I’ve just spent a very enjoyable afternoon at the Ikon Gallery, and later on at Perrott’s Folly in Edgbaston.
The Ikon Gallery is a contemporary art venue located in the Brindleyplace development, just off Broad Street, Birmingham. It’s housed in a wonderful neo-gothic building and features temporary exhibitions over two floors.
Currently featured are the work of two artists:
Juergen Partenheimer is a German artist, and this is his first exhibition in the UK. It includes drawings, paintings, ceramics and atmospheric audio. Of the two exhibitions, this was not my favourite. I’m not that good at describing contemporary art, so I’ll leave it to the experts to do that for you (link will eventually expire) – all I can say is that I enjoy being challenged, surprised and delighted by art, and – perhaps unsurprisingly – the best parts of this exhibition for me were the sound installations. The Tower Room, with its cacophony of voices – in English and German – was a particularly memorable experience.
The second exhibition – ‘Lands End’ by Ruth Claxton – (again, link will expire) – was a delight. Various installations were composed of metal circles at different angles, some with mirrors (which were difficult to identify), some with coloured glass and some empty. On most of the installations sit porcelain figurines – some gaudy, some attractive – that have all been altered in one way – their vision has been obscured. This alludes to a world where perception is divorced from experience (so the notes tell me!) and the artist is apparently a big fan of Second Life.
Some of the mirrors in the installation are angled to create an illusion of depth which is impossible to explain here, but gave me the same sense of awe (and puzzlement) as I felt when I first discovered anamorphic art several years ago at the same gallery.
After wandering around the exhibition rooms, I went for lunch at the gallery cafe which was an unexpected pleasure with first-rate food and friendly staff. I jotted down a few comedy notes as I enjoyed the food and wine, including the best duck in orange sauce I’ve ever tasted.
Then it was off to Perrott’s Folly in Edgbaston – about 15 mins away on foot – to see the off-site section of Juergen Partenheimer’s exhibition – and fulfil an ambition to visit one of the tower’s that inspired Tolkien’s Two Towers.
You can see my pictures of the tower – inside and outside – here.
