14 March 2011

TENT to be focal point of new exhibition

Meticulous craft, bleak humour and political vision combine in a new exhibition by internationally renowned artist Paul Noble, to be held at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design later this week.

TENT opens to the public with a special preview event at the Cooper Galley in DJCAD, part of the University of Dundee, from 6pm on Friday 18th March. This new exhibition will form part of Noble’s epic on-going project, ‘Nobson Newtown’ by relocating a pictorial space into the dynamics of a real place. The exhibition consists of drawings, photography, ceramics and a tent which takes the viewer into the centre of Noble’s creative process and fictional world.

Nobson Newtown is an imaginary town explored through an extraordinary range of works which display both meticulous craft and ethical and political commentary. The place is described by the artist in his ‘Introduction to Nobson Newtown’, which parodies tourist guides and grandiose civic pride. The planning of the new town is depicted in detail - its amenities, work spaces and architect-designed slums. The ongoing project satirises bureaucracy, politicians, architecture, planning and public apathy.

The new exhibition in Dundee expands the vista of Noble’s project, and the eponymous tent places the viewer directly inside the artist’s space of language, the physical and architectural realisation of ‘the edge of Nobson Newtown’.

Sophia Hao, Curator of Exhibitions & Visual Research Centre at DJCAD, said, 'TENT will be an exciting opportunity for the audience to witness a critical departure of Noble’s acclaimed Nobson Newtown and to literally step inside the portrait of an imaginary place.

'The exhibition will comprise of carefully crafted drawings, hauntingly suggestive photographs, a suite of specially produced ceramics and the never before shown tent installation, which comprehensively illustrate the artistic, critical and philosophical engagement of Paul Noble’s widely respected practice.'

Paul Noble’s monumental and bleakly humourous works first came to prominence during his time as one of the founder members of the influential artist-run venue, the City Racing gallery in London (1988-98). Since then he has produced an extraordinary range of works and gained international recognition, in particular, for his imaginative depiction of Nobson Newtown.

Noble's synthesis of drawing, architecture, philosophy and satire has been exhibited at numerous internationally significant venues including Tate Gallery, the Whitechapel Gallery and Gagosian Gallery New York. His works are also held in the collections of Tate Modern, the Museum of Modern Art, New York and Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art.

TENT will be open to the public between Saturday 19th March and Saturday, 16th April. Opening times are 9.30am-5pm (Mon-Fri) and 10.30am-4pm (Saturday).

Paul Noble will also produce an artists’ book ‘TENT’, with the Centre for Artists’ Books (CAB) at DJCAD.

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277