Storey Gallery staff blog

2010-08-23T15:57:00.000+01:00

Artist Dan Baldwin, who exhibited at Storey Gallery last year in our show, Strange Days and Some Flowers, has been working with fashion designer Sara Berman. She has just launched a "Dan Baldwin Collection" including dresses, scarves, and jackets featuring his designs.
http://www.saraberman.com/Dan-Baldwin-Collection/Default.aspx

Another day - another show

2010-08-13T12:47:00.000+01:00

The recent exhibition TINA has now come to a close and we begin the preparations for Uncertainty in the City - an exhibition resulting from a four year off-site project we commissioned by the artists Snæbjörnsdóttir/Wilson...

Fedex has collected most of the work from TINA, which is heading back to the various corners of Europe as I type.. mean while beardy Jeff has begun the noisy dismantlement of screens and black out containers etc etc. Uncertainty in the City will contain several large constructions which Jeff is busy preparing for.

I intend to create another short animation for the install for Uncertainty in the City. We begin in ernest on the 23rd August so the first images will be up on the blog for you to see. They will probably include lots of pics of Jeff making sure his trousers aren't falling down as usual... we really should get that man some braces!

So until then there is much admin and planning to do. Keep an eye out for the first images on the 23rd.

: )
S

Volcano

2010-07-26T10:51:00.000+01:00

Ilana Halperin, who is working with Storey Gallery, currently has works included in an exhibition entitled Volcano: Turner to Warhol which is at Compton Verney 24 July - 31 October 2010.
This is the first exhibition to celebrate the extraordinary artistic outpourings that volcanic eruptions have triggered over the past five centuries.
Ilana is showing pieces from two projects - one related to travels in Hawaii, the other to a disappeared island off the coast of Sicily.
http://www.comptonverney.org.uk/?page=exhibitions/volcano

2010-06-06T19:00:00.000+01:00

Here's a quote which is relevant to TINA. It's from The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann, written in 1924.

‘Money will be emperor’ is a prophecy made in the eleventh century. Would you deny that it has now literally come to pass, and with it the utter bedevilment of life in general?

Change over

2010-05-18T11:50:00.001+01:00

The second installment of the animation documenting the most recent Storey Gallery exhibition change over:

Coming down

2010-04-09T16:53:00.000+01:00

I have been documenting the take out of the last exhibition, What happens if ... ? It is intended I will carry on doing this until the next show is up and open - or until the camera gives out.

Until then here is a taster of us moving lots of things around :

Final week of What happens if ... ?

2010-03-30T11:26:00.000+01:00

I cant actually believe it, we are in the final week of the current exhibition What happens if ... ? - its gone so quickly. When you spend so much time with one exhibition occasionally you can take looking at it for granted. Towards the end of an exhibition I always spend a few quiet moments on my own in the space trying to imprint what I enjoy about the show on my memory... I know that's a bit cheesy !!!

It's hard to believe Ariel Schlesinger flaming bike won't be here much longer.

So as it is the final week, maybe all those people who have been promising themselves they will visit, will do it : ) If you need an additional excuse Gallery Director, John Angus, is giving a tour of the exhibition at 2pm on Sat 3 April. This is a free event so no excuses - get yourselves along.

: )

Late night Thursday...

2010-03-18T19:23:00.000Z

Suzy is currently touring the Litfest writing students around the show. There is a certain buzz coming from them, after a few weeks of using What happens if...? as a tool to fuel their writing skills I think their questions of particular works are being answered.

With only two more late night Thursdays left for What happens if...? before the next show opens I suggest you come take a visit. The show certainly has a different atmosphere in the evenings and is well worth a second visit even if you have visited during the day. Short films to watch, flaming bike tyres to mindlessly ponder over, Bill Woodrow to admire, hovering paper balls to tease you, doorbells to press and the most interactive being the huge inflatable Jerome Harrington work. To get the best out of Harrington's work bring a bunch of friends/family with you so you're not doing all the hard work on your own. It's a true treat when it's fully inflated.

Hope to see you soon,

Thursday night gallery girl.

What happens if ... ? install slide show

2010-01-26T14:04:00.000Z

The install is well underway, after a little blip installing Bowery Light (we found out we actually needed the monster scaffold tower back again) and the resulting set back in terms of time, we are back on track. Jeff has now left the building and after spending most of the morning clearing up after what resembled amazonian logging, the remaining work is being unpacked.

There are two plinths left to paint, and all the wall based things to hang. Tonight will probably be a late one.

A trés cold install

2010-01-08T12:27:00.000Z

THE TOWER IS BACK !!!

Ever since receiving a thermometer for Christmas this year I have been addicted to the temperature, and the crazy weather we are having is only fueling my new obsession. I cant describe how over excited I get each morning as I remember my new thermometer not only records the current frosty reading but also the lowest over night.

