HICA – Highland Institute for Contemporary Art, Dalcrombie, Loch Ruthven, until 30 November 2008

HICA - Highland Institute for Contemporary Art, Dalcrombie, Loch Ruthven, until 30 November 2008

SITUATED 12 miles south of Inverness overlooking Loch Ruthven, HICA opened in August this year with Concrete Now!, a group exhibition by artists David Bellingham, Richard Couzins, Alec Finlay, Peter Suchin and Chris Tosic. A programme of exhibitions and publications are currently being planned for the artist-run space with the intention of “exploring the history and current influence of Concrete Art”, providing a creative hub and generating critical debate.

The principles of Concrete Art since Theo Van Doesburg’s 1930 manifesto have been explored in a variety of ways throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. The primary concern is with the painting (or other art forms such as sculpture, poetry or music) as an entity in its own right, stripped back to its pure plastic elements; planes, colour and form.

This type of geometrically abstract work explores the actual painting surface, can be inspired by scientific theory or mathematical formula and is resistant to traditional interpretation based on naturalistic representation or symbolism. In this way Concrete Art is a tradition reflected in movements such as Constructivism, Optical Art and Colourfield painting, and in the minimal approach of many contemporary art practices.

This latest show presents a selection of Peter Suchin’s smaller scale works from 1977 to 2006 exploring form, texture and colour in the Concrete sense but also investigating the framework through which we read a work of art. As a critic and contributor to publications such as Art Monthly, Frieze and Mute there is more at work in Suchin’s paintings than exploration of purely plastic elements. How these works relate both to the art world, the gallery space and the landscape beyond is an interesting line of enquiry that begs further investigation.

‘Miniaturisation is the Next Big Thing’ (Acrylic on board 2005) is a playful example reminiscent of the paintings of Gerard Richter. The place of artists such as Richter in the canon of art history and particularly within the art market presents a potential conflict of interest between the exploration of painting as craft and the market promotion of art as NOW.

The artist presents us with an ironic prototype, our contemporary obsession with the “Next Big Thing” cut down to size. Suchin’s humour is refreshing, as artist and critic he is fully aware of the dynamic between creative process and the fashionable art market. Rendering the image on an intimate scale in relation to its implied value and the proclamation of its title is an amusing twist.

It is also the first image to confront the viewer on entry to the gallery and a good choice by way of introduction to a show that is open in terms of how we might read the work. Removal of the subject through abstraction allows us to concentrate on the layering of paint, texture, colour and form, allowing the viewer to make their own associations.

There is an intriguing tendency in this show of giving the audience a fragment. ‘The Stephen Lee P.P’ (Acrylic on canvas 2003) and ‘The Balbec Line’ (Acrylic on canvas 2001) are obvious examples, but even a larger work such as ‘Small Accumulation Painting’ (Acrylic on Board, 1991) with its Pollock-like technique feels like a framed section of a much larger work.

The paint handling suggests the rapid and gestural movement we associate with Abstract Expressionism. However, the images are built up over a long period of time, completed when they reach what the artist describes as the “optimum moment”. Sometimes the moment is misjudged as in ‘An Endless Loop of Death’ or ‘In Castorp’s Castle’, both of which feel overworked, while other works such as ‘Non Location’ create a more convincing sense of balance between the plastic elements of the composition.

Overall Suchin’s palette is subdued – pattern, form and colour lead the eye rather gently into the work. Use of acrylic exhibits a natural tendency to mute colour, it doesn’t have the body and depth of oils. However, this suits the surface treatment very well and adds to the sense of stillness in much of the work.

Suchin’s selection of colour feels almost like that of domestic interior paint, an interplay play of cool and earthy hues. ‘Theatrical Conceit’ and ‘Non Location’ (both acrylics on board 2006) are good examples. In ‘Theatrical Conceit’ the composition comprised of broad flat areas of colour – rusted orange and grey tinged with green and blue – create balance in the work. In ‘Small Obliteration Painting’ (Acrylic on board, 1991) the paint is taken into the frame, layers of dots and horizontal striped textures emerging from underneath the picture plane.

‘Philosophical Painting’ (Acrylic on board, 1980) presents a vibration of dots in white, navy, pale blue and flesh tones like a swatch of Pointillism. In Concrete terms it’s a painting of optics, colour and form, uniquely of itself – it doesn’t refer directly to anything but layered paint, the actual picture plane and its title. It is a natural and compelling human tendency to see or search for meaning in images. and the painting’s title perhaps alludes to this, playing with the connection between the medium and the idea. In this way it is consciously composed within a framework of written and visual language, perhaps too consciously.

‘The Ticket That Imploded’ (Collage on board 1977) is the earliest work in the show and also the most finely balanced in terms of composition. The everyday found object torn in fragments creates a beautiful and subtle piece of work in white, brownish cream and yellow paper accented by darker typeface. The fragility of the aged paper is even more acute against the deep red wall on which it is displayed.

The juxtaposition of a white cube space in this location poses many questions culturally and aesthetically and it will be extremely interesting to see how the space develops. As a non-commercial venture accessibility, public engagement and involvement with local artists are some of the issues to be negotiated as the project evolves. With the artist present it was a pity that wider discussion did not take place around the exhibition opening. Such an event, if well publicised locally, would have been stimulating and a good introduction to the space.

HICA is open on Sundays from 2-5pm during exhibitions, or by appointment (see website link below)

© Georgina Coburn, 2008

Links

• HICA
• Additional images by Peter Suchin