Go West is the title of the first exhibition by Stuckist artists in a commercial London West End gallery. It was staged in Spectrum London gallery in October 2006. The show attracted media interest for its location, for the use of a painting satirising Sir Nicholas Serota, Director of the Tate gallery, and for two paintings of a stripper by Charles Thomson based on his former wife, artist Stella Vine.
The Stuckists had previously been seen as art world outsiders, but with the backing of a West End gallery in a "major exhibition" [1] became "major players" in the art world. [2] Ten leading Stuckist artists were exhibited. [3]
Royden Prior, the director of Spectrum London, said, "These artists are good and are part of history. Get past the art politics and look at the work." [4] [5]
Art critic Edward Lucie-Smith wrote in an essay for the show:
Stuckism has gained so much fame from its demonstrations and media campaigns that its real purpose is in some danger of being overshadowed. That purpose is perfectly obvious – to make art, and to have it seen and discussed without preconceptions, in a perfectly normal and rational fashion. [6]
Rachel Campbell-Johnston, art critic of The Times , condemned the work as "empty of anything much" and "formulaic". [7] Nevertheless, Thomson's and Joe Machine's paintings sold out, before the show opened, to buyers from the UK, Japan and the US. [8]
Exhibition dates: October 6 – November 4, 2006.
It was suggested that the exhibition of Thomson's painting, Sir Nicholas Serota Makes an Acquisitions Decision , satirising Sir Nicholas Serota, displayed in the gallery window (see image above), could be seen as revenge for the Tate's rejection of a Stuckist donation of 175 paintings the previous year. [2]
Thomson was also accused of revenge for exhibiting two paintings of strippers, which he said were based on his ex-wife and one-time stripper, Stella Vine. She was briefly a member of the Stuckists group at the time of their marriage in 2001, but has since attracted solo attention. Rivalry increased when her work was promoted by Charles Saatchi in 2004. [1] Thomson denied any intention of vengeance with the paintings and said that "I would prefer her to enjoy these, as I still enjoy her art". [9]
Michael Dickinson, a Stuckist from Istanbul, was a guest artist at the show with a folder of collages. [10] He had recently been released from ten days in a Turkish jail without charge after exhibiting Good Boy, a collage of the Turkish prime minister, Tayyip Erdoğan as a dog. [11]
| Main articles | |
|---|---|
| Co-founders | |
| Initial group | |
| Artists in Europe |
|
| Artists in UK | |
| Artists in US | |
| Artists elsewhere |
|
| Artworks | |
| Shows | |
| Galleries | |
| Related groups | |
| Stuckism opposed by | |
| Stuckism opposed to | |
| Wikimedia | |
Artists' names in italics indicate artists no longer in the movement (as of November 2011) | |
Stuckism is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting as opposed to conceptual art. By May 2017, the initial group of 13 British artists had expanded to 236 groups in 52 countries.
Remodernism is an artistic and philosophical movement aimed at reviving aspects of modernism, particularly in its early form, in a manner that both follows after and contrasts against postmodernism. The movement was initiated in 2000 by stuckists Billy Childish and Charles Thomson, with a manifesto, Remodernism in an attempt to introduce a period of new "spirituality" into art, culture and society to replace postmodernism, which they said was cynical and spiritually bankrupt. In 2002, a remodernism art show in Albuquerque was accompanied by an essay from University of California, Berkeley art professor, Kevin Radley. Adherents of remodernism advocate it as a forward and radical, not reactionary, impetus.
Sir Nicholas Andrew Serota is a British art historian and curator.
Charles Thomson is an English artist, poet and photographer. In the early 1980s he was a member of The Medway Poets. In 1999 he named and co-founded the Stuckists art movement with Billy Childish. He has curated Stuckist shows, organised demonstrations against the Turner Prize, run an art gallery, stood for parliament and reported Charles Saatchi to the OFT. He is frequently quoted in the media as an opponent of conceptual art. He was briefly married to artist Stella Vine.
Stella Vine is an English artist, who lives and works in London. Her work is figurative painting, with subjects drawn from personal life, as well as from rock stars, royalty, and other celebrities.
Philip Absolon is a British artist and a founder member of the Stuckists art group, exhibiting in the group shows, including The Stuckists Punk Victorian at the Walker Art Gallery in 2004, and taking part in Stuckist demonstrations against the Turner Prize. He has had long-term unemployment problems, depicted in his work with imagery of skeletons; his other main subject is cats, which he studies and depicts in motion.
Joe Machine is an English artist, poet and writer. He is a founding member of the Stuckists art group.
Paul Arthur Harvey is a British musician and Stuckist artist, whose work was used to promote the Stuckists' 2004 show at the Liverpool Biennial. His paintings draw on pop art and the work of Alphonse Mucha, and often depict celebrities, including Madonna.
The Stuckists Punk Victorian was the first national gallery exhibition of Stuckist art. It was held at the Walker Art Gallery and Lady Lever Art Gallery in Liverpool from 18 September 2004 to 20 February 2005 and was part of the 2004 Liverpool Biennial.
John Bourne is a British artist and painter, living and working in Wales, and a member of the Stuckists art movement. He founded the Wrexham Stuckists group in 2001 and has been exhibited in the group's shows since then, including The Stuckists Punk Victorian. He has also taken part in Stuckist demonstrations against the Turner Prize. The subject matter for his paintings, which are done in a simplified style, comes from his memories.
Elsa Dax is a French painter and a member of the Stuckists art movement. Major themes in her work are myth, legend and fairytale.
Stuckism is an art movement that began in London, England, in 1999. In 2000, Melbourne artist Regan Tamanui started the first international branch of the movement. As of 2010, there are seven Australian Stuckist groups, who have held shows—sometimes concurrently with UK activities—received coverage in the Australian press and on TV, and also been represented in UK shows. The Stuckists take a strong pro-painting and anti-conceptual art stance, and were co-founded by Charles Thomson and Billy Childish.
Mark D, born Mark Randall, is a British punk musician. He is also associated with the Stuckist group of artists. Mark D was born and spent his childhood in Peterborough. He now lives in Nottingham.
Stuckist demonstrations since 2000 have been a key part of the Stuckist art group's activities and have succeeded in giving them a high-profile both in Britain and abroad. Their primary agenda is the promotion of figurative painting and opposition to conceptual art.
Regan Tamanui is an artist based in Melbourne, Australia. In October 2000, he founded the Melbourne Stuckists, the fourth Stuckist of the original Stuckist groups and the first outside the United Kingdom. He has also painted prolifically as a street artist under the tag name HA-HA.
Spectrum London was a London art gallery which showed contemporary figurative painting, photography and sculpture. It staged Go West, the first commercial West End show of the Stuckists, and a retrospective by Sebastian Horsley. It closed in 2008.
Abby Jackson is a British artist, Stuckist painter, writer and art activist.
Sir Nicholas Serota Makes an Acquisitions Decision is one of the paintings that was made as a part of the Stuckism art movement, and is recognized as a "signature piece" for the movement. It was painted in 2000 by the Stuckism co-founder Charles Thomson, and has been exhibited in a number of shows since, as well as being featured on placards during Stuckist demonstrations against the Turner Prize.
The A Gallery was a contemporary art gallery in Wimbledon, London run by Fraser Kee Scott.
