‘That Petrol Emotion’

Metropolitan Art Society, Beirut, 12/02–27/04/2014

Metropolitan Art Society and The Modern Institute are delighted to present ‘That Petrol Emotion’, an ambitious presentation of the works of five Glasgow based artists: Martin Boyce, Jim Lambie, Victoria Morton, Scott Myles and Michael Wilkinson. Representing The Modern Institute’s inaugural project in Lebanon, ‘That Petrol Emotion’ utilises all the spaces within Metropolitan Art Society. Referencing the traditional format of a Lebanese villa, with one room dedicated to each artist, this exhibition presents a key overview of The Modern Institute’s programme.

Martin Boyce (b. 1967, Glasgow, Scotland).

Martin Boyce’s sculptures and spatial installations are rooted in an interest in landscape. This often takes the form of a collapse between the exterior and the interior, the natural and the constructed and how a sense of place can be described on the basis of details and fragments. In 2005 Boyce began working with a historical image of four abstract, cast concrete trees by the sculptors Jan and Joel Martel. The trees were produced for a garden by Robert Mallet-Stevens for the ‘Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes’ in Paris in 1925. Boyce has developed the geometric components of the original trees into a pallet of shapes and forms, which have become an intrinsic element of his practice.

Boyce won the Turner Prize in 2011, and represented Scotland at the 53rd Venice Biennale in 2009, He has been exhibiting internationally since 1992. In 2014 Boyce will present work at the Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh; the 19th Sydney Biennale; and a solo exhibition at Eva Presenhuber, Zürich.

Jim Lambie (b. 1964, Glasgow, Scotland).

Jim Lambie’s practice evolves from a response to the psychology of space and colour and is influenced by movements in art and the history of place. 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 and materials – both found and fabricated. He transforms these elements into new sculptural forms, re-energising them and giving them an alternative function. 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 sculptures and installations are able to reinvent the space into a dazzling interaction of colours, shapes and forms, challenging the viewer’s perceptions and creating an elaborate, otherworldly experience.

Lambie has presented work in numerous exhibitions worldwide since 1996. He represented Scotland in the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003 and was nominated for a Turner Prize in 2005. In 2014, Lambie has solo exhibitions at Sadie Coles, London, and Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh. Alongside a major commission for Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and a presentation within the 19th Sydney Biennale.

Victoria Morton (b.1971 Glasgow, Scotland).

Victoria Morton produces sensitively intricate paintings and sculptural installations. Influenced by musical composition, movement, and everyday life, alongside personal and historical narratives, Morton’s works explore a continuously unfolding visual, spatial and psychological experience. Within her works Morton re-evaluates the complexity of visual representation and figuration through a combination of layering, fragmentation and movement. Drawing from this instinctive vocabulary of abstraction Morton’s impulse to make these works “comes from a bodily drive as well as the desire to pursue the mental exercise of creating, disrupting, and reforming complex images.”

Morton works between Glasgow, Scotland and Venice, Italy. She has exhibited internationally since 1997. In 2014 Morton has a solo exhibition at the Rat Hole Gallery, Tokyo, she will also present work at the Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh.

Scott Myles (b. 1975 Dundee, Scotland).

Scott Myles’ conceptually based practice finds material expression in sculpture, text-based works, juxtapositions of readymade objects, and installations. As a whole, his work represents a complex network of responses to social and physical infrastructures. Most notably, these have taken shape as investigations into architecture and language, including the use of forms extracted from the municipal and cultural landscapes, as well as formal experiments that engage particular art historical lineages like gestural abstraction.

Myles has exhibited in numerous exhibitions worldwide since 1998. In 2014 Myles will have a solo exhibition at The Modern Institute, Glasgow, and will present work at Clark House Initiative, Bombay.

Michael Wilkinson (b. 1965, Merseyside, UK)

Michael Wilkinson’s practice draws from a complex negotiation of cultural references, political and art history, punk rock and anarchism. Working mainly in monochrome, or from a palette of limited colours, Wilkinson’s works incorporate a variety of materials including found photographs and materials, catalogue pages, blackboard paint, beeswax, verdigris, audio and VHS tape, vinyl records, Lego and etched mirrors. Through the use of such disparate media Wilkisnson employs a collaging or layering technique that reflects his multiple subject references – juxtaposing gestural abstraction, social history and physical elements derived from his broader practice, Wilkinson works almost always suggest an element of upheaval or unrest, either looking back into the past, or as measure of the present.

Wilkinson has been exhibiting internationally since 2001. He has an upcoming solo exhibition at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York in 2014.