Jim Lambie ‘Shaved Ice’
The Modern Institute are pleased to present ‘Shaved Ice’, an exhibition of new work by Jim Lambie.
Lambie’s practice evolves from a response to the psychology of space and colour, utilising the two in a way that is deeply rooted in colour theory, and draws parallels with the concept of synesthesia*. Working on a scale and intensity that takes on the gallery space, Lambie is also deeply influenced by movements in art and the history of place. His work specifically relates to the industrial past of his hometown of Glasgow, and utopian liberation movements, such as William Morris’ Socialism and the Arts and Crafts movement.
Lambie sources his material directly from the modern world. Referencing popular culture and drawing his subject matter from music and iconic figures, he makes use of everyday objects; record sleeves, ornaments, clothing and furniture, both found and fabricated. He transforms these elements into new sculptural forms, re-energising them and giving them an alternative function.
His installations are usually site-specific, using existing architecture as inspiration. For his exhibition at The Modern Institute’s new Aird’s Lane gallery space, Lambie is installing sixteen ladders running from floor to ceiling, accentuating both the height and symmetry of the space. With mirrored inserts between the steps, and coated in luminous colours, these ladders are devoid of function; instead they forever reflect the architectural properties of the space, creating an environment that could belong to another sensory dimension.
Encapsulating ideologies in art history, and arbitrated by cultural deities, Lambie allows himself to work liberally and outside the constraints of a single medium or dimension. His installations reinvent the space into a dazzling interaction of colours, shapes and forms, challenging the viewer’s perceptions and creating an elaborate, otherworldly experience.
- Synesthesia is an analogous experience in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway evokes
an automatic, involuntary sensation of another second sensory or cognitive pathway, as when the hearing
of a sound produces the visualisation of a color.
Jim Lambie, born 1964, Glasgow, where he lives and works. He graduated from The Glasgow School of Art
in 1994.
Lambie exhibits internationally, with selected solo exhibitions including: Everything Louder Than
Everything Else, Franco Noero, Turin, 2012; Spiritualized, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, 2011;
Boyzilian, Galerie Patrick Seguin, Paris, 2010; Metal Urbain, The Modern Institute, Glasgow, 2010;
Unknown Pleasures, Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, 2008; Forever Changes, Glasgow Museum
of Modern Art, Glasgow, 2008; RSVP: Jim Lambie, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2008; and Directions -
Jim Lambie, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC, 2006.
He has participated in numerous group shows worldwide including: Undone: Making and Unmaking in
Contemporary Sculpture, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, 2010; The New Décor, Hayward Gallery, London,
2010; Color Chart: Reinventing Color, 1950 to Today, Tate Liverpool, Liverpool, 2009 & MOMA, New York,
2008; and Unmonumental: The Object in the 21st Century, New Museum, New York, 2007.
Lambie was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2005 and represented Scotland at the 50th Venice Biennale
in 2003. He has an upcoming monograph to be published by Rizzoli in 2013.