Greig Burgoyne in Residence at The Centre for Recent Drawing London

As mentioned in my previous post, the Centre for Recent Drawing (C4RD) functions not only as a gallery and resource for contemporary drawing practice, but also supports practitioners through residencies and exhibitions. One such artist is Greig Burgoyne who teaches on the BA Fine Art course at UCA Farnham. Burgoyne has exhibited internationally, developing renown for his wall drawing installations. Vast constellations of drawn images cover entire gallery spaces, creating vectors, tensions, and disturbances as viewers may venture to construct meaning. His residency took place this summer (July and August) accumulating in an exhibition entitled The Thule.

‘The drawing installations have offered me great scope for expression and reflection, but have become perhaps a signature approach. I fear they have allowed my practice to wander too deeply into a semiotic mindset, decapitating concerns of imagery from materiality or how they may exist as drawing. For this residency, I want to be less in the position of stylistic scavenging, composing and reconfiguring imagery, and get closer to a sort of tabular rasa of drawing – the relationship to line. Of course line measures, confines, contains, extends, envelopes and this will be the starting point. So I’m revisiting line, but also, making a mark, making more marks, that shift between confirming and disrupting the territory of wall or at this stage, the territory of the paper in the relaying of mental processes.’

Greig Burgoyne – drawings from C4RD residency 2012

There’s a visual poetry to Burgoyne’s drawings from the residency, with his scattered yet structural marks. Almost as if you’re reading sheet music. They remind me of John Cage’s drawings….

Bit naughty of me, but I can’t seem to find much information about this particular piece (above) but thought it was relevant with its organised chaotic feel. Returning to Burgoyne’s work, his drawings suggest a strongly developed visual language. Often his drawings function as installations, encasing the viewer in a storm of bold line and colour. For more of his work check out:

www.greigburgoyne.com

Centre for Recent Drawing London

There are several interesting galleries in London that specialise in drawing as contemporary practice. One such space is the Centre for Recent Drawing; tucked around the corner from Highbury Islington station. Since 2004 C4RD has provided a public exhibition space and exhibition series that is independent and non-commercial, and is a member of the Museum Association of the UK

It exhibits a broad variety of drawing practice throughout the year and also hosts residencies specifically designed for those for whom drawing is a core part of their practice. Interestingly, a recent resident artist was Greig Burgoyne, who teaches on the BA Fine Course at UCA Farnham (I shall talk more about his residency in my next post).

C4RD is directed by Andrew Hewish who has a clear vision on the role of drawing within the creative disciplines:

‘Drawing as an approach is regaining the importance it once had as a way of thinking or acting that is fundamental to the human experience. It is being considered less as a particular use of materials or sub-activity of a particular discipline, and more as an approach discrete in itself. Drawing defined as the exercise of the imagination or mind on line reinforces drawing’s capacity as a performed analogy (mentally/manually) of the continuum that is human consciousness; two marks, as in mathematics, necessarily make a line. Drawing is essentially a connective understanding; between the eye, the hand, and the mind.’

‘C4RD’s purpose is to make space for drawing –  to maintain the visibility of a characteristically humanist approach that is drawing – in the encouragement and refinement of understanding of drawing, the arts and society at large can benefit. C4RD seeks to facilitate access and dialogue for current drawing practice independent of structural forces in commercial and institutional settings.’

For more information on the space and their exhibition program visit their website: www.c4rd.org.uk

Their next exhibition showcases a group of ten drawings by Carmel Buckley under the title of Double Takes. Buckley’s drawings are based on the illustrators Harry Clarke, Kay Nielson and J-J. Grandville. Exhibition runs from 4^th – 28^th October with the opening reception on 3^rd October 6-9pm.