Karsten Schubert London
Press Release
Alison Wilding: Mesmer Again
7 December 2020–12 February 2021 Room 2, Soho, London | By appointment
This solo exhibition displays Alison Wilding’s work in two contrasting rooms: one a spare look at her large 2016 piece Mesmer, the next an abundant display of new wall and table pieces and drawings.
Renowned for her innovative approach to material, the works exhibited range from Mesmer, its wooden parts held together by m a g n e t s , t o s m a l l e r sculptures made of alabaster, bronze, fibreglass, silver wire and brass. Many of the works in Mesmer, Again were made by Wilding in 2020 and are exhibited here for the first time. This includes new series of drawings, dark in mood, made of black rubber paint, scraped and poured over sheets of paper and collaged.
Mesmer, Again runs in Room 2, Karsten Schubert London’s gallery in a former apartment in a mid-18th-century Soho townhouse. For Wilding, this is an appealing location to show her works as it offers a view of what it is like to live with sculpture. As she says about her piece Drone 3 placed in the gallery’s window, ‘the north light coming through the window reveals something new about the sculpture, encouraging the viewer to approach the work quite differently compared with being in a white cube space, which is a showroom, not a living room.’
Mesmer, Again is accompanied by a catalogue featuring an interview with Alison Wilding by Tom Morton.
www.karstenschubert.com : @karstenschubertlondon Karsten Schubert London
About Alison Wilding
Alison Wilding (b. 1948) is one of the UK’s foremost sculptors and has been represented by Karsten Schubert London since 1987. Having studied at Nottingham College of Art, Nottingham; Ravensbourne College of Art and Design, Bromley; and the Royal College of Art, London, Wilding came into prominence in the 1980s as one of a group of sculptors including Richard Deacon and Antony Gormley. Her first major solo exhibition was held at the Serpentine Gallery, London, in 1985.
Recent solo exhibitions include the De la Warr Pavilion, Bexhill; Leeds Art Gallery and Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester. Her work can be found in the public collections of the Tate, British Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, Henry Moore Institute and many more. She was twice nominated for the Turner Prize (1988 and 1992). Recent public commissions include Still Water, a memorial to UK citizens affected by terrorism overseas (2018). Currently she is Eranda Professor of Drawing at Royal Academy Schools and was made OBE in 2019.
www.karstenschubert.com : @karstenschubertlondon Karsten Schubert London
About Karsten Schubert London
Karsten Schubert London represents a list of prominent and emerging British artists: Rose English, Tess Jaray, Ann-Marie James, Sarah Kogan, Frances Richardson and Alison Wilding. Since its founding in 1986, the gallery has presented a continuous programme in London’s Soho, today operating at 46 and 44 Lexington Street.
Karsten Schubert London launched Room 2, a new exhibition space, in January 2019. This gallery in a mid-18th-century terraced house apartment provides a platform to exhibit work by artists they admire in an unconventional, domestic setting. The exhibition programme focusses on close collaboration with artists to create thoughtful, select shows. Karsten Schubert London also co- organises exhibitions with partner galleries and museums and participates in international art and book fairs.
Ridinghouse, Karsten Schubert London’s publications arm, is dedicated to publishing the best of art writing and criticism, revisiting art history and exploring individual artists and specific projects through its expanding lists. Recent titles include Bridget Riley: A Very Very Person by Paul Moorhouse, Cecily Brown: Shipwreck Drawings and The Outwardness of Art: Selected Writings of Adrian Stokes.
Throughout its esteemed 30-year history, the gallery has championed international contemporary artists, with a special focus on artists from the UK. Notable exhibited artists include: Carl Andre, Glenn Brown, Mat Collishaw, Keith Coventry, Michael Craig-Martin, Dexter Dalwood, Dan Flavin, Anya Gallaccio, Gary Hume, Tess Jaray, Michael Landy, Bob Law, Gerhard Richter, Bridget Riley, Ed Ruscha, John Stezaker, Rachel Whiteread, Alison Wilding and Fred Wilson.
Karsten Schubert, the company's founder, was born in Berlin, Germany in 1961 and died in London in 2019. He was an Advisory Board member of Drawing Room, London, and a Faculty of the Fine Arts member of The British School at Rome. He was a celebrated art writer, collector, publisher and dealer.
Today, the gallery continues under the leadership of Managing Director Tom Rowland.
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www.karstenschubert.com : @karstenschubertlondon