CULTURE CLUB
WEAVING WORLDS
Discover the mesmeric exhibition at Kettle’s Yard, where the boundaries that separate art, life and people are dissolved Making New Worlds: Li Yuan-chia & Friends
Ends 18 Feb
In keeping with the new year’s spirit of hopeful renewal, Making New Worlds: Li Yuan-chia & Friends – showing at Kettle’s Yard until 18 February – offers an inspiring and uplifting display. The exhibition is the first in-depth showcase dedicated to the artist, poet and arts organiser Li Yuan-chia (1929-1994) and takes a close look at the museum/experimental space he founded in Cumbria in 1972 – the LYC Museum and Gallery. It could be argued that terms like ‘museum’ or ‘gallery’ feel almost too rigid to apply to the LYC, as a space that welcomed an expansive approach to art-making, devoid of hierachy, which encompassed myriad forms and mediums within a hospitable setting where artists would have lived and eaten together, working in collaboration. A studio and exhibition space founded in a dilapidated farmhouse in Banks, Cumbria – which Li bought from his neighbour, the painter Winifred Nicholson – the LYC may no longer survive, but its dynamic spirit thrives throughout the exhibition. Advocating an art of feeling and experience, the message promoted by the LYC and Li is an invitation to create. Making New Worlds displays just some of the work born from the LYC’s wide- reaching creative network, as a place that attracted over 300 artists including Andy Goldsworthy, David Nash and Lygia Clark to name a few. Of course, Li’s own multi-disciplinary practice also features heavily, but to single out one artist or work misses the point. Instead, one gets the impression that the LYC itself may rightfully considered his greatest artwork. Channelling that space, the exhibition represents a complex and interweaving web of connections and conversations which echo across the decades. Several contemporary artists have created works commissioned specifically
for the show, which speaks to the lasting influence of Li’s work. To enter the first room, pass under Protest Carpet: LYC- MAN DIGGING (2023) by Grace Ndiritu. This circular rug depicts Li at work in the LYC garden, prompting reflection on creativity, play and caring for the land as acts of resistance. Aaron Tan’s Windows (2023) assembles found objects, inspired by Li’s blend of domesticity and contemporary art, creating new contexts in unlikely spaces. Tapping into the cosmic energy of creation the exhibition explores various mediums, including kinetic sculpture, calligraphy, textile, painting and more. Aside from the dialogues that are foregrounded between the artists and their works, there is an undeniable kinship between the spaces they are displayed. As Amy Tobin, curator of contemporary programmes at Kettle’s Yard explains, we see the LYC as a similar destination, one that shares the encompassing ethos of Kettle’s Yard as a boundary-defying haven for art. The exhibition’s poignant symbol and broad connections across the contemporary art landscape open with an introduction to the LYC’s location near Hadrian’s Wall. Winifred Nicholson’s Roman Road – Landscape with Two Houses – (1926), usually in Kettle’s Yard house, seamlessly fits into the opening scene. The painting depicts the ancient road leading to the farm buildings, which, some 46 years later, became the LYC. Amidst Grace Ndiritu and Aaron Tan’s modern works, it immediately situates visitors on a shared path that transcends time, space and boundaries, pursuing the branches of connections that exist between people and place. Overall, Making New Worlds is a rich celebration of the artistic forces that remind us of our intrinsic connection as human beings, united by a shared desire to create.
14 JANUARY 2024 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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