the zeitgeist open 2014 exhibition catalogue

www.ZeitgeistArtsProjects.com The Zeitgeist Open Exhibition 2014

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The Zeitgeist Open Catalogue Press Release: The Zeitgeist Open 2014 – Curated by Juan Bolivar Preview: 14 November, 6-8.30pm Exhibition Open: 15 November – 29 November SLAM late night opening: Friday 28 November 6 - 8.30pm. Artists and curators in dialogue: Saturday 29 November 4 - 5pm. Selected Artists Christian Anstice, Guy Bigland, Benjamin Deakin, Tinsel Edwards, Neill Fuller, Alistair Gordon, Luey Graves, Matthew Hill, Sofia Natalie Kynigopoulou, Paula MacArthur, Enzo Marra, Jane Morter, James Null, Will Reid, John Richert, Greg Rook, Mark Sadler, Pina Santoro (Ellwood), Paul Smith, Kelly Sweeney, Rob Welch, Joella Wheatley, Neil Zakiewicz Zeitgeist Arts Projects are proud to present the third annual Zeitgeist Open

Exhibition. This year 23 artists were chosen by selectors and fellow artists Juan

Bolivar, Andrew Bick, Rosalind Davis and Annabel Tilley from the 547 artworks

submitted

In the third Zeitgeist Open Exhibition it is the theatrical that dominates and to demonstrate this - even before we start - the artist, Mark Sadler, is announcing: The Ende. There is something deliciously audacious and irreverent in this year’s selection made by Andrew Bick, Juan Bolivar, Rosalind Davis & Annabel Tilley.

Mark Sadler, ‘In The End... #4 [Vampyr]’ Greg Rook, Michael

We could be viewers seated in an auditorium watching a series of rapid scene changes

as each work exudes an atmosphere of extreme drama, from Greg Rook’s painting

Michael where the naked figure of a male dominates a scene of frozen ‘survivor’ figures

building an encampment on a hot summer’s day to Tinsel Edwards’s grimmest fairytale

miniature Modern Studio Apartment that could easily be a depiction of a stage set

featuring a single bed, wash basin, and bare glaring light bulb. Sofia Natalie

Kynigopoulou’s clearly unthrowable giant dice demand our attention through their

ironic title: Throw me would you.

In Benjamin Deakin’s The Escapist the theatre is an indoor garden. Deakin writes:


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‘Bringing together the aesthetics of the wasteland with those of 18th and 19th century

landscape painting my paintings become uneasy spaces which fall somewhere between

landscapes and stages. An epic mountainscape could just as easily be a theatrical

backdrop.’

In Kelley Sweeney’s Hoodlums theatre turns rapidly to farce or is it horror as Sweeney’s

sculptural figures - a brown paper owl next to a klu klux klan-look-a-like rag doll in a

scene from The Owl and the Pussy Cat meets Stephen King. Kelley Sweeney writes: ‘“I

have always been fascinated by the other-worldly and the idea that we can exist as

something other than what we are. It is the realm of orchid beings, voodoo dolls, and

fetishes”.

Benjamin Deakin, Escapist Kelly Sweeney. Hoodlums

Christian Anstice’s Vampire 1 diptych reveals portraits of two very different vampires –

a de Havilland Vampire plane in the left canvas and a portrait of a female vampire on the

righthand canvas. The former, no doubt, got its name from qualities and an appearance

that were akin to a vampires. The latter is a depiction of a vampire – a perverse

simulacra of a human being – a falsehood. This combination plays on language and

consensuses of meaning.

In Neil Fuller’s The Greatest show on earth’ the theatrical phenomenon is, at last,

acknowledged and in the open. Fuller’s still life paintings depict objects that attempt to

represent or ape something from the real world, either mass-produced or handmade,

from the seemingly unsophisticated to the seemingly faithful replica. In Paul Smith’s

Love Hex the viewer is at once seduced by a world of rich colour: blues and turquoises.

Smith explores an interest in what is lost from memory and how that loss is “synthesized

as trace in the landscape”.

This exciting new show features a rich array of painting and sculpture that take pride in

cocking-a-‘tongue-and-cheek’ snoop-at the viewer.

One artist will be chosen from the 23 artists to have their work shown in a group show

intended to be showcased at the 2016 London Art Fair.

Annabel Tilley


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The Zeitgeist Open Selectors Statements It is the 5th year I have run an open submission competition, initially independently in (2010-11 for the Core Gallery open) and then with ZAP (2010-12) with co=collaborator Annabel Tilley. These open submission exhibitions have been an opportunity to see many new works from artists that we would never have been able to otherwise, a way to discover new artists and give an opportunity to the selected artists to exhibit. It has enabled a collaboration with broad range of artists, selectors and curators that has introduced and created exciting new dialogues. It not only offers exposure for artists but importantly for us it creates a wider support network Since 2010 I and Annabel have worked with over 250 artists from these exhibitions and continue to follow

many of their careers and see how ZAP has helped in their career trajectories. We also continue to build relationships with some artists over the longer term and work with them on other exhibitions within the ZAP programme. These are very fruitful relationships borne out from a mutual understanding and symbiosis. ‘Open submission exhibitions are a vital platform. The ethos of The Zeitgeist Open is one of ideas not capital, reflecting knowledge and generosity.’ Graham Crowley Every year I feel extremely proud of the diversity of the selection and the quality of the final curated group show. Each year we choose different artists selectors alongside myself and ZAP co-founder Annabel Tilley and because of this, each year has a fresh curatorial rationale that emerges collectively in the selection process. Because there is no discrimination in the entry criteria (i.e. no age / career position) and the work is viewed anonymously with no emphasis placed on background, education, marketability, and experience ;this has a levelling effect on the usual art world hierarchies and gender politics. The works are chosen purely on the merits and qualities of the documentation provided by the particular group of judges through discussion, debate and robust argument. Once we make the final selection of artists, the names are revealed and we discover to great delight the artists that have been selected. There are new graduates, mid-career and established artists standing alongside each other equally by the merits of their works. The Zeitgeist Open Exhibition 2014 diverges between sophistication and the absurd, a certain anarchic quality defining the overall selection. There is an over-riding sense of theatrics as well as some very dead pan humour about some of the works that resonates in this year’s selection. The Zeitgeist Open exhibition consists of unreal worlds, domesticity, diamonds, the urban and the otherworldly, Vampire babes, umbrellas, consumption, dices, owls, bad language, utopias, incomprehensible sculptures, subversions, systems, diversions and illusions. And as Juan pointed out once the work was hung, there are many eyes, watching, glancing, spectating, discerning, discovering, closed in concentration, peering at each other. Enjoy…we certainly did. Rosalind Davis An excerpt from a forthcoming article on Open Submissions for a-n.co.uk can be found later on in the catalogue.

