intensity, disarray transformed into a coherent whole, summoning up a jubilant carnival like - spirit of Old Halloween.

A spontaneous fusion of Victorian Music Hall meets the streets of Port au Prince or New Orleans.

Those passers-by and participants from Walsall who, either by design or default became swept up in the exhilaration of the moment - a moment which, I hope, they will remember... Remember and recall as an extraordinary fanfare, welcoming-in an all embracing link, both to our common ancient past and our most exciting present.

Hullabaloo! Ah Hullabaloo!

Skeletal Drummer

Hullabaloo Parade

Grim - up North - Reaper

artblog entry 08.09.09

Some Photographs 2008/2009

Bench, Torquay

Museum, Rome

Coast, Cornwall

Notice, Cornwall

Niche, Ibiza

Wall, Rome

These images reflect examples of forms and textures informing my recent work, particularly the Future History series

Harness, Ibiza

Document,
Vatican Museums

Tide debris, Somerset

artblog entry 10.06.09 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2009 Burlington Gardens - reflection in John Maine sculpture Undo Do 2008 hung in Gallery V, curated by Gus Cummins RA Gallery V at Buyers Preview Varnishing Day, after polishing off a few glasses of champagne. Thanks to Sasha Bowles for the photo

artblog entry 26.05.09 House of Fairytales - Tate Modern - The Long Weekend 22-25 May 2009 Sunday afternoon sunshine, the crowds around here... Friday 8.00am before The Long Weekend Cedric Christie and Tate Curator Cedar Lewisohn in The Big Bank Holiday Monday Play-off, serious business		Here... Fairytales activities Medallists

artblog entry 26.10.08 Royal West of England Academy, 156th Autumn Exhibition, Private View, Saturday 25 October 2008 Undo Do 2008, included in exhibition, hung in splendid company alongside works by eminent Academicians Peter Ford RE and Neil Murison. Also published this week, in the latest edition of Proof Magazine, here is the accompanying text: The drawing is one of an evolving series of studio based still-life studies, which offer a contemporary interpretation of the traditional still-life drawing. Consistent with, Seed Sower 2007, a work, which was short-listed for Jerwood Drawing Prize 2007, Undo Do is essentially an objective drawing, in this instance, of a bird’s nest, where the subject represents a significant visual metaphor. The nest was blown, entire, by fierce spring gales, landing several metres from its original location. The dramatic shift of context brought it to my attention, in the way one looks at a sculpture or any work of art. It occurred to me how the process of construction and then destruction was a serendipitous metaphor for the inevitability of change. The time, energy and instinctive skills involved to construct this necessary, sanctuary for procreation, generate into this complex woven form, made up of selected twigs, shoots and deadwood. The bird makes this beautiful thing, automatically and without either learned template or aesthetic deliberation. When I compare this with the process of bringing a contemporary work of art into existence, it is almost diametrically opposite in approach. The objective, similar to the quest for quietude in meditation, is a striving for, simplicity, for the definitive. A paring away of conscious decision-making to get to something as perfect in its uniqueness as the bird’s nest is perfect in its utility. The introduction of over-written handwriting, illegible, in these works, is an aesthetic choice, fetishising the drawings, to look like antique relics. The writings are personally significant and relate to the core subject of ‘change and transformation’, but diffused, as it appears in the final work, the text is impregnable, mysterious. Excellent edition Jago, keeps getting better.

