Exhibitions
Wall to Wall (Serpentine Gallery, till 27 February) The Bigger Picture (McLellan Galleries, Glasgow, till 4 April)
Prime spaces
Giles Auty
There are weeks in the year when a combination of dismal weather, profession- al experience and perhaps even one's astro- logical chart conspire to dampen rather than elevate the spirit. By the end of last week, I felt intense compassion for all who would be artists in 1994, especially the young ones. What put me in this humour?
Perhaps it is a recognition that the physi- cal and psychological condition of art work so strongly now against the emergence of fresh and significant talent. I believe the art world is divided more deeply at present than at any time during the past 40 years and that while one side enjoys the greater and more widespread support among intel- ligent people, the other has sole access to the levers of power. The paradigm for this state of affairs is an Eastern-bloc country of recent memory: the former East Ger- many, for instance. However, in spite of Paul Johnson's recent, bellicose and stir- ring rhetoric on the subject in the pages of this paper (And another thing, 15 January), I do not feel the end of modernist hegemo- ny is imminent or even in view. A first sign of real change might be if public outcry demanded that programmes such as the BBC's Kaleidoscope showed even some notional fairness in their coverage of the visual arts. To be effective, opposition needs also to be organised, clear and quite specific in its aims, thus a vital first step might be a handing over of one of Lon- don's publicly-funded venues to the show- ing of the best living art of a non avant-gardist nature. A number of impor- tant people have told me they see the Ser- pentine Gallery as an ideal first choice for such a change of emphasis.
At present, the Serpentine is a mini-flag- ship for the supposed cutting edge in art, isolated not only by lack of easy accessibili- ty within the green seas of Hyde Park but by the lack of accessibility and general appeal of so much of the art it shows. The present exhibition, 'Wall to Wall', is yet another march past for the modernist faith- ful, being initiated at Party headquarters the South Bank — and proceeding to Southampton and Leeds City art galleries, just two of the venues which would have been ideal for the John Minton show wrote about a fortnight ago. Compared with monotone, minimalist installations of recent times such as Richard Serra's draw- ings, the Serpentine glows with strident colour and slogans at present but I fear many may find the experience almost as sterile. Those who decorate the walls at the Serpentine but not at the other venues are One of the istallations from 'Wall to Wall' by Barbara Kruger Lothar Baumgarten, Jessica Diamond, Bar- bara Kruger, Niele Toroni, Lawrence Wiener and the ubiquitous Michael Craig- Martin, trustee of the Tate and Professor of Fine Art designate at Goldsmith's Col- lege. Were we really in the former East Germany, I imagine Craig-Martin might occupy some yet more prominent and influential role. The work in the present edition of 'Wall to Wall' is a mélange of the customary solipsist, feminist and would-be challenging themes. While academic paint- ings of the past enjoyed titles such as 'When did you last see your father?', the new and equally arid academism of today would probably demand, 'When were you
last molested by your father?' The effect of the clever and interesting installation by Baumgarten apart, be cautious of the other works if you are feeling drowsy. Forthcom- ing delights of the Serpentine season include an exhibition curated by boy-prodi- gy Damien Hirst entitled 'Some Went Mad . . . Some Ran Away' which probably fore- casts the reaction of a potential audience quite accurately and a show by that avid examiner of bodily functions Helen Chad- wick.
For those whoe mental maps of the galaxy extend to El, a trip to 146 Brick Lane is recommended highly at present.
The Atlantis Upper Gallery is vast 12,000 sq. ft, with a high roof, to boot - but it is hard to imagine works of less mas- sive size than those on view at present fill- ing it successfully. Anyone who thinks enthusiasm for painting is dead do so in the face of the steepling ambition and artistic courage of Hughie O'Donoghue; apparent- ly the huge paintings which constitute 'A Painted Passion' are part of a commission which has occupied him for the past 5 years. To work on this extraordinary scale he must have a small cathedral for a studio but this would be appropriate also to the iconography on offer. Although based on the figure, his subjects are metaphysical. Here is new-found force and interest plus much greater resolution than in his earli- er work which found itself classified under a New Romantic heading. Clearly O'Donoghue believes still in the cathartic and philoprogenitive attributes of paint- ing. The elements themselves seem on the march at Brick Lane. What a welcome sight such a show would be at more central venues such as the Hayward or Serpen- tine.
While O'Donoghue's Irish, presumably Catholic, antecedents shine through, a sur- vey shows at the vast McClellan Galleries in Glasgow (270 Sauchiehall Street) attempts to define Scottishness in painting in an overview of the nation's art from the 17th century to the present day. Is there a specific Scottish sensibility? Is it to be found in a yearning for wild natural beauty or glowing colour? Some of the most recent work looks more redolent of Rab Nesbitt than Rob Roy but no doubt this is all a true part of the bigger picture.
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