Rosalind Davis Echo Chamber, 2014, Oil and thread on linen, 100x100cm.


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This year I would give The 2014 Zeitgeist Open Exhibition a subtitle: How to be audacious Brave, bold and fearless is the label I would attach to many of these works which reveal an unusual pluck, daring and bravery in their makers, subject-matter, and presentation. Over seven hours we four selectors looked very hard at nearly 550 images and ultimately agreed on 26 works. The final selection – after several conventional rounds – was reached, unusually, by compiling a list of all the yes’s and then the ones with the

most votes went through. What emerged from this sudden cull - and alternative formation – is an exhibition of extraordinary and surprising cohesiveness. Cheeky, impudent, reflective and considered; each work has an autonomous presence. There is a sort of swagger, bluster and conceit to some of the works that demand of you: look at me, look at me. Alongside there are some droll, witty and comical works that cause you to reconsider how refreshing the absurd can be and there are one or two quiet reflective works that draw you in to look ever closer and marvel at how the human imagination functions. As human beings we spend our lives searching for people, places, objects and experiences that will enhance, enrich or change our lives. The selection process for an open submission exhibition is, dare I suggest it, similar. In my experience (and this is the third Zeitgeist Open I have organised and selected with, co-collaborator, Rosalind Davis) artists make good selectors because they have been trained to seek out the extraordinary and the exceptional in the work of their masters and peers. As a selector I am looking for work that pricks my curiosity; that makes me want to look closer, that causes me to think and that engages me for longer than the few seconds it can often take to ‘get something’. As a curator and co-founder of an arts organisation, I am always on the look out for good work and the, often, quiet intelligence and special characteristics that can accompany it – the sui generis nature of some artists. Mostly one discovers this in the significant conversations one has before, during and after an exhibition. This is not a show that provides any easy answers about the state of art today. However, what it does reflect is that imagination, humour and irreverence are still alive and flourishing in the artist’s studio today – a good thing, one concludes. Annabel Tilley

Annabel Tilley Museum Guide Series, 2014. Ink, acrylic and collage on cardboard. 29x19cms


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A CRITIQUE OF BAD JUDGEMENT

When the selectors for the ZAP art prize this year were announced I got embroiled in a twitter

debate (as a relatively new user I am not yet totally quick with its manners and mores), which

boiled down to an accusation that the judging would be biased due to myself and Juan Bolivar both

being abstract painters. Twitter does not lend itself to refined argument but the bleedingly obvious

point, that all judgement is a bias one way or another, did not get made in the subsequent

exchanges…

So here goes with the more subtle point as well.

It isn’t the first time I have been on a selection panel of one kind or other and given that on such

panels you usually brace yourself to outflank those whose bias/aesthetic/opinion/sensibility is

totally un-convergent with your own, it was an absolute pleasure to be working with three other

people whose affinity with what we all were looking at had enough common points with my own

for judgement to be even and level headed.

Years ago I was shortlisted for a major art prize where the

two front runners (different generations and audiences but

equally massed ranks of admirers in both cases) did not win

because the judges were divided for or against each in a

deadlock, a third artist (not me thankfully) did win, but

most people at the announcement ceremony agreed it was a

mediocre decision, and shuffled home with heads full of

champagne and bafflement. So much for fairness and

compromise…

When you see this year’s ZAP selection you will obviously

agree that, dominated by painting as it is, much of the work

uses imagery (i.e. not much abstraction) and the pleasure in

selecting was in working with what was presented as a

surprise rather than inviting our own favourites to apply.

And in this is the third less subtle point; as a selector, you

can only respond to what is on offer, the quality of the

presentation through j-peg and projector being critical as a

way in to understanding the quality of the work. If the artist tries to get these things right and takes

the trouble to submit, they are then able to learn from failing as much as success. There can be no

excuse for standing to one side moaning about the process.

Obviously I cannot tweet this at 1888 characters but hopefully someone will tweet the link.

Andrew Bick

Andrew Bick Exit Variant [tilted] A, 2012 acrylic, charcoal, pencil, oil paint and wax on linen on wood, 138 x 122 cm

Andrew Bick

Exit Variant [tilted] A, 2012

acrylic, charcoal, pencil, oil paint and wax on linen on wood 138 x 122 cm


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There's a feeling I get when I look to the west, And my spirit is crying for leaving.

In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees,

And the voices of those who stand looking. Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven (1971) An artist's practice is subject to development and change, so when witnessing a work at any given point it is like looking sideways at a shooting star: if you turn too slowly or look the other way, chances you will miss its 'flux'. Its constant and changing path. Paradoxically the essence of a work - or as we call it in the trade 'the artists practice' - exists within this flux, so in order to 'get it' (another term commonly used), you sometimes need to anticipate, predict or take into account the notion of the many tendencies that a work exists within. In layman's terms, art is a contextualised activity, so its qualitative subjectivity is in part dependent on the panorama or spirit of the times. This - we call Zeitgeist. As wind direction changes - or the spirit of our times changes - artists sometimes utilise this change in energy to set sail. Sometimes they resist this change and that in it self can be a virtue. The question then is whether to embrace stasis or change: whether to paint the same mountain, bottles, or grids, as Cezanne, Morandi and Mondrian once did; and observe change within this stasis - or like Warhol, whether to find constancy in many different subjects. As artists we are essentially trying to 'build something': a career, a body of work, a ‘name’, so it is illogical to start again at every slight tremor or hint of change in the spirit of our times, but equally it seems foolish not look around and respond. To be constantly curious.

The question remains whether to sail like an oil tanker or fly like the leaves that fell in The Great Storm of 1987. So when witnessing a work at any given point, its flux may be like a subtle gesture or mannerism only fully understood through familiarity; like Johnny ‘Two-Times’ in the film Goodfellas (who repeats everything twice hence his nickname), or on the other hand, not so subtle, like Ade Edmonson’s Vyvyan, and his portrayal of post-punk Britain in the TV series The Young Ones - abrasive, in your face, unforgettable, and a little bit silly. Perhaps the analogy of stargazing at the beginning of this text is not quite right, but it seems

appropriate in the way we all share a commonality of hope, aspiration and expectation regardless of stature or career stage. I recently met the Kinetic artist Carlos Cruz-Diez. At the age of 91, Maestro Cruz-Diez, is building a new studio. It will be near Paris’ Gare Du Nord, not far from the street where he has resided for 50 years and where he already holds several units housing his current studio, archiving office and fabrication department. Looking to the future Maestro Cruz-Diez has decided to relocate his assistants and general operation to a new centralised studio where he plans to continue his explorations into the mysterious movement of colour in space. And it makes me wonder. Juan Bolivar

Juan Bolivar Powerage, 2012 acrylic on canvas 26 x 36 cm


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THE ZAP OPEN SELECTION SHOW – A VIEW FROM THE STALLS

The seats allocated, the refreshments on hand, the mise en scene is set. Off stage phones are muted, the lights dimmed and the humming projector illuminates the wall. We flick through images in a darkened room, creating a moving image of contemporary art as a slo-mo slideshow of stills pulsing with idiosyncratic vitality.