This odd pre-occupation with thermal readings has now extended into the Gallery, and although it hasn't quite reached the arctic -20 we have seen in Scotland over night, working conditions of between -2 and a toasty 10 degrees C are making the install of our next exhibition interesting. Hopefully Dave's trip to the cellar to power up the heating will be fruitful.

Despite the not-so-cosy environment, Simon and Hanni have done a sterling job of removing the carpet which was lay for La Décision Doypack. Note to self: Never buy cheap ass gaffer tape again. The majority of the work for the show arrives from all corners of the globe next week, so beardy Jeff is booked in and I am confident we will be ready. We have a large black out box to build, about 100 plinths to construct and about 5 more old skool TV's to source......

what happens if ... ?

2010-01-05T13:29:00.001Z

what happens if_front, originally uploaded by storey_gallery.

Preparations begin for the arrival of the work in the next exhibition What happens if ... ?

Storey Gallery presents experimental and playful work by artists and designers from the UK, Switzerland, Hungary, Israel and the USA.

30 January - 3 April

Keep checking back for updates and images of the install.

La Décision Doypack - The opening

2009-11-16T10:57:00.001Z

On Friday evening we opened La Décision Doypack by Paul Rooney, to a brave crowd of guests who battled their way through some really crazy weather to be here. They also braved their way through a group of young artists dressed in paper suits at the entrance to the building - although not quite as exciting, or critically engaging as the Stuckist demonstrations outside Tate, for Storey Gallery this was a first. I believe they were promoting an event taking place in Morecambe later this week, I am sure you can find out more on the groups website bodycollective.org

La Décision Doypack is set up rather differently to our previous exhibitions, only open after dark and available to view at set screening times, attending the show resembles a trip to the cinema or the theatre. The opening had a really relaxed feel to it with guests coming and going at different times, there were periods of silence as groups went into each screening, guided by our invigilators through the small annex at the back of the gallery. This gave others time to listen to Radio Animal, our off-site project with the artists Snæbjörnsdóttir/Wilson, which was taking place simultaneously, live from Grizedale Arts in Cumbria.

If you would like to catch up with Radio Animal, an ongoing part of a larger project 'Uncertainty in the City', you can visit the website Radioanimal.org

Images and audio from previous events are available for you to investigate, the artists welcome content from yourselves so if you have any appropriate stories feel free to upload them along with images and sound.

La Décision Doypack continues until 18 December, Tuesday to Saturday. Screens at 6pm, 7pm and 8pm. If you would like to pre book a place at any of the screenings please email bookings(at)storeygallery.org.uk

Beardy Jeff's tour

2009-10-30T16:21:00.000Z

On the 27th August our joiner 'Beardy Jeff' gave a tour of the exhibition Strange Days and Some Flowers in his own words. It turned out he didn't really like much to begin with but after spending time coming back to the show for various reasons changed his mind - Saying this he was very taken by Mika Rottenberg's 'Tropical Breeze' from the word go!

Strange Days and Some Flowers

2009-10-30T15:34:00.000Z

The re-opening exhibition, Strange Days and Some Flowers, was opened on the 11th July by the Director of Tate National Caroline Collier. It ran until just recently and was very well received by our audience, most of the comments I find as I thumb through the visitor book are positive and congratulatory. Some are more obscure but over all it seems that this exhibition has sparked something in most of our visitors:

'An exhibition that you find hard to leave or let behind. Well done Storey Gallery.'

'Not at all what I was expecting in Lancaster, loved it. The best exhibition I've seen in years.'

'A very unusual exhibition - provokes thought and leaves you ever so slightly uncomfortable.'

'Rocked my socks!'

'I have never seen a sensible exhibition here.'

'So that's how moist towelettes are made!'

'As disturbingly interesting as it used to be'

'Amazing and unexpected'

'Maybe I should have taken some drugs before hand...'

Laying out Robin Mason's

2009-07-03T19:34:00.001+01:00

Laying out Robin Mason's, originally uploaded by storey_gallery.

Tropical Breeze, under construction

2009-07-03T19:29:00.005+01:00

Tropical Breeze, under construction, originally uploaded by storey_gallery.

Yoko XIX coming out of the crate

2009-07-03T19:29:00.003+01:00

Yoko XIX coming out of the crate, originally uploaded by storey_gallery.

Yoko XIX in her crate

2009-07-03T19:29:00.001+01:00

Yoko XIX in her crate, originally uploaded by storey_gallery.

The front comes off

2009-07-03T19:28:00.005+01:00

The front comes off, originally uploaded by storey_gallery.

