SMER SMER (스멀스멀)

Hanna Shim

Until 5 May

SMER SMER (스멀스멀) is a Korean onomatopoeic word for ‘slowly growing/approaching’ or a ‘bug crawling’ sound.

This exhibition presents the viewer with a suite of surprising sculptures based on bacteria, fungus, plankton, jellyfish and bugs. These large rambling and delightful objects are made of fabric and fibre, soft materials which are typically associated with maternal, homely and domestic qualities.

In contrast to the softness of the materials Shim’s soft sculptures challenge the hard-edged and rigid architectural space of the gallery.

Neither Fish, Nor Flesh, Nor Good Red Herring

Madeleine Child

Until 28 April

Madeleine Child’s playful installation looks back to the history of Japanese Netsukes (a small toggle used for attaching a container to the sash of a kimono). She uses these miniature sculptural forms as a springboard to create her own unique toggles.

Child records the artist’s mark on her material – the handling, fondling and fiddling of clay as she moulds her sculptural forms. But she also highlights the fact that the artist is not always in control of the art making process - Child embraces the fight against gravity and the temperamental nature of clay that create elements of randomness and the accidental in her ceramics.

The Salon

Until 14 April

This intimate exhibition draws artworks from the Gallery’s diverse and rich permanent collection. The Salon showcases a selection of paintings from the mid nineteenth century through to the beginning of the twentieth century.