A disjointed sequence of recurring motifs and thematic repetitions flash up. A freeze frame dislocation of linear structure. Like the experimental camera work of a maverick director we watch the stop-frame montage devising a plot of simultaneous realities. From vivid Technicolour and heightened special effects to out of focus mysteries, the multifaceted shots of an eclectic visual language splice into an ambiguous fiction. Subplots of scene-stealers and anti-heroes, slapstick and schlock horror, multiple versions spin off into an imaginary stunt double.

In this silent screen suspension of time the hypnotic spell is cast and through the lens we receive unfolding narratives as a series of vignettes. Chance encounters animated out of fragmented clips. Ad libbed possibilities of alternate endings.

The quiet intensity wells up into a soundtrack of debate and discussion. The script is revised and redrafted into a new collage of complexity. The footage is transformed, a new pattern emerges. Characterized by honesty and humour the frames per second of this screenplay form toward a resolution. Projectionist acts as censor leaving impossible gems on the cutting room floor. The final edit turns into a trailer for the exhibition. Presenting for general release:

The glittering prism of fractured lights in MacArthur’s The Difference Between

Wrong and Right

The sepia cinema verite of Edwards and the double bill storyboarding of Welch

The broken surface and figurative abstraction of Bigland’s King and Wear

Wheatley’s calculated projection in The Line of Sight and Abstractions

The picture within a picture in Marra’s Well Hung (Tate Britain)

The mass production and multiplicity of Richert’s DIRECT

The blank screen trompe l’oeil of Gordon’s Sacrament IV

The reality and illusion of Graves’s Affecter

Hill’s enclosed void to Morter’s extrusion into space

The deadpan scenery of Fuller’s Greatest Show on Earth

The playful props of Santoro (Ellwood) and Kynigopoulou

The complex mystery and anamorphic effect of Deakin’s Escapist

Rook’s blurred tinted realism and hinted Utopian narrative in Michael

A suggested sci-fi Eden of Smith’s Love Hex and Reid’s Untitled mutant prosthetics

The subversive comic kitsch in Null’s Enemies of Joy and the cheeky cast of characters in Sweeney’s Hoodlums

The black screen system of Zakiewicz’ Open Hours and the split screen version of Anstice’s Vampire

And finally, Sadler’s Ende

Lex Thomas


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Previous Selectors have included Graham Crowley, Susan Collis, Alistair Gentry and

David Kefford.

Graham Crowley on ZAP Open 2013:

The ZAP Open is a welcome break from the tired and tawdry crop of corporate 'art'

competitions. The selection is done entirely by practicing artists. It's one of a growing number

of artist led projects that don't involve celebrities, nouveaux riches, art-world, apparatchiks or

dealers. The sort of people whose only response to painting (or something similar) is - I like it

- or I don't like it. Is that it? Yes - and that's the trouble. This isn't a shopping trip.

Why should practicing artists subject their work for the approval (or disapproval) of a people

who can only make judgements based on their prejudices, their ignorance and/or their taste.

All the work entered for the ZAP Open was submitted to thoughtful and extensive discussion.

This discussion is only possible when the selectors are all aware of current practices and the

prevailing critical context. This is experienced most acutely by practising artists and because

of this, the selectors sense of responsibility is about as acute as it could be. The great strength

of projects like this is that practicing artists don't necessarily 'like' art.

Enjoy.

Susan Collis on ZAP Open 2013:

I have a fondness for the Open Submission Exhibition as I strongly believe that it was one of

the ways in which I gave my own career an important kick-start after leaving college. (On

selection) Other criteria that came to bear on my own choices was a sense in the work of

experimentation, of curiosity about the world, of something that even though it might be

referencing previous movements or practitioners, felt like something new and fresh. These

artists shone through.

David Kefford on ZAP Open 2012:

The process for making a selection of approximately 40 artworks from well over 500 entries

for the ZAP Open 2012 was a perversely enjoyable one. However, it was tough to make

subjective choices from such a truly wide range of artwork.

Having submitted and been selected (and rejected) for a handful of national open

competitions being one of the judges gave me an opportunity to sit on the other side of the

fence. The fact that all the selectors are artists meant there was an underlying empathy to the

often harsh reality of acceptance/rejection - a fact of any artists career. The judging itself

involved an intense day gathered around a projector, which displayed each entry in large-

scale. Nothing escaped our critical eyes. We viewed each entry anonymously; we were

making decisions based purely on a visual image, not on track record or contextual

information. The impact and quality of each image flashing before us was crucial – was it well

photographed? Had the artist adhered to the submission criteria? Did it capture our

imagination? And, most importantly was the image engaging and memorable? After several

hours we whittled it down to a long-list. This is when the debate began. Sometimes each

selector needed to 'fight their corner' and stand up for a work they passionately believed in,

mostly there was a collective consensus on which work went through - the judging was

always respectful, considerate and rigorous.

Alistair Gentry on ZAP Open 2012:

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown…


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THANK YOU!

With our most sincere thanks from Rosalind Davis and Annabel Tilley to;

All the artists who entered the Zeitgeist Open Exhibitions, past and present and all the selected artists. Our wonderful co-selectors Andrew Bick and Juan Bolivar for their patience and certitude on the selection day, and to Juan for agreeing to be our special guest curator for the exhibition this year. Our hardworking and lovely assistants Helen Bermingham, Anna Garrett and Lex Thomas. An additional thank you to Lex for nerves of steel on the ZAP open selection day and curatorial assistance. Ana Ruepp for brilliant graphics for our Zeitgeist Open postcard and invite and Justin Hibbs for his always brilliant input and editing skills. Bob Tilley for his excellent proofreading skills & support. Michaela Nettel for being our website Queen and general super-ness support. ASC Studios for ongoing space and support John Myers for his excellent drill All those who tweeted, retweeted, emailed and promoted the Open to their networks All those who visit. All those who started conversations. You for reading this Catalogue compiled and edited by Lex Thomas & Helen Bermingham. Chief Editor: Rosalind Davis

Lex Thomas, Machine. Oil on gesso panel, 14x18cm, 2014

Ana Ruepp, Things are Present, life moves on. Oil, gouache, collage, pastel & acrylic on paper. 75.5x56cm, 2013

Anna Garrett, Yellow Paradise, Mixed

Media on Paper. 30x42cm,2014.

