Whilst researching contemporary presentation and exhibition methods and techniques, I read about this exhibition which was held in 2019 at the Arcadia Contemporary in Pasadena, California.
It was billed 'Mondo Tondo: An Exhibition with a Twist' and the twist was that all of the artworks were created on round panels. This was of particular interest to me, because the work I am planning to create for my Graduation Show, will also be on circular panels.
The Arcadia Contemporary Gallery challenged 52 well known artists from around the world, to 'think outside the box' and create a one of a kind, original work for this exhibition. Most exhibitions have a theme, but this exhibition was different; the artworks were only linked by the circular shape of the panels they were made on. Most of the artists involved in this exhibition had never created 'circular works' before, so this gave them the opportunity to try a different approach to presenting their works. The circular panels were 24" wide and made of alimunum, and were provided by a company called Artefex, free of charge.
The final artworks were of a very high standard, and interesting to view. The artists sent in work from places as varied as New Zealand and Taiwan. Some examples of the artists' works are shown below.
This piece is probably my favourite, it is an oil painting, created by Natalie Featherston from the U.S and is called 'Fight like a Girl'.
Toni Hamel from Canada made this skillful and amusing piece, it was painted in oil and is called 'Twas a lovely day - a groundskeeper's tale'.
This is another of my favourites, it was created by the English artist, Ben Ashton. It is an oil painting called 'To Our Glorious Future'.
I like the concept of an exhibition of circular paintings, and the way the artists were challenged to create something in their own style in this unfamiliar format. However, I was a little dissapointed to see how they looked, hanging in this contemporary gallery. They were displayed in a conventional fashion, at eye level against a plain white background. I thought the final result looked a bit boring. (Although I appreciate it could be argued, that the contrast between unconventional artworks and a traditional presentation style was interesting).
If I was lucky enough to be curating an exhibition of round paintings like this, I would have chosen to 'snake' them across a wall, emphasising their curves, to break from the tradition of straight lines that we usually see with the predictable square, portrait or landscape formats.
Here is an example of my circular artworks (Planets), in an exhibition that I had at the Solaris Centre in Blackpool, 2020. Although the venue was fairly conventional, with white walls and a corporate ambiance (being a council building). I chose to break with tradition, and display the Planets in a less conventional style than those evident in the Mondo Tondo exhibition. I used a curve to suggest movement and depth, reminiscent of the planets orbiting in the night sky.
Finally, here are the planets again, as seen in my recent exhibition 'A Discovery of Witches' which was shown at HIVE Cafe in Blackpool, 2020. Again the circular artworks are not displayed in a straight line. Instead I chose to present them in a semi-circle, to compliment the black and white triple moon design (above) and echo the crescent moons in the piece.
I consider curves to be feminine and straight lines to be more masculine, and as my work references the Divine Feminine (the Goddess) I consider it to be more symbolically appropriate to present and display my work using feminine curves. So, when the time comes to present and exhibit my work in the Graduation Show I will not be displaying the body of work in a linear fashion.
My final body of work, will be about the invisibility of women and goddesses, in the past and present. In 'The Language of the Goddess' Marija Gimbutas explains that the Paleolithic people symbolized the Goddess in their art, using 'signs of dynamic motion: whirling and twisting spirals, winding and coiling snakes, circles, crescents, horns, sprouting seeds and shoots. (Gimbutas, 2001, p.xix). Therefore, I am looking for a way of displaying it using curves, circles and sinuous, feminine lines. Perhaps as a series of circular works within a larger circle ?
References
Gimbutas, M. (2001),The Language of the Goddesses. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd.
https://fineartconnoisseur.com/2019/03/mondo-tondo (accessed 22nd February 2021).
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