But can we wait until summer 2012?
I was lucky enough to get an invite to an exclusive ‘pre’ preview of the new Damien Hirst exhibition that’s opening at Leeds City Art Gallery this weekend. It’s the first time such a collection of his work has been put together outside London and I have to say from what I saw last night, it’s pretty special.
The first thing that hits you is the vivid collection of ideas all in one place.
The first room we saw (with the exhibits still being constructed) was choc a bloc with some of the most audacious art created in the UK in the last 25 years. From a lamb in formaldehyde to Hirst with a corpse’s head, this room is full of some of the most iconic art ever seen in Leeds.
It almost feels like a big band playing Glastonbury – they don’t mess about with the latest album (OK, you might get the new single) but they concentrate on smashing it with all the big hits and this show feels like that. I concede we don’t quite get the big guns – no sign of the shark or diamond skull, but you get the crowd pleasers, no question.
You want spots? Check. Pickled animal in case? Check. Unsettling biological models? Check. Pharmaceuticals? Check. Skulls…the list goes on and it doesn’t disappoint. And even in this unfinished state it beguiled and there’s no denying the thrill of being up close to this art that we know so well.
There’s a lovely themed room around Hirst and Pierre-White’s doomed restaurant venture Pharmacy where the key elements that were taken out of the restaurant are installed together including the stunning neon signage and exquisite wallpaper – a room that will have every graphic designer within 50 miles salivating.
This wonderful event – organised by the rather fabulous Culture Vultures – was a low key evening where we were treated with a personal tour of the exhibition by Gallery Director Nigel Walsh where the background and context for each piece was discussed. Amidst the unopened packing cases and working gallery staff, this was a unique opportunity to see the art almost in a pure state. It lent a rather surreal atmosphere to Hirst’s work that needs no amplification.
I’ve dug out images of some of the pieces you can expect to see when the exhibition opens later this week. It was a strictly no camera policy at the event – and trust me that took some discipline!
There’s talk of a ‘low key’ return to Leeds for Hirst at some stage, surely he’ll be pleased to see this stunning collection in his home city, in the gallery he frequented as a student.
Hirst’s work demands opinion and very quickly we got into the madman/charlatan/showman/genius discussion which I’m sure will be on the lips of everyone who visits. I think he’s all of these things and more besides – but there’s no denying the power of his work.
This is yet another fantastic exhibition in West Yorkshire in what is surely one of the best years for art with the Hepworth opening and the splendid Plensa at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
(All images courtesy of the wonderful world of Google Images, I didn’t take any of these at the event, promise)
Jodrell Bank Live is the very first live outdoor gig set amidst the Jodrell bank Observatory in leafy Cheshire about 20 miles from Manchester.
The jewel in the crown of this centre for studying deep space pulsar activity is the humongous Lovell telescope, the third largest steerable telescope in the world. And what a sight it is.
Hearing that British Sea Power were supporting Flaming Lips, I simply had to chalk this one up as another odd venue to see what I think is probably the best band in Britain today (BSP, not FL). Having talked about BSP on numerous occasions, there’s not much point in discussing them further in this post, but I simply had to share some of the stunning images from the evening courtesy of the Jodrell Bank Live website.
To be honest although the venue and the bands were awesome, the organisation left a lot to be desired with not enough toilets, inadequate food provision and a quite frankly laughable car park set up. I realise this is the first year and accept there’s room for improvement but for me it spoiled the wonderful evening in the sunshine.
We missed Flaming Lips and opted to scarper before the car park imploded after the headliners and were quite pleased with ourselves as we hared back across the M62 but looking at dome of the later images, we missed out I think. Fab to see BSP resurrecting Ursa major (the bear) and Paul the roadie dressed up as a ‘futuristic’ tin foil robot with plastic plates for breasts. Another nice touch from them was to enter the stage to fifties classic Telstar.
All in all a fabulous evening of firsts for me only slightly tarnished by the poor organisation on the day.
DeanoBlog 