Chisenhale Gallery - more photos of the historic building here
London-born, New York-based Nick Relph has his solo show in Chisenhale Gallery recently. The gallery is situated between Mile End Park and Victoria Park along the canal, and the building used to be a Veneer Factory during WWII. There is a red external staircase along Chisenhale Road, making it looks a little like a remote relative of the Pompidou Centre.
The works he showed are photographic or woven in nature this time, different from his early video works. The photographic works look a little random even after reading through the introduction provided by the gallery.
The woven pieces, on the contrary, are intriguing. Nick used a four-harness floor loom and synthetics such as monofilament and Lycra alongside silk and cotton; and created minimal weaves, mounted onto stretchers. The irregularities in the woven process reflect themselves in the outcome, and he said they are the manifestation of the process of these woven works. And the way he put two different materials in some pieces form a juxtaposition almost utilitarian in traditional handicraft.
*****
Further Reading -
Review: by Ben Luke on London Evening Standard, 30.09.2013