At the moment the Surface Gallery is probably the most innacurately named venue in Nottingham. For a start the gallery space is not on the surface at all, but located in the subterranean depths of the Nottingham Voluntary Action Centre.
Aside from that, the arts collective is currently hosting 3D / Installation. This is a show dedicated to art that moves out the two dimensional and wanders recklessly around the room. On Tuesday night, with the obligatory gallery boxed wine, plentiful trays of crisps and gallery manager Sen regaled the crowd to the soothing strains of his Cassio Synthesizer as Nottingham was invited to confront the third dimension.
The theme proves to be a fruitful on for this show. It encompasses a number of different approaches to the concept of work that leaves the gallery wall. The most interesting of these is undoubtedly Qian Shen's painted glass and cloth projections. In this case the third dimension is light. Casting shadows on delicately painted female forms the work plays off the idea of the mysterious East, the mysterious woman, the every nature of concealing and revealing...as well as adding the forth dimension, time, to the consideration.
Other works of interest include Paul McLaughlin's folded paper creation, dubbed by one attended at the opening as "the Star Trek monster in the corner". And indeed, it creates an air of elegant menace, like a Crystal Entity or the bad dream of an organic chemist.
Helen Davies also makes an interesting use of gallery space with her organic wax shapes, which seem less to be presented on the gallery wall then growing out of it's surface (there's that word again). Some of them leave the official wall space entirely and grow along the corner. The effect is at once sensual and creepy.
Other exhibits may be a little too below the surface for their own good. One "sculpture" that attracted a fair amount of perplexed scrutiny was Christine Soro's "Untitled I", a bee. Made up of the parts of 9 other bees. A fascinating idea. The problem is I only found out the idea behind it by accident. To look at it, it seems to be....a bee. Such are the limits of conceptual art.
On the wittier side, there is Imogen Welch's computer keyed suitcase and John Murray's "The Limits of my language mean the limits of my world" a collection of waning markers for such contemporary dangers as traffic cameras and burning cows. Their charm lies in just how easy to identify they are...
Of course sss has made his three dimensional instillation out of the ultimate two-dimensional object, the sign. Bringing the theme neatly... back. to the surface.
The 3D/Installation show will run at the gallery through the 9th of July. Metamorphosis will open there on the 12th.
www.surfacegallery.org
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