Recommended by Mat Collishaw
Mat Collishaw is a London based artist working across a variety of media. He is a key figure in an important generation of contemporary British artists. Collishaw’s work explores themes of moral ambiguity with which we must contend as part of the human condition. Often presented as stunning, captivating installations, Collishaw seduces his viewers into participating and invites us to decode the beauty to find the universal truth beneath. Combining Victorian techniques with cutting edge technologies, he readdresses ubiquitous questions of being in the context of the 21st century. A founding member of the YBAs, Collishaw’s work can be found in the collections of London’s Tate, Centre Pompidou in Paris, and SFMoMA.
For more information on Mat Collishaw see here.
TANK Shanghai Museum in Shanghai, 2019
What is your favourite art space to visit? Somewhere you have been that had brought you joy.
The Prado Museum in Madrid, an obvious choice, but the role call of outstanding paintings is jaw dropping. Wandering around the building is like walking through a large volume of European Arts greatest hits.
What have you seen in the past year which made you think you are looking at a new way of experiencing art? This can be an artwork, an exhibition, or a space.
The phenomenal set up at Planta, Lleida is definitely worth visiting. A series of colossal pavilions hosting phenomenal Artworks in the middle of an enormous aggregate mine. The contrast between the cool and precise interiors and the arid machine churned exteriors, force your eyes and mind to be constantly recalibrating which keeps the experience fresh and invigorating.
The Family of Man (1970) by Barbara Hepworth, installed Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
What show, gallery, institution or museum have you visited that you thought was worth the travel?
Yorkshire Sculpture Park is always worth visiting. In addition to the bucolic rolling hills studded with extraordinary Artworks there are also huge high end gallery spaces that wouldn’t look out of place in New York’s Chelsea district.
If time and budget were not an obstacle, where would you like to visit (or revisit) from the places listed on The Art Pilgrim?
Walter de Maria installation at Naoshima Island
I’d love to revisit Naoshima Island to see the astonishing Walter de Maria installations, lurking cavernously like a refined Bond villain’s lair.
In your opinion, which city, other than London, Berlin or New York, has a really interesting and exciting art scene?
Apparently Margate is convulsing with artistic activity. It’s on the East coast of England but the sun sets over the sea which is a bizarre and intriguing paradox which most give it an edge over a lot of other locations.
If the world were coming to an end, and there was space for only one museum collection on the spaceship, which collection would you nominate and why?
I’d choose the National Gallery in London because, in addition to holding a vast and prestigious collection, it’s probably the place I visit the most so I’d miss it’s presence on a monthly basis.
Anything else you would like to add?
I saw teamLab in Shanghai just before lockdown, a series of interconnected rooms saturated with wall to wall interactive video projections, the overall experience was absorbing. team Lab are one of several groups of Artists working with Superblue, the new Pace initiative, that plans to launch a new ticketed Art viewing experience, I'm intrigued to see how this new business model blossoms, particularly in this current climate of social distancing.
