INTERFACE

REVIEW

Kunstwerk Bazaar

Outpost Gallery
2-21 December

Reviewed by: Stephanie Douet »

On the Friday after the opening, the outside of Outpost was still a bit breathless: autumn leaves, gates akimbo, post-private-view dishevelment. Indoors, the white rectangular gallery had a confusion of matter all over the walls and floors, some flat, some pointy, quite colourful. As I stood in Outpost's lobby, wondering where to start (the identification of individual pieces was deliberately bewildering), the entire installation started to gradually sort itself into irregular, yet evenly spaced, art objects. An ordered disorder emerged; gentle audiovisual mutterings, paintings both little and large, a row of collages (on the floor) and a clump of drawings, pole-shaped objects leaning against the wall and two small mountain shapes in foil and paint.

Outpost is a four-year old artist-led gallery standing just outside the shadow of Norwich's Romanesque cathedral. Its uncompromising programme of new and experimental work provides exposure for graduates coming out of Norwich School of Art and for other artists of interest selected by the committee, which itself is reborn every two years. By investing in an advertisement in the art industry's most prestigious magazine, Frieze, as they have done so recently, Outpost has been rubbing shoulders with its national and international peers, and kindred organisations such as Transmission in Glasgow, Moot in Nottingham, and S1 Artspace in Sheffield.

For 'Kunstwerk Bazaar', curator and critic Andrew Hunt, once assistant curator of Norwich Gallery and now at Focal Point, Southend-on-Sea, selected over sixty works from unnamed submissions by artists derived from Outpost's members. Once Hunt had chosen the works, he curated by remote control: the Outpost committee hung according to his general brief, encouraged to arrange by juxtaposing, counterbalancing and contrasting works in a playful experiment of discovered and invented relationships. Additional events and performances were programmed into the three-week exhibition period, including Kaavous Clayton's witty and astute interviews on Outpost's website, seemingly to pull in more visitors to the show- and who knows- perhaps invite some Christmas sales?

Sorting out who did what and where to find it, even with the exhibition floor plan and artist list, was intentionally left unclear. There were no titles to hand indicating individual works, and so with the artists almost completely anonymous, the curator, Hunt, essentially became the only prominently named contributor; the impact of the curatorial process underlined. Corresponding and perhaps responding to this, Matthew Thompson's piece Stolen Labels was a witty touch- taken from various major shows and punctuating the installation, they gave a spurious 'Alice in Wonderland' authenticity to the hanging.

At times, the show was too cramped- the work shown in the small hall and washroom felt crushed, in desperate need of a visual pause between street and gallery. Working best within this space was Phil Cooper's collage of bank statements, pasted around the wall, offering a mix of real life and artifice.

The constellation of arranged shapes in the main gallery was easier on the eye than the rest of the show, and gave an impression of collective mass and irregular rhythm, feeling more democratic and jolly (and thence memberly) than a regular salon hanging.

Hunt has installed similarly hung exhibitions, at Dicksmith, Rockwell and Chelsea Space. On this occasion, the use of the term 'bazaar' is perhaps employed as an oblique rationale for the intense crowding of the gallery. The space was the size of a standard-issue village hall, whilst the scale of the individual pieces allowed them to fit into well-articulated clusters, creating a single, cohesive installation. Although I enjoyed the whole show I found it difficult to recall many of the individual works, except those in series which acted as micro-exhibitions within the larger 'bazaar'. This blurring of authorship which occurred might argue for less work to be hung, but for a gallery so interwoven with its membership, it is obvious that the organisers saw it as important to encourage a sense of belonging amongst its members.

There is always an element of self-interest involved in becoming a member of an artist-led space like this- everyone wants a chance to join in. Outpost is a small, quite defined community, drawing its artists and members mostly from Norwich Art School, and clearly doesn't want to upset loyal supporters, even those who may never realistically have a hope of showing work at the gallery. While allowing for a certain amount of inclusivity, members' shows must be able to maintain some artistic merit, and make the committee and members proud. So who gets what out of a show like this? For artists it's clear: inclusion/identification with a peer group, opportunity to show work, sales, exposure in local and/or preferably national media, further exhibiting opportunities.

During my time on the committee of Queen of Hungary Gallery (also once of Norwich), we too put on a group show of this scale and type, which we hoped would capture the gallery's identity and aspirations, whilst bumping-up audience figures; the expected visits from exhibitors' contacts expanding the gallery's aims and reach beyond the confines of its own community and interests. What we actually gained as an organisation was probably limited to goodwill and extending local reputation.

What I learnt from this experience was that in these situations, it is wise to leave the selection process to an invited, unbiased outsider who would themselves get something out of being involved. In doing so, those running the gallery would avoid having to make personally awkward decisions, since the non-selection of artist friends might occasion offence. I could never imagine putting myself through a process so exhausting and troublesome ever again, but Outpost's existence is interwoven with its 350-strong membership, and it is unlikely that their members show will ever be laid to rest.

But with both the number of members and those selected to exhibit in the members show up sharply compared to last year, who is to say how selection will function in 2009? This will be a real test of the committee's visual ingenuity.

Venue detail:
Outpost »
10B Wensum Street, NORWICH NR3 1HR

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