artblog entry 02.10.08 James Goff called me back in June or July, he says, Gordon, Claudia and I are getting married on 27 September, and I'd like you to come... and if you'd like, you can spin a few tunes, you know Charlie Wrights style... I first met James in 1992 when he handed me the keys to 18 Charlotte Road from his first Stirling Ackroyd office in Rivington Street, London EC2, at a time when he had a team of only three. The next notable moment in our friendship, a few weeks later, was playing for The Old Street Onians Rugby Football Team, a raggedy bunch of ex-RCA graduates, assorted architects, rock musicians and of course, estate agents. It was about their second game against a team down in Chiswick. I remember the ref was just some guy who happened to be dragged away from the bar, inspirational. Typically, low on try's, and probably just hanging-in there, with a score against us of something like 60-0, the play fell into a ruck on the right flank of the oppositions half, about 30 metres from their touchline. I remember James tearing in to the edge of this shambling ruck like a young bull that needed feeding, he looked like the only person in that exhausted knot of bodies who actually had a sense of purpose and more importantly, a smidgeon of 'energy'. Within seconds he had un-rooted the ball. With ball firmly in both hands, he passed it swiftly into mine as I ran onto the play, and this pony-tailed veteran runner, affectionately monikered 'Alf Tupper', and still pissed from too many Whisky Sour's in The Groucho Club the previous evening, shot down the oppositions blind side and popped the ball safely over their line for a magnificent try, that turned the Onians fortunes around, ...at least that's how I remember it. Sixteen years on then, it was a pleasure and a privilege to be guests at the wedding of Miss Claudia Chaplin to Mr James Goff, in gorgeous Ibizan sunshine.

artblog entry 12.07.08 Winner of RBSA Portrait Prize 2008 for the painting, Sometime Before Now Later 2007/8 Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Imaginative Portraits, Open Portrait Award Selected by: David Hemsoll, Senior Lecturer in History of Art, Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham. Brendan Flynn, Curator of Fine Art, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. Jon Perks, The Birmingham Post's Magazines Editor This is the first time the finished painting has been exhibited. FANTASTIC - Thank you		Subject and Portrait

artblog entry 03.06.08 Monday 2 June Varnishing Day, Royal Academy of Arts, Summer Exhibition 2008 After setting out, in January 2007, with the objective, to get work selected and into major national exhibitions, to be selected for Jerwood Drawing Prize 2007 and now, in 2008 the RA Summer Exhibition, is a fantastic endorsement of the work I'm producing. It was a privilege to accompany the other artists and RA's in the traditional procession to St James's Piccadilly for the Service for Artists, followed by the Varnishing Day Reception, to meet so many peers, friends and senior Academicians like Leonard MCComb RA who's work I have loved, since I first saw it more than twenty five years ago.		Geoffrey Rigden, Humphrey Ocean RA, and Gordon Faulds, discussing the unquestionable merits of 'the hang' in the Small Weston Room.

artblog entry 29.05.08 Appledore Visual Arts Festival 2008, Appledore, North Devon Enter The Dance Moving dance performance by choreographer, Sue Way and internationally acclaimed ceramicist, Sandy Brown. This was Willem De-Kooning done-live down Devonshire way. Thanks also to Polly Thompson of Dora's House B&B, Appledore for her wonderful conversation and hospitality.		Dancing in unseasonable rainshowers, scantily dressed and covered in clay and acrylic paint, deserves huge praise and admiration... despite the cries of the six year old who piped up, ten minutes into the performance, "Mummy, what are they doing?". Well done Sandy, Sue and Christoffer De Graal, who provided the musical accompaniment.

artblog entry 15.09.07 Somewhere Before Now Later Completed 14.09.07 (revised June 2008) The painting originally began as a portrait of Liz in the Hot-tub, because I loved the way, the light, from beneath the bubbles, reflected on her face. I developed the background later, adding the orchard outside, in evening light, moonlight. This added space, depth, made the picture stronger, but I knew it still needed something more. The expression demanded something, I felt it wasn’t enough, as it was. I wanted to introduce a figure, a male figure, nude, perhaps the focus for her pensive expression, perhaps something to shift the emphasis away visually, something which added more than the sum of it’s parts, in terms of interpretation. And the title, I changed the title from EAE, (Elizabeth Anne Earley), a straight portrait, to the more enigmatic, Somewhere Before Now Later. I felt this conversational, anachronism, lent more emphasis to the relationship of the central elements in the painting, the portrait, the naked male looking out of the window, the reflection of the hot-tub in the window. I love the illusion that, there is a triangle, of connection, possible but not possible. I like the contradiction. A kind of hiatus exists, a hanging pause in the continuum of events. Those moments where creative leaps occur, acts or thoughts, open...		Somewhere Before Now Later 2007 Oil on board 137cm x 71cm