Helen Bermingham, The Collector, Pencil&Collage on Paper, 21x29cms, 2014

nywhere on the page, just drag it.]


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Christian Anstice Vampire I (diptych), 2014, Oil on canvas 132 x 61 cm Anstice studied art at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, he then worked as an artist for a few years before venturing into film. After which he set up gallery and studio spaces including 152(c) Brick Lane which played a part in the emergence of artists such as Fiona Banner, Rebecca Warren, Richard Caldicott, Sutapa Biswas, Graham Gussin, David Griffiths, Catherine Yass and Fergal Stapleton. After that Anstice went into advertising for a number of years before returning to art. [email protected]

The Zeitgeist Open 2014 Selected Artists


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Guy Bigland King, 2014 Acrylic on Hardwood, 49.8 x 49.8 x 4 cm

Guy Bigland lives and works in Wiltshire and completed an MFA at Bath Spa University in 2014. Recent group exhibitions include Arctic Fox at Vulpes Vulpes in London (2009), All Is Not Lost at Annex 21 in Worcester (2010), Unification at Cheltenham Science Festival (2011), This Means Something, This is Important at Parlour Showrooms in Bristol (2012). In 2013 his book All the Four letter Words was shortlisted for the prize in the 4th Sheffield International Artist’s Book Prize at Bank Street Arts in Sheffield. In 2014, as part of Art:Language:Location in Cambridge he installed a site specific wall-based text work in the University Philosophy Faculty Library, Cambridge. Throughout November 2014 a selection of Bigland’s Artist’s Books are on display in the University of the West of England library. www.guybigland.co.uk


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Guy Bigland Wear, 2014 Acrylic on Aluminium, 74.2 x 74.2 cm


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Benjamin Deakin Escapist, 2014 Oil on Canvas, 60 x 75 cm

Ben Deakin was born in 1977 and grew up in Cumbria, UK. He studied Fine Art at Kingston University and Central Saint Martins respectively gaining an MA in 2006. In 2008 he was awarded a three-month residency at the Klondike Institute of Arts and Culture in Dawson City, Yukon, Canada. This culminated in the solo exhibition Nothing to be Done at the Tannery Arts Space, London in 2010. He is currently planning a group exhibition to be held in London in 2015. He travels as often as he can when researching new work, recently he spent three months cycling through the Andes visiting remote Inca ruins, he was Artist-in-residence at the University of Kathmandu, Nepal in 2005 and at the Hospitalfield Trust, Arbroath, Scotland in 2002. Between bouts of wanderlust he lives and works in London. www.bendeakin.com


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Tinsel Edwards Lovely Period Style New Build, £380 per week_2014 Oil on canvas, 20 x 30 cm

Tinsel Edwards is a London based artist and co-founder of A-side B-side Gallery in Hackney Downs. Born in 1979 in Leamington Spa, Tinsel graduated from Goldsmiths College in 2001 (Fine Art BA). Driven by a romantic notion that art can change the world, Tinsel’s work comments on a wide variety of contemporary social and political issues. Predominantly working with oil on canvas, her paintings offer biting social commentary entwined with an honest and autobiographical narrative. Since graduating she has exhibited widely across the UK and beyond, solo and duo shows include Galerie Michaela Stock in Vienna, Big Deal No.5 during Frieze week, The Pure Evil Gallery in London, Steal from Work in Bristol, and Artport in Berlin. Her work has been featured in exhibitions in the USA, Austria, Germany and Poland. In 2006 Banksy bought one of Tinsel’s paintings, and following this he invited her to exhibit at the infamous Santas Ghetto on Oxford Street. Tinsel recently collaborated with Jealous Gallery to produce three limited edition screenprints. She also worked with art fashion label Maison Twenty to create a T-shirt design based on the piece which she made for Jealous Gallery, it is now on sale in outlets such as Harrods, Browns Fashion Store and Harvey Nicols. Tinsel often collaborates with art partner in crime and childhood friend, Twinkle Troughton. They stage public art stunts such as kidnapping a banker, creating The Bank of Tinsel & Twinkle, and posing as traffic wardens to give away free art. Regulars at the annual Art Car Boot Fair in London, they also curate and exhibit together. She has also collaborated with brands such as Absolut vodka, VANS and TOMS. Her work is in private collections in the UK and Europe, collectors include a Korean pop star, Banksy and Bill Woodrow. www.tinseledwards.com


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Neill Fuller The Greatest Show on Earth, 2014 Oil on canvas, 20 x 25 cm

Neill Fuller studied at Bath School of Art (1990-93). His still life paintings depict objects that attempt to represent or ape something from the real world, either mass-produced or handmade, from the seemingly unsophisticated to the seemingly faithful replica.

Recent exhibitions include The Open West, The Wilson, Cheltenham (2014), Tribe, Edgar Modern, Bath (2014), Building Volumes, Bath (2014), Wells Art Contemporary (2013/14), National Open, Motorcade/Flashparade, Bristol (2013), The ZAP Open, London (2013), Now Wakes the Sea, Kinsale, Co. Cork (2013) and a solo show at the Parlour Showrooms, Bristol (2013). He was also awarded the 2013 Blackswan Arts Prize.

In late 2013/early 2014, he undertook an online project, 50x50paintings, making 50 paintings in 50 studio visits, in order to explore ideas of how the making of art compared to other trades

www.neillfullerpaintings.com www.50x50paintings.co.uk


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Alastair Gordon Sacrament VI, 2014 Oil on wood, 40 x 50cm

Alastair Gordon (b.1978) is artist-in-residence and Gallery Manager

for Husk, Limehouse. This year he began as course leader for Critical

and Professional Studies, a part time postgraduate course at Leith

School of Art in Edinburgh. He is co-founder and director of Morphe

Arts, a mentoring charity for graduate artists.

Recent solo exhibitions at Nunnery Gallery, Bow (2014), Bearspace,

Deptford (2014) and ArtLacuna, Clapham (2014). This year he was

awarded first prize in the Shoosmiths Art Prize and has been selected

for several other awards including Threadneedle Prize, Oriel Davies,

Beep 2014 and The Open West 2014. His paintings are represented

by Bearspace gallery, London.

www.alastairjohngordon.com


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Luey Graves Affecter, 2014 Ink, gouache and oil on mahogany, 45 x 58 cm

Luey Graves (b. London, 1987) Graves makes paintings that consider the play

between image and object, the illusory and the real, engaging with what

representation looks like or proposes. She studied at the Slade School of Fine

Art and the Royal Academy Schools, graduating in 2009 and 2012 respectively.

