Warm Struggle @ Studio 41

Article by Andrew Cattanach | 13 May 2011

Opened not all that long ago, Studio 41 is a small shop front gallery near the art school in Glasgow. Unlike some artist run spaces, it seems less intent on forging a distinct image of itself – attempting to be neither hyper-slick nor coolly indifferent – and for this reason appears almost completely unselfconscious.

Open to submissions, the gallery claims to be a “space for contemporary curating and art in Glasgow’s city centre.” With a canny focus on curatorship and critical writing, the venue seems to have less of an agenda than most spaces, with an encouraging emphasis on inclusiveness.

Opening this Friday, Warm Struggle is a show bringing together artists Sumin Bak, Karen Grant and Lingbo Liu. All painting students at the Glasgow School of Art, they make a wide range of work, including painting, printmaking, sculpture and film.

Exploring the necessity of maintaining an independent identity in our all-consuming contemporary culture, the exhibition will showcase brand new work by the three fledgling artists.

Sumin Bak makes monoprints and paintings on aluminium sheets, drawing inspiration from pinball machines. Some more abstract than others, the works are a microcosmic study of the pace and pressures of modern living.

Lingbo Liu paints portraits of Chinese women. Seemingly traditional, Liu’s paintings explore conceptions of Chinese society held by ‘the West’. She looks at the dualities inherent in identity, and how one remains autonomous in an all-consuming society.

Brought up on a farm, Karen Grant looks to revisit a period when the landscape and human identity were indeterminate. Painting a large-scale semi-abstract, she will harness the visceral elements of living in the countryside.

Attempting to tackle issues commonly left to the larger institutions, this show is bold in its ambition. That it has such an undetermined image means Studio 41 is perhaps perfectly suited to host an exhibition about the ambivalence of identity.

41 West Graham Street, Glasgow G4 9LJ

http://thestudio41.wordpress.com