artblog entry 26.07.07 Port Eliot Literary Festival in the sumptuous gardens of the estate at St Germans, Cornwall. Invited to participate in Deborah Curtis and Gavin Turk’s House of Fairytales, a section of the festival designated for children’s stories created by visual artists, writers, actors, set designers and a variety of multi-talented individuals, all coming together to camp-out for the weekends events. My contributions; Six word sculptures, based on messages of affirmation or countering expectations. "The little girl and the dream", A story, for children and grown-ups. Dressing like a Wizard, aka, Mr Everybody, Nobody and yet Somebody. A DJ set on Saturday night.		Mr Everybody, Nobody, and yet, Somebody... Port Eliot Litfest 2007

artblog entry 08.07.07 Completed A large drawing of a patent Seed Broadcaster, which I had bought some years ago at auction, with the intention, at the time, of using it for a work of art, in some way. The work itself, in colour pencil, a feat of concentrated observation. The introduction of handwriting, though, overwritten and often illegible, like alchemical clues or ciphers came about, influenced, in sensibility, by visiting Documenta 12, in Kassel, Germany, last month. The metaphor of the Seed Sower representing my-self, male gender, my 'expected' life’s purpose, perhaps, but, also, sowing the seeds of ideas, of dreams, many textured. The object itself, transposed into two dimensions, thus, appears anthropomorphic, like a mechanical angel, or some archaic musical instrument, bag-pipe-like. I like the link to my earlier work, the wall hanging sculptures from 1980 and work I did for the Wilson Hale show in 1990 This drawing, is rich and engaging as a subject. Aesthetically satisfying.		Seed Sower, 2007 Colour pencil on paper 90cm x 110cm Shortlisted for Jerwood Drawing Prize 2007

