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Show 48
CITY RACING, LONDON
To use a football cliche, this is a show of three halves. First there is Brian Dawn Chalkley presents Motherload, a neon-lit collection of wall-mounted objects and video projections by 11 artists. This includes David Harrison's Alice Springs, a Picasso-esque recycling of a deep-fat fryer, some bed springs, a pair of floral brooches and a twist of pink rubber, all skilfully transformed into the Alice of the title. Highlights of the video programme are Edwin David's tragic piece on Nico, called All Tomorrow's Parties, and Chalkley's own nocturnal road movie. Secondly, there is Jemima Stehli's installation: three, life-sized photographs where Stehli acts out Allen Jones's controversial furniture-sculptures. Stehli adopts the poses for Jones's original Table 1, Table 2 and Chair, but it is unclear whether we are supposed to view this as critique or homage. Finally, Hilary Lloyd's Sal is a video installation presented as a room-sized tableau, where we are left to consider Sal as she mooches and fidgets, while off-screen we hear distant voices and passing cars. Why we have been asked to consider this mundane scenario is unclear until a brown dog jumps up to attract Sal's attention; from this point on we realize that, as viewers, we have been doing much the same as Sal - watching and waiting. Lloyd cleverly establishes the presence of the audience within the work itself, reflecting us back onto ourselves.
Matthew Higgs

ABSOLUT NeW
CASTLEFIELD GALLERY, MANCHESTER
If, in music, Manchester-cool has come to mean slouch walks and morose attitude, the city's art image has for decades been a rather purist one. The artist-run Castlefield Gallery is flourishing creatively, if struggling financially. This sponsored show has works by over 30 artists currently living in the region and many are moderately priced. The range of work on display indicates that the Manchester scene has begun a process of self-liberation from the painterly seriousness of its past. While Liam Spencer's gloomy, urban landscapes or Ben Cook's lemon abstracts might be seen to be keeping to the traditional Manchester style, some cultural irreverence has crept in elsewhere. This is mostly achieved by those willing to own up to the fact that the lens of the photographic, movie and video camera has radically altered and conditioned our visual experiences and artistic responses. So, for example, Anneke Pettican and Kerri Moogan present collaborative stills with the enchanting blur of city lights seen from a late night ride home; Nick Crowe's blue-black motorbike R-type transparency print is a Kieferesque icon of escape from the dead end of the century. These works have Manchester cool a-plenty but, well, they're more connected.
Robert Clark

Propositions
CAIRN GALLERY, NAILSWORTH
Quietly occupying some attic rooms in the small town of Nailsworth, this is an truly magical contemporary art gallery, run by poet Tom Clark. 'Propositions' is a continuing series of exhibitions that began last summer. For each show, three artists are invited to present work, together with a statement or proposition. This particular exhibition, though, is slightly different: instead of individual artists, there is work from three separate publishing groups. Installed in the first room is the extensive Audio Arts archive. Established in 1973 by artist William Furlong. Audio Arts is a quarterly magazine on cassette, offering recordings of conversations with, and talks by, artists. There are of course listening facilities here. In fact, the room feels like some nostalgic recording studio. In the adjoining room, Morning Star books, based in Edinburgh, have a small green book on display, simply entitled Irish. Inside is the seven-line poem 'Irisch' by Paul Celan, together with five very different English translations of it, and one in Gaelic. Accompanying the book are seven gouache paintings by Sol LeWitt. The third room exhibits four prints from Peninsula, an artists' cooperative based in Holland. Richard Long's print is stunning. Long's work can seem out of place in the grand museums, lavish coffee table books, and documentaries where it frequently appears, but here, within the intimacy of the Cairn Gallery, its beauty and integrity shine.
Julian Warren

Technosophia I: overpromised
THE SWISS INSTITUTE, NEW YORK
Strangers to New York City might be surprised to learn about a hip art opening on Broadway, but then, times are changing. These days, most galleries are filled with rather uncontroversial stuff, though some artists are trying to break this stalemate. Artists like those at the Swiss Institute, who are attempting to give expression to the sounds and sights of a young generation. Initiated by Swiss artists Eric Schumacher and Andrea Clavadetscher, Technosophia I' is the first in a series of three installations. Everything about the exhibition reflects a less rigid approach, creating a real live action experience. In the 'sound lounge', crafted by Bessie Nager and Ali Janka, a huge silver tubular padded network hangs cloud-like from the ceiling. Hidden inside it, speakers play a techno jukebox selection by 22 different artists and DJs. Central to the group's work is a desire to associate art with the everyday - here, club culture and its offshoots. Colour photocopies of the DJs and artists are stuck loosely to a white wall, echoing the anti-art tactics of the Fluxus and Dada movements. It seems ironic that it is European rather than US artists who are breaking the mould in New York, but perhaps it's because they're not interested in producing work that conforms to market demands. Technosophia I' (an intentional hybrid of techno and philosophy) is a burst of clean, honest fun.
Jane Czyzselska