Whilst at the Royal Academy Schools, she was supported by the Paul and

Pauline Smith scholarship.

Upon graduating, Graves was awarded the Gordon Luton prize for painting, by

the Worshipful Company of Painters and Stainers. She was also awarded the

Richard Ford Travel Award, a month’s residency at the Prado, Madrid and the

Land Securities Studio Residency at the Bow Arts Trust. Since 2013, she has

had a studio with V22 in Bermondsey, supported by the Land Securities Nova

award. Graves has worked as an artist-educator at the Royal Academy of Arts

and the Bow Arts Trust. She has also led painting workshops at Newcastle

University as a visiting artist. Recent exhibitions include Image/Object at

Furini Contemporary, Rome in 2013, Semblances at the Horatio Jr, London in

2013 and Symbolic Logic, Identity Art, Hong Kong, in 2014. Future exhibitions

include A Union of Voices, at the Horatio Jr, London, December 2014. Her

work is held in private collections in the UK, USA, Germany and Sweden. She

lives and works in London.

www.lueygraves.com


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Matthew Hill Box with Carpet Tiles and Wooden Supports, 2013 Wall mounted sculpture 86 x 50 x 26 cm

Matthew Hill is a sculptor living and working in West London. He studied

painting at Wimbledon School of Art from 1997 – 1998, where he became

increasingly interested in the structure of the paintings over the pictorial

elements: the stretcher itself, the canvas, punctures made etc. The back of

the paintings eventually came to be regarded as important as the front,

and it was not long after starting a Fine Art BA course at the University of

East London that he decided to begin working in sculpture and

installation.

He graduated in 2001, and carried on producing work sporadically, but it

was not until 2013 that he first showed his work again, at the Wimbledon

Art Studios November 2013 open studios.


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Sofia Natalie Kynigopoulou Throw me would you, 2014 Wood, acrylic and gesso, 30 x 30 cm each (x2 pieces)

Sofia Natalie Kynigopoulou, (born Cyprus, 1991) recently received her BA in

Fine Art from Kingston University (2014). Her multidisciplinary works fluctuate

between painting, drawing, photography and sculpture often resulting into site

specific installations whereby the medium of the exhibition space itself

importantly contributes to the function and meaning of the work. Natalie

explores our contemporary understanding of space and our relation to it,

whereby sociological, psychoanalytical and anthropological theories importantly

feed into her research and ideas. Her recent selected exhibitions include

‘Imbroglio’ at the cultural center Miloi Kaimakli in Nicosia, Cyprus (2013) and

‘Appareo’ at Cavendish Gallery, America Square Conference Center in London,

UK (2013). Natalie has also been selected as a team member of the ECP YN’s

(European Cultural Parliament Youth Network) Cypriot team, which strives and

works to improve the value of the arts and culture at a pan-European level.

Natalie lives and works in London, UK.

www.kynigopoulounatalie.com


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Paula MacArthur The Difference Between Wrong and Right, 2014 Oil on canvas, 140 x 140 cm

Paula MacArthur trained at Loughborough College of Art & Design and The Royal Academy Schools and works from her studio in Rye, East Sussex. At the beginning of 2014 she had a solo exhibition 'Infinitely Precious Things' at 60 Threadneedle Street, London. She was a prize winner at John Moores 18, winner of the NPG Portrait Award and was selected for the WW Solo Award in 2014. Group exhibitions include Correspond at Turps Art School (2014) 20 Painters - Phoenix Brighton (2014) Crash Open Salon - Charlie Dutton London (2013) The Open West - Newark Park and The Wilson Art Gallery Cheltenham (2013) The Perfect Nude - Wimbledon Space, Exeter Phoenix & Charlie Smith London (2012) What The Folk Say - Compton Verney (2011) She has been artist in residence at The Walker Art Gallery - Liverpool, Atelier Austmarka - Finnskogen, Norway and will soon be participating in the 'Rediscover the Voices' - an artists' residency & exchange in Puglia, Italy funded by the De La Warr Pavillion. www.paula-macarthur.com


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Enzo Marra Well hung (Tate Britain), 2013 Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 cm

Enzo Marra is an artist who primarily works across painted and drawn mediums. His main subject matter is the art world, the activites and spaces, artists and observers, that make up our shared perception of this ever shifting domain. As a graduate of The University of Reading (1999) and the University of Brighton (2001) Marra has exhibited nationally and internationally across Europe and in the USA, at art fairs and in commercial, public and artist-led spaces. Marra has been selected for the Barbican Artworks Open, Paint Like You Mean It at Interview Room 11 in Edinburgh and Collectors Choice at the Sylvia White Gallery in California in 2014. The Charlie Dutton Crash Open, The Creekside Open selected by both Ceri Hand and Paul Noble at the APT Gallery in Deptford and the Threadneedle Prize in 2013. The John Moores Painting Prize, The Open West at Gloucester Cathedral and The Threadneedle Prize in 2012. Anthology at Charlie Smith Gallery in 2011 and The Threadneedle Prize in 2010. Marra shows his works through a number of UK based galleries, with Tania Wade at hooliganartdealer in London, the Ink_d Gallery in Brighton Opus Art in Stow on the Wold and at the Red Propeller Gallery in Devon . www.axisweb.org/p/enzomarra


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Jane Morter Untitled, 2014 Plywood and acrylic paint 58 x 10 x 14 cm

Jane Morter studied for BA (Hons.) Fine Art at St Martin’s School of Art 1983-1986. A London born Suffolk based visual artist whose artistic practice includes sculpture, collage and drawing. At graduation she was selected by Channel 4 to produce a series of paintings for a Bandung File Production based on the life of writer Wilson Harris. Recent exhibitions include London Art Fair, Suffolk Show Case at Smiths Row, Bury St Edmunds and group shows at Art18/21 Norwich.

Jane Morter also studied Interior Design at Chelsea School of Art 2002-2003 and in parallel with her studio practice is Creative Director for fairtrade company Maison Bengal


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James Null Enemies of Joy, 2014 Oil, acrylic, ink and spray paint on canvas, 76 x 51 cm

James Null’s work explores conflicts that arise from the concept of a false self and egotistical mindsets. Focusing on the absurdity and delusional state of modern life; James Null’s work tussles with the illusion of happiness; tackling images, moods and memories that one finds themselves using to define their very existence. With a dialogue of self-reflection/ destruction, there is evidence of a battle of ego within the works, as pieces are finished to an expected state, then destroyed and remade numerous times; and through the resulting chaos comes an uplifting outlook on what is truly important in life. James Null had his first solo exhibition of paintings, ‘Nothing Matters’, at the Lewis Gallery in 2014 following 8 years working as a commercial artist.


