The Going Hard group screening is on at Birmingham’s Grand Union on November 4.
Presented by Mitra Saboury for the gallery’s Digbeth First Friday film screenings programme, the event comes as part of the London- and Los Angeles-based artist’s current solo exhibition running at the space, called Pulling Walls. Featuring works by artists Derek Paul Boyle, Aaron Graham, Tamara Johnson, Paul Pescador, and Dominic Watson among others, the selection of films builds on the show where Saboury takes her background in neuroscience to explore “the physical and psychological impacts of space upon the body” through sculptural and video works.
London-based artist Prem Sahib is presenting solo show, Grand Union at Birmingham’s Grand Union, opening April 21 and running June 3.
The show will see Sahib —who works with what he feels from the atmosphere of spaces where physical encounters happen and when there is potential to touch and be touched —make a series of new objects that are “in choreographed conversation with each other”.
Grand Union has commissioned writer Huw Lemmey, author of recent Chubz (2015) to produce a short story, dank and rare, which will accompany the exhibition with its title that suggests a vague kind of coming together. Descriptors ‘dank and rare’ sound like inflections of the words proximity, anonymity and touch, also used to describe Sahib’s work in the press release, making note of his interest in drawing public spaces like saunas and clubs.
ArtistAlice Theobald has joined Focal Point Gallery for a three-week residency culminating with a performance at the Essex space on August 8.
The London artist joins ‘The Bear Pit‘, a purpose-built installation that operates as both studio and exhibition space, as part of a programme of events, exhibitions and residencies that each last three weeks. They’re curated by various artist-run spaces from around the UK invited to participate and for Theobald’s duration, the curator is Birmingham’s Grand Union.
Drawing from her research on ‘The Theatre of the Absurd’—a term coined by critic Martin Esslin in the 1960s and referencing a style of theatre that was consistent with Albert Camus’ existential view that “the human situation is essentially absurd in its struggle to find purpose and to control its fate”—Theobald will combine her interest in live performance, video, installation and music to explore the division between stage and life.
Exhibitions and events of interest are more globally dispersed the week starting February 16. Highlights include a remotely assembled exhibition by Kareem Lotfy and political satirist Andeel at Cairo’s Nile Sunset Annex and A Form is a Social Gatherer group exhibition, featuring the likes of Adam Cruces, Tiril Hasselknippe, Philipp Timischl in Zürich.
Around London, Future Brown is playing the ICA, Slade students – including Sarah Boulton, Cristine Brache and Olga Koroleva – are presenting at Fictional Symposium at The Showroom and Patrick Staff is presenting at Chisenhale Gallery. In other UK cities Benedict Drew “& Friends” are performing Salon Dyslexic in Nottingham and Mat Jenner has an exhibition in Birmingham.
As for Berlin, Mirak Jamal and Santiago Taccetti are hosting a second Stoneroses exhibition, including the likes of Martin Kohout and Katharina Fengler, while elsewhere Angelo Plessas has a new solo exhibition in Athens and Leslie Kulesh is showing online with CosmoCarl.