Mark & Yoko

2009-07-03T19:28:00.003+01:00

Mark & Yoko, originally uploaded by storey_gallery.

Williams and Hill truck

2009-07-03T19:28:00.001+01:00

Williams and Hill truck, originally uploaded by storey_gallery.

There is something strangely satisfying seeing a truck full of art works arrive at your back door. After months of planning, all of those emails come to fruition, the gallery fills slowly with a swath of anonymous crates all shapes and sizes...

Well if I am honest they are not all shapes they are mostly rectangular...

They're not anonymous either they have big labels with their names on them...

Some of the work was uncreated. Laura Ford's Boy Storey II was gently carried through to the gallery wrapped lovingly in a furniture blanket and balanced perfectly on the movers hip. It didn't take long to unload, the gallery filled up quickly and I had a little panic about the size of a few things.

I need not of worried, the Storey Gallery has a spooky ability to swallow large works like white bait - head first and with very little effort. It's very likely Picasso's Guernica would be dwarfed by the gallery's
spacial illusions.

To date everything has been unpacked, apart from the delicate Yoko's which remain safely wrapped in their felt shrouds. Nick and Simon have been busy hanging most of the wall based work and beardy Jeff has pretty much completed Mika Rottenbergs shipping container.

Its coming together, only Matthew Houldings left to arrive.

Strange days and some flowers install

2009-06-19T17:20:00.001+01:00

Strange days and some flowers install, originally uploaded by storey_gallery.

This week has been a full one!! But it's been great to hear music and activity coming from the gallery as the installation of our re-launch show gets underway.

On Monday Graham Hudson, Sam Jones and a team of fabulous young artists - Shona Harrison, Christian Mills and Carl Hickey - began the installation Graham's new work. The 4.5 ton steel pole and clip structure spans the main gallery space creating pockets of space for the other work in the show.

The team have worked super hard... cheers all

Whilst this has been going on Jeff, our resident joiner/bearded teller of stories, has begun the construction of Mika Rottenbergs container. The equipment is on its way and all should be ready for testing early next week.

Sue's hologram

2009-05-21T11:52:00.001+01:00

Sue's holograph, originally uploaded by storey_gallery.

A hologram of Sue has taken over the admin and finance role whilst the real Sue is away on holidays....

What happens if the real Sue meets her hologram?

www.storeygallery.org.uk

Builders garden

2009-05-20T16:55:00.001+01:00

Builders garden, originally uploaded by storey_gallery.

Planting began this afternoon in The Storey courtyard garden. The builders have their own special way of arranging the various species....

I am sure their creativity will prevail and the courtyard will be a beautiful oasis of hardy shrubs and various other things which you often find in a Tesco car park. - except the Lupins although they will probably look after themselves.

www.storeygallery.org.uk

Fly Eric symposia

2009-05-18T16:07:00.001+01:00

Fly Eric Symposia series - Changing perceptions of what artists can do
NO. 2: Expanding possibilities for artists’ professional practice and opportunities for artists in the creative industries.

Saturday 30 May

The Storey Gallery is newly located in the Storey Creative Industries Centre and is keen to utilise this situation to investigate avenues for artists to gain a professional status and income.

Artists have commercially valuable skills which are often not recognised, either by themselves or others.This symposium will explore some examples of artists who are doing that, and some routes for development. Speakers include artist and cultural icon Linder Sterling, artist and architect team Sans façon, and artist Olivia Plender. Each speaker will talk about their experience of working within the commercial creative industries and making the most of these opportunities.

The event is chaired by Mitra Memarzia.

Storey Gallery, The Storey Institute, Meeting House Lane, Lancaster, LA1 1TH
The event will begin with a tour of the newly refurbished building.

The event is free but booking is essential. For more information and details of how to book follow this link:

http://www.storeygallery.org.uk/downloads/flyeric_symp.pdf

www.storeygallery.org.uk

We have returned ... ha ha ha ha (spooky horror type laugh)

2009-05-08T12:58:00.001+01:00

We have moved back into the building (The Storey Institute)...about the 28th ish of April we rocked up with a big van and some even bigger men to help shift all our precious (and not so precious) belongings.

Storey Gallery has been working from temporary office space for about 2 years, running an entirely off-site programme whilst the building (Storey Institute) was being refurbished. The £3.6 million building project has breathed new life into the beautiful Victorian gem.

Here is a not so beautiful image of the building on a rainy day:

Now we have settled in a little we are in the midst of planning for two major projects. An offsite project 'Radio Animal' with the artists Snæbjörnsdóttir/Wilson, for more info visit this page of our website click here, and of course for our launch exhibition 'Strange Days and Some Flowers' which opens on the 11th July.

More info about that to follow shortly. Until then, I still have many, many, many boxes of coloured pencils to unpack.