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Will Reid Untitled, 2014 Oil on canvas 60 x 50cm

Will Reid lives and works in London and is concerned with portraiture through the act of painting and drawing. He was born in Colchester, Essex and graduated from Norwich University College of the Arts in 2012 with a BA (Hons) Fine Art and has recently completed an MA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of the Arts. ! Will creates portraits of imaginary characters that he aims to contain a psychological element that can connect with the viewer. He likens the process of these portraits to that of a introspective conversation between the materials and himself, as he searches through the medium for a resounding image that captures a certain emotional quality. He has exhibited in London, Norwich, Ipswich and Colchester, and has work in the East Contemporary Art Collection. www.will-reid.com


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John Richert

, 2011 Retail shop fittings, dimensions variable

Despite a number of academic awards, from such distinguished institutions as Chelsea (1988), CSM (2010) and Goldsmiths (2013), all attesting to exemplary attendance and scrupulous punctuality, there still exists real doubt on all sides. In ANOMIE, ME, ME, ME (2009), Richert presented himself enmeshed in a bizarre world of his own fanciful conceits and rambling internal monologues, all fuelled by superhuman levels of self-absorption. Conflating his own petty prejudices and personal neuroses with those of real-world social and political concerns, the work reveals hallmark symptoms of alienation and mental distress showing that his - and by extension, our - emotional faculties are in a parlous state. Publicly, the work performed the role of contemporary art with its customary nod toward various critical dialogues, but in reality it was an act of self-medication. "Am I alone in this?" he asked. For his solo show, FUKUYAMA YOU TOO (2011) Richert suggested that we may be entering an art-historical endgame, where any attempt to address genuine concerns for our future social, cultural and political development will only be accepted in terms of a personal pathology; this scenario would allow for ‘concerned’ citizens to be identified, isolated, clinicalised and finally plundered for profit by ‘big pharma.’ In CUL-DE-SAC (2012), Richert revisited his work of the mid-1990s. Originally a painter, his bestial mega-canvasses now gather dust in a locked vault, the surfaces brittle and cracked after almost two decades of neglect. In this tragicomic performance piece, he proposed that his continuing refusal to paint constituted an artwork in itself, perhaps even his masterpiece.

Last year, in FREE ANHEDONIA (2013) the title of the show announced the latest stage in his ongoing creative condition, i.e. the inability to experience pleasure from activities usually considered pleasurable and the subsequent loss of motivation and desire to engage in such activities. To illustrate the condition, Richert reduced his practice to a basic taxonomic system comprising only two simple functions: first, to compile a list of artists names (along with the dates they were active), and second, to imply a relationship between them. "What more is there than names and dates?" he asks. It’s practically science.


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Greg Rook Michael, 2012 Oil on linen, 137 x 198 cm

Greg Rook was born in London in 1971. He studied at Chelsea School of Art 1997-2000 and Goldsmiths College 2000-2002. He is currently the course director of a Fine Art BA for London South Bank University. He has exhibited in Europe, America and Asia in both solo and group exhibitions. Recent exhibitions have included the East London and Marmite Painting Prize and a solo show at Fred, London. www.gregrook.co.uk


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Mark Sadler In The End... #4 [Vampyr], 2012 Graphite on paper, 30 x 42 cm

Mark Sadler is a 30-year-old artist from London. He completed his BA at the University for the Creative Arts - Farnham in 2006, and then his MA at Kingston in 2009. He is an artist that likes to use different media, changing from one project to the next depending on what suits. Having worked for a few years with digital work and screen-printing, he is now returning his childhood favourites of drawing and collage. A strong interested of his has always been how we construct narrative, how fact and fiction layer and fracture one another, affecting memory and weaving history. After visiting Berlin when he was 15 and holding a strong desire to return ever since, Mark spent 6 months of 2014 living in East Berlin. There he worked with a couple of artists building a vortex-like 5 metre high installation in a church and then prancing fully out of his comfort zone by undertaking a couple of public performance routines around the base of the structure to a soundtrack which was partly made up of German electronic music and partly of Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘A Descent into the Maelström’ read in German! www.markasadler.co.uk


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Pina Santoro (Ellwood) Umbrella, 2014 Handmade canvas cover on child’s umbrella frame, household paint, 100 x 100 cm

Pina Santoro (Ellwood) is a Sculptor, Painter, Illustrator, Lecturer and Installation Artist. As an artist she has developed a visual language that brings the realities of her culture and identity to light, questioning our place in eternal time. Born to Sicilian Immigrant parents in Peterborough UK, Santoro is a graduate of The Cambridge School of Art (2006) and Chelsea College of Art (2013) and has exhibited nationally and internationally. Santoro recently had two solo shows ‘Unspoken’ at The Yarrow Gallery, Oundle and ‘Suri Suri’ at The City Gallery, Peterborough. In 2011 Santoro’s work was selected for exhibition at The Louvre in Paris. The recognition of these works led to further awards, residences and commissions in a wide range of commercial, public and artist-led spaces. Other exhibitions include Camden Art Gallery London and Pop up Space Southbank and Art Monaco, Monte Carlo. She teaches in schools and colleges and runs Fig Tree Art Studio workshops with Arts and Minds, John Clare Cottage Education Outreach and Vivacity’s Saturday Art School. Residencies include, The Sailors Loft, Porthmeour Studios, St. Ives Cornwall. Santoro has had her works published in ‘How Artists see People’ and Art! East Anglia, Green Pebble. She currently runs ICAP’ Peterborough, an Italian Community Arts Project supported by Arts Council England, ICA, Vivacity and Metal Peterborough.

www.figtreeartstudio.com


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Paul Smith Love Hex, 2013 Oil on canvas, 40 x 50 cm

Paul Smith is a London based artist from Sunderland and graduated from

West Surrey College of Art & Design, Farnham. His work is predominantly

narrative abstract painting and collage exploring an interest in what is lost

from memory and how that loss is “synthesized as trace in the landscape”.

