Jerwood Drawing Prize Exhibition – Recommended Gallery Visit, on until 27th October

I went to see the Jerwood Drawing Prize exhibition at the Jerwood Gallery http://jerwoodvisualarts.org/jerwood-drawing-prize-2013.  I think this is a lovely airy space, with a very welcoming cafe.

They are exhibiting 76 of the entries short-listed from over 3000 entrants in this year’s competition. 

These pieces stood out for me:

“Pimp my Corpse” by Colleen Brewer, ink and acrylic on salvaged MDF board

The image was a delicately drawn crow, painted to look like an old-fashioned printed plate.  I enjoyed how the painting looked on the watermarked, weathered board.  On closer inspection, I saw patches of ghostly shiney pale green on parts of the bird.  I think this was a strong comment on the taxidermy business.  There is such a revival of interest in this, and I see the piece as questioning the “art” or not of the practice.  I think it’s also a comment about the issue of bits of countryside being “conserved” in isolation, without a way of them being joined together coherently.  Green-wash rather than deep green?

“IPAD drawing: Virtual Domain” by Jordan L Roger

 I thought this was simple but effective use of the IPAD to make and unmake an animated drawing. It conveyed the idea that spaces are continually being built, transformed, erased and shifted.

“City as an Organism” drawing paper and tracing paper

This was an interesting way of using tracing paper to create layers of drawing.  Amorphous shapes seem to flow and move across, around and below each other.

Wastelands and Laguno

These pieces were the least successful ones, for me:

“Saint Stansted” by Gary Lawrence Biro, gel pen, felt tip, oil pastels on paper

This was a gigantic drawing which must have taken a very long time to make.  I found it tacky in execution.

“Apocalypse (My Boyfriend doesn’t care)” by Svetlana Fialova -  1^st Prize-winner

This was a kitsch cartoon-like drawing using felt pens in garish colours.  I think that it’s both personal and comments on how we make religious art very precious and valuable.  Perhaps also it points up how we value painting over drawing.  I did not like it though as a drawing, it made me think of horrible wallpaper.

“Chin Up” by Scott Robinson

The words “Chin Up” are drawn painstakingly in HB, yet this just left me thinking “so what?”  It seemed so throw-away and visually very uninteresting.

“Heads will turn”

This was a nicely executed drawing of part of a head laid on its side, with a slightly jokey title, it did not hold my attention for long.

The definition of drawing for this is interesting and very wide, with anything from careful use of projection, video, etching, sound and 3D, all of which are explored as drawing media.  This exhibition really changed my pre-conceptions about what drawing can be and I recommend a visit.