Alan Kitching: A Life In Letterpress @ Somerset House

It's been a long time since I wrote up an exhibition visit for my blog, which is odd because I've been going to galleries at an insane rate over the last 6 months! On Monday I visited the 'Pick Me Up: Graphic Arts Festival' at Somerset House, which was wonderful for me as a design student. Running for it's 7th year, Pick Me Up showcases the very best movers and shakers rising up in graphic design and illustration. They have some very inspiring work on show so I'd really recommend spending some time exploring it. This year however, Pick Me Up is also hosting a retrospective exhibition of work by one of my personal design heroes, Alan Kitching. 'Alan Kitching: A Life in Letterpress' features over 100 prints, following Kitching's career from apprentice right the way through to the world-renowned designer he is today. 

Exhibition Visit: Casa Tomada by Rafael Gómezbarros At The Lowry

It feels like a very long time since I last posted about an exhibition visit, which is odd because I seem to have been going to loads of galleries recently as I am working on my Final Major Project at university. On Tuesday I visited this very interesting (and somewhat creepy) installation at The Lowry gallery in Salford Quays and thought I'd do a quick write up. 

The piece is by Columbian artist Rafael Gomezbarros, and consists of 1000 handcrafted ants, made from fibreglass casts of two human skulls along with twigs and rags, which scramble around the walls and ceiling of The Lowry’s long gallery space. In the installation, Gomezbarros explores issues experienced by undocumented immigrants and migrant workers, often displaced by war and unrest in their native countries and left feeling invisible and ignored by society. The unclean and grotesque visual appearance of the ants seeks to echo how migrants are often seen by wider society as unsightly vermin. Along with this however, the installation also celebrates the hardworking and productive nature of ants and in turn the positive contribution that migrants and immigrants make to society. 

Alongside the artwork itself, there were photographs displayed of Casa Tomada when it has been installed on the exterior of major public buildings across the world. The piece is often placed at points of departure and arrival that are historically significant for travellers and migrants and if you look into the history of the Manchester Ship Canal which The Lowry overlooks, it's easy to see why Salford is the perfect place to display this work due to it's diverse cultural history.

The Lowry isn't a gallery I tend to visit often however I'm very glad I gave this exhibition a look. Part artwork, part political statement, I found the piece extremely powerful and of course, visually incredible. 

Casa Tomada is running until Sunday 26th April @ The Lowry in Salford Quays 

Exhibition Visit: Transmitting Andy Warhol at Tate Liverpool

It's contextual studies week for me at uni and so yesterday I decided I'd better get my act together and finally see the Andy Warhol exhibition that's on at Tate Liverpool before it closes its doors on the 8th February. Now, I must first admit that I'm not the greatest Andy Warhol fanatic. His work is more of an inspiration of process for me rather than a deep love of pop art on my part. I do however respect his incredible influence and the fact that many of his statements about the world are even more vital to today's society than the society from which he practiced. 

Despite any of my preconceptions, he is the most widely exhibited of all 20th-century artists, and Tate Liverpool are featuring more than 100 examples of his work, so I'd probably be mad to miss the opportunity to see miss Monroe for a fiver. I am a graphic design student after all, I thought there was bound to be something there to tickle my fancy. 

The exhibition had an interesting take, choosing to focus on how the American artist publicised his iconic paintings to as many people as possible around the world and I have to say I really did enjoy the work. What was interesting to see was the vast range of Warhol's commissioned graphic design work, from album covers to book design as well as his work as an artist in his own right. I even found a new favourite. The Electric Chairs Portfolio (1971) is a series of silk-screens done in shockingly inappropriate sugary colours, completely at odds with the morbid subject matter. It's a very odd sort of sensation you get when looking at them, especially in an exhibition environment with velvet underground playing through speakers in the next room. 

The music, bold colours and flashing images all combine to make this exhibition a true sensory experience throughout and I'm very glad I took the time to visit. 

The work is only showing for a few more days so definitely get down to Tate Liverpool this week if you can!

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