Paul currently has a solo show ,‘The Ice House’, running until December at

The Sanctuary in Northampton and recently exhibited with JAMM (London)

and Project Gallery (Arundel). Previous selected group exhibitions include

20x20, The Sanctuary (2014), The Zeitgeist Open, Zeitgeist Arts Projects

(2013) LCB Takeover, LCB Depot & Fresh Meat Gallery (2013), Open cueB,

cueB Gallery (2013), Crash Open, Charlie Dutton Gallery (2012), Salon Art

Prize, Matt Roberts Arts (2010).

www.paulsmithart.co.uk


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Kelly Sweeney Hoodlums, 2014 Packaging, refuse bags and studio rags, 36 x 18 x 22 cm (largest figure)

Kelly Sweeney trained at Nottingham Trent leaving with a First Class BA in Fine Art and has recently graduated from Chelsea where she completed her MA. Attracted by anthropological objects, artifacts from antiquity, ritualistic paraphernalia and natural phenomena, the artist remains interested in anamorphic forms and is drawn to that which presents some kind of transcendence. She pursues the disturbance of a natural order and rational understanding that leads to the creation of an alternative sphere; the place where two worlds dissolve. The familiar and the other. Seduced by the realm of carnivalesque and the suspended reality it creates, the artist casts a performance in the landscape between reality and theatrically. The figures act as associative triggers summoning what can perhaps be understood as the unknown. The anthropomorphic beings that manifest from this process sit between the identifiable archetype and the strangely unfamiliar. The figures are often adorned with home-made, thrown- together costumes reminiscent of the esoteric origins of ritualistic activity. The inanimate with the potential to become animate possess a potential threat, yet remain strangely innocent in their stillness. Sweeney has exhibited across the UK in selected group shows and has had solo exhibitions in Nottingham and Brighton. Kelly Sweeney was shortlisted for Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2014 and was recently awarded the Art Patrons Bursary from UAL. Born in East London, Kelly lives and works in the city with a studio in Elephant & Castle. www.kellysweeney.co.uk


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Robert Welch McGhee, 2013 Acrylic on canvas, 16 x 16 cm

Robert Welch was born in Wolverhampton in 1956. He studied at Stourbridge College of Art, Hull College of Art [BA] and graduated from Manchester Polytechnic in 1981 with an MA in Fine Art [painting]. In 1989 he was an invited artist at The Triangle Workshop in New York. He has exhibited his paintings nationally and internationally in many group exhibitions including ‘Critical Faculty’ at Grand Rapids, Michigan, ‘The Rocca Pistola Collection’, New Inn, London, ‘Viewing Club’, Berlin and ‘Regrouping’, The Nunnery, London. Recent solo shows include ‘Shiftwork’ at The Eagle, Farringdon 2011, ‘A Sore Head’ APT, Deptford 2013 and Connect 2014 [documenting his recovery and return to painting following a stroke in 2011] and ‘Viewing Form’ at Bath Contemporary 2014 [35 paintings from the past 15 years].

As a visiting lecturer he has taught on BA courses at Winchester, Limerick, Manchester, Canterbury, Chelsea, Kingston and Leeds, with additional teaching at Croydon [Foundation], the Cyprus School of Art [Post Grad] in addition to various adult education institutes.

He lives and works in SE London and has held a studio at APT in Deptford since it began in 1994. Prior to this he worked at studios in Victoria Park and the ACME studios at Carpenters Road.

www.robertwelch.info


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Robert Welch Three Musicians, 2013 Acrylic on canvas, 16 x 16 cm


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Joella Wheatley The Line of Sight, 2014 Oil, acrylic and pen on canvas on board 35 cm diameter

Joella Wheatley graduated from The Arts University Bournemouth in 2012, currently now living and working in London. Her work focuses on the processes, complexities and voids of solitude, shown through architectural spaces using geometric shaped objects. Her paintings begin with the study of an empty space, which tells a story of, power, solitude and emptiness. She has exhibited nationally and internationally some of these include, The Future Can Wait, Bath Arts Fringe, I Cheer a Dead Man’s Sweetheart at the De La Warr Pavilion, Our Common ground, France and Bournemouth. She also had her first solo show this year at Aspex Gallery, Portsmouth. Her work uses a very specific technique of combining acrylic, oil and pen onto unconventional shaped canvases. Joella has also been selected for awards and residencies some include, Bryant and Keeling Painting Prize, Interregional Culture-Led Regeneration Award, Metamorphose Residency at Islington Arts Factory and winning the Platform Graduate Award 2012. www.joellawheatley.co.uk


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Joella Wheatley Abstractions, 2013 Oil, acrylic, pen on canvas on board. 35 x 35 cm


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Neil Zakiewicz Open Hours, 2014 Cellulose spray on MDF, hinges, 103.3 x 103.8 cm

Neil Zakiewicz studied Fine Art at Cardiff College of Higher Education (BA) and at Camberwell College of Art (Foundation). He also completed an MA Fine Art at Goldsmiths College in 2003. His recent solo exhibition at Divus Gallery “MDF Paintings” was the first time he had shown paintings, having previously been making 3-d objects and installations. He exhibits his work frequently in London. In 2008 he created a temporary public sculpture at Sølyst art centre in Jyderup, Denmark. His studio for 10 years is in Stratford, East London. www.neilzakiewicz.com


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PRESS. An excerpt from the full article on a-n.co.uk by Jack

Hutchinson.

Why did you originally set up the Zeitgeist Open?

It is now the 5th year I have run an open submission competition, initially independently in

2010 & 11 for the Core Gallery open and now The Zeitgeist Open from 2012 with co-

collaborator Annabel Tilley. The reason for creating the Zeitgeist Open was the parallel ideology

of wanting to provide opportunities for artists – where they felt valued and that had long term

possibilities- as well as finding a variety of independent methods to sustain our arts

organisation

What do you offer successful artists beyond simply being selected? Is there an ongoing

relationship?

There is always an ongoing relationship with artists selected. We continue to follow their careers

and see how ZAP has helped in their career trajectories - which it does. With every Open there is a

selection of artist/s to be selected for a further exhibition with us and we invite them into other

projects with ZAP. These are very fruitful relationships borne out of a mutual understanding and

conversation that goes both ways. I still work with/ support artists that were selected from the very

first Core Gallery Open in 2010 such as Tom Butler, Marion Michell and Alyson Helyer. When we

have an open exhibition, the artists are not just a number or payment, we come to know them and

their practice and develop relationships as much as possible. Having been in open’s ourselves, we

found them to be impersonal experiences, there was no real interest beyond the event or any

further relationship, you feel like just another artist paying a fee. Zap however, is a grass roots artist

led and run organisation so our entrants are our wider audience and we understand that these are

opportunities to build relationships reciprocally.

We also know that as a result of the artists partaking in our show that there have been real

benefits, such as sales or further exhibition offers etc. To give a couple of examples Debbie

Lawson (The ZAP open 2012) was asked to have a solo show in Oslo and Daniel Slater’s work

sold to the prestigious Coode-Adams collection.

