Ikon Gallery will host a major exhibition of Polly Apfelbaum titled “Waiting for the UFOs (a space set between a landscape and a bunch of flowers)” at its Birmingham venue.The exhibition features new and recent work by the internationally renowned New York-based artist. The exhibition exemplifies Apfelbaum’s interest in “space, obsession and otherness” and features large-scale colorful installations comprising textiles, ceramics and drawings. Apfelbaum’s practice is framed within wider sociological and political contexts, and the legacy of post-war American art.“The exhibition takes its title from the 1970s song ‘Waiting for the UFOs’ by British singer-songwriter Graham Parker — recalling the vast empty spaces of the American landscape and the obsessive marginal characters who anxiously anticipate extraterrestrial visits — conjoined with the surrealist Rene Magritte’s definition of a garden: ‘a space set between a landscape and a bunch of flowers.’ Making particular reference to his extraordinary landscape painting “The Plagiarism” (1940), the idea of appropriation is explored further through Apfelbaum’s characteristic use of allusion and quotation, blurring the conventional line drawn between popular culture (or craft) and high art. This is especially pertinent given that Ikon’s current premises are a refurbished Arts and Crafts school building,” says the gallery. “Here, snaking around all the walls of the first floor, a frieze of yellow and orange stripes foils a line of more than a hundred unique ceramic targets (all 2018). Each named after a constellation, the repetition of the target pattern gives way to the apprehension of a single obsessive visual trait. Whilst they can be read as references to abstract artists, such as Kenneth Noland, Poul Gernes or Jasper Johns, they also nod to folk art, dart boards or the circular irrigation patterns seen in aerial views of the American Midwest. Apfelbaum’s practice illustrates a sensitivity to site, scale and architectural setting.”The artist said, “It's important to me that people have to move through the work so the spectator activates it and participates in the experience. As you move through the installation, perspective, light and parallax are constantly changing the way you see the work in space.”The exhibition will be on view from September 19 through November 18, 2018, at Ikon Gallery, 1 Oozells Square, Brindleyplace, Birmingham B1 2HS, United Kingdom.For details, visit: https://www.blouinartinfo.com/galleryguide/ikon-gallery/overviewClick on the slideshow for a sneak peek at the exhibition.http://www.blouinartinfo.com Founder: Louise Blouin
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