artblog entry 25.06.07 Cedric Christie ECM Tour – Basel Art Fair, Switzerland Documenta 12, Kassel, Germany. I know, when Cedric asks me to do something, that agreeing, means opening up to the universe. Wing and a prayer, 24 pairs of wheels. The concept: 12 fast cars, (not the latest marque’s, I hasten to add), sprayed up and branded, like intercontinental rally cars. One car for each Documenta. The branding, utilizing the names of participating artists from each Documenta, and then applying the graphic spin, of name with well known logo. For example, from the 1955 car, Pirelli becomes Picasso, and so on. The photographs reveal better than words can explain. My part, one of the drivers, (Documenta 9, the VW Golf) with passenger, (stepson and photographer, Alastair Brown), we set off from Hackney at around 22.00hrs late on Sunday 11 June. Objectives: Cedric had'nt slept more than three hours a night for the past ten days, at least. So he was, understandably, less than inclined, to project-manage the route-planning or articulate any definitive objectives, beyond getting all 12 cars to Basel Art Fair Opening Party and then on, to Kassel for the Documenta 12 Opening Days. The plan: Although not scripted or even, a plan, at this stage, was, that the long haul drives would be, through the night. This made sense, the roads are quieter, making it easier to stay, relatively, in convoy. The air temperature is cooler, none of the cars had aircon, and the daytime weather was, sunny and warm, for the best part. The greatest challenge here, personally, was letting go of any notions of a specific realisation of the project, ie, 12 cars all in one place and at one time, for a photo opportunity or a press call. Running a close second to that, was getting enough sleep to cope with the driving. Actually the second objective turned out to be much easier to achieve than the first. There were hiccups, fortunately less than anticipated, the greatest however was the Documenta Opening Party at the Schloss on the Friday evening when, without advance security clearance, we couldn’t get the cars anywhere near the event, anywhere that is where they would be visible. This, in addition to the fact that the heavens decided to open that Friday evening, which kind of flattened the atmosphere for an outdoor party. At this point, I declined another night under canvas, and broke ranks along with my, ever so grateful passenger, in favour of the delightful comforts of The La Strada Hotel. Other guests at The La Strada, here for Documenta, whom I had the great pleasure to meet and enjoy conversations with at breakfast, in the sunshine, by the pond of golden koi, included; Yasmin Canvin (Curator from UK), Gavin Turk (Artist), Mark Hammond (Artist), Jaqueline Genie (Filmaker), Deepak Ananth (Journalist and Writer, Paris), Cheryl Lynn Bruce (Performer and Writer, Chicago USA), Kerry James Marshall (Artist, exhibitor at Documenta, Chicago USA ) and Marie-Christine Gennart (Curator and Artists Agent, Brussels). Along with Amelia, Noah and Talullah Christie and Benin Artist Romuald Hazoumé (Artist and exhibitor at Documenta), many of these had a part to play in the day ahead… On Saturday the tour rendezvous breakfast was located on the terrace of the café/restaurant opposite the Neue Galerie and overlooking the Fulda River valley in splendid tranquil sunshine. An idea was mooted to drive to Münster for the, once a decade, sculpture show that was taking place there, this met with little enthusiasm, on my part. With a long drive back to the UK less than 24 hours away, I passed on Münster, and as a consequence, the rest of Saturday 16 June 2007 became a relaxed, highly enjoyable and, transformational experience. Resistance to the “Contemporary Art” milieu, heightened by walking round the indulgent, near empty, expanses of white display boards and then spang'ly, commodified aisles and booths at Basel Art Fair, shifted, on this day, in Kassel. Evolving into a more open, acceptance of and in some instances, engagement and pleasure in, both exhibits and curatorial choices, here at the Documenta. Chairs, courtesy of China Each pavilion had a different flavour, an individual artists work distributed selectively and in relationship, both historically and sometimes, also, in context to, other artists work, nearby. I particularly enjoyed James Coleman’s film ‘Retake with Evidence’, casting Harvey Keitel, Beckett-like in a faux Greek-tragedy, a monologue, in parts. It had the magic and the scale of cinema, but read, as virtual theatre. It engaged this viewer, where other exhibits and video installations appeared as, ‘measured’ and less memorable by comparison. Having met Kerry James Marshall and his partner Cheryl Lynn Bruce, I looked for his work, the storyboard Ho-strut, drawings in the Neue Galerie were a comic-strip fusion of hardcore hip-hop parlance and Indian ink, his painting of a house and garden get-together, reminding me of the Jill Scott song ‘Family Reunion’, painted on tarp, nailed direct to the wall, banner-like, it has a flavour of the early 20th century American paintings of George Bellows or Reginald Marsh. Truly American Romuald Hazoumé’s work was what really swung my viewpoint. The oil-can masks, and the oil-can ‘dream’ boat. These struck a resonance, confirmed a dialogue. The African Sculptures in the Louvre, visited 01.07, (nail-fetish dog, below) Photographs of Picasso’s collection of African masks in his Montmartre studio. Then, the culture of resourcefulness, of necessity, re-using objects, usefully and ingeniously, which are, in other circumstances, regarded as waste. Political comment, done with such abundant joi de vivre and proficiency, the work acutely accenting aesthetic pleasure so that the Socio-economic, Political, Cultural and Art Historical references, hover, within the layers of meaning and imbue the work with textural depth. A heartfelt dose of another reality, another way.		Wingin' it, on the forecourt Car #1, doubles as bed... Christie grabs 30min on Dover-Calais Ferry No going back! Aristotle, Socrates and Plato debate movement of vehicles Whaa! Münster?... Naa!