We do also benefit in a number of unexpected ways, for example being asked to lecture at

Universities where entrants teach, and some artists become ZAP Members, and also some will

come to our other educational events or art tours. We find a myriad of connections get made

within each exhibition group. It sets off a domino effect where other people have then gone onto

develop projects through the connections made. This is precisely what ZAP sets out to do - to

connect and support artists, curators and audience in creating their own artworld.

We are enlivened and enriched by working with these wonderful artists and having the

opportunity to exhibit their works, to bring them to other people’s attention, by the

conversations we have with the artists and the visitors who come full of excitement at the show.

It is a great joy to us to unravel the stories, motivation, processes or concepts behind the works,


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to curate and create dynamic, idiosyncratic, logical and illogical conversations with the works in

the final exhibition

Is the ZAP Open good value for money for applicants, particularly in comparison with

other opens?

It is comparative. Like any other business, we look at what others charge and we are comparative.

We do try and keep it as affordable as we can as with all of our activities.

We believe in the Paying Artists Campaign and the Artists Union manifesto so we pay our

selectors, who are artists and our assistants, also artists from the proceeds and yes we do also

pay ourselves a small amount for the work that we do. We don’t feel we should apologise for

that as it rarely covers the amount of actual work that goes into creating the event. We work on

the basis that there is value beyond the monetary and understand that this is the basis on which

most artists make their work. Largely I feel that most artists that apply will have seen the

extraordinary amount we do not only for artists in the Open but also for the wider artist

community and we are respected for that. We are not a funded organisation and we put a huge

amount of time and energy into the open and we have to try and run things sustainably. People

sometimes don’t understand the scale of the undertaking and the work which is done for free.

Do you think there is a general misconception of how open exhibitions are run and the

risk involved?

I think there are huge misconceptions about Opens and some misplaced resentment and

cynicism towards them as being some kind of money spinner or exploitative of artists and

something I consistently find myself explaining and defending. Being abused by a few people

with blanket criticisms of Open competitions through a lack of understanding about our ethos

and broader intentions, unfortunately seems to come with the territory, it is tedious but

ultimately does not come close to dimming the overwhelming positivity that is created by

running our events.

Long before we embarked on our first Zeitgeist Open - both transparent and ethical in 2012 -

Annabel and I had several conversations about why opens are increasingly viewed so negatively

by artists and how we could challenge those issues. This was the seed of what became The

Zeitgeist Open.

We researched other open competitions, and debated how and where they succeeded and

failed. As artists ourselves we considered a number of views: a wealth of artist’s feedback and

experience of taking part in open competitions in the past and the other competitions for artists

run by other galleries / arts org/ foundations etc.

I think everyone who has ever been involved in our Opens is probably aware, sometimes first

hand of how badly artists are often treated by other competitions, galleries etc and that we

should try to improve on that, not least because we are artists ourselves and we have all been

treated badly on occasion, sometimes by people and organisations who should definitely know

and do better. An example of us reinventing the open is our anonymous selection process - we

believe our open is pioneering in that regard.

We also email everyone, selected or not, before publicly announcing the selection and we take

great care over our rejection letter. I think that’s the least an organisation should do and its also


39

a very easy thing to administer. It shows that you value people and I think it should be standard

behaviour for other organisations. I also don’t agree in the public humiliations of long lists and

then short lists, I think it’s devaluing for a number of reasons.

Essentially we try to run the open in the best possible way we can and learn from the lessons of

the other competitions. Not everyone thinks the same way as we do.

‘All the work entered for the ZAP Open is submitted to thoughtful and extensive discussion. This

discussion is only possible when the selectors are all aware of current practices and the prevailing

critical context. This is experienced most acutely by practising artists and because of this, the

selectors sense of responsibility is about as acute as it could be.’ Graham Crowley

Essentially, one has to realise that it is down to choice with opens. You have to apply to a

competition to be to be in with a chance of selection. No-one is forcing anyone to apply and no-

one can undertake the organisational side for free. So either get in the game or don’t. Everyone

knows it is a gamble. Take for example Beers Contemporary Art, ‘100 painters of Tomorrow’

which is a great book and has some fantastic artists in it but it is not a general survey of all

painters everywhere, it’s a selection of those that entered by a selected panel with their

particular personalities.

Running ZAP is done out of a passion to reinvent or rebuild the art world. This is much harder

than it seems and requires a huge amount of work and commitment. Like all communities

wishing to better our arts community we do it in the hope that we can make a positive

difference. We receive incredible amounts of fantastic feedback, from artists that we empower,

not just through an exhibition but by our wider activities. We even get thank you email for the

thoughtfulness of our ‘rejection’ letter. It is clear to us that having an Open Exhibition is a very

important opportunity for our remit to provide opportunities for artists.

“The ZAP Open is a unique open-submission opportunity for artists working in any medium. As well as providing a critical platform for showing new work, the curators also create a supportive network for ongoing dialogue. A very worthwhile and stimulating experience.” Srinivas Surti “The experience of being in the Zeitgeist Open was a pleasure and a privilege” Louise Mackenzie

“Flair, inspiring can do-it attitude, elegantly curated exhibitions, and an infectious will to

encourage and support, Zeitgeist Arts Projects offers a remedy for the art scene. Everyone should

submit something to the ZAP Open, confident that it will be received solely on the one criteria that

counts: The individual quality and integrity of the work.” Timothy Shepard

What are your hopes for the future?

Always the same; onwards and upwards for ZAP, to aim high and become a more sustainable

arts organisation, to grow and to develop. To continue to make art, learn and share knowledge.

We are also very much looking forward to curating ‘No-One lives in the Real World’ with open

stalwarts Sasha Bowles, Rosalind Davis, David Kefford, Michaela Nettell, Srinivas Surti, Annabel

Tilley, Rachel Wilberforce, Timothy Shepard & Evy Jokhova at Standpoint Gallery, London, 20

February-22 March 2015.

Rosalind Davis


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A short guide to entering Open Submission Competitions

Make sure you use good photos of your work, making sure it is in focus and sized properly, within the dimensions stated in the guidance

Cropping is a very important tool, use this to ensure you do not include irrelevant things like the edges of walls etc, so that we only focus on the art works.

Make sure you haven’t done unintentional selfies- you / someone else reflected in a framed work!

And finally, finally, finally… label your jpeg, so that it has your name, medium, dimensions on anything you send out. It can be a deal breaker in the selection process.

the zeitgeist open 2014 exhibition catalogue

Documents

pm exhibition open

mark sadler

fellow artists juan

deakin writes

juan bolivar preview

escapist kelly sweeney

kelley sweeney writes

andrew bick