7 September 2011

(E X T R A) O R D I N A R Y

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Old paintwork. Rusty, flaking metal. Trodden on chewing gum. Wherever I’m describing it sounds like a dive, right? Most probably, that’s exactly what it was, the sort of place you wouldn’t look twice at, or would hurry through to get home. For American artist Ingrid Calame however, these banal spaces and all their blemishes tell an important story – one which she brings to life in spectacular fashion in her first solo exhibition in Scotland at the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh. Using every scratch, scrape and smudge as the foundations for her drawings, Calame’s intricate tracings provides a visual commentary on a fleeting moment in time, like an abstract photograph that will never be captured again. Her art is the product of a meticulous, almost forensic, mapping process of the physical environment and is enriched by the vibrant colours that detach each piece from its humble beginnings. Downstairs in the gallery, Calame showcases bright, glossy paintings on aluminium that are much more clever than they appear, but it is upstairs that she really excels, revealing a softer side with a delicately constructed chalk masterpiece that is as temporary as the markings she so carefully records.

3 comments:

  1. what gorgeous drawings! so talented!

    XOXO, BECCA
    http://fashion-train-fix.blogspot.com

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  2. I love the last one. I must go to the Fruitmarket Gallery when I can and take a look. I didn't know it was on :)

    Thanks for your comment xx

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  3. @ NRA, I love the last one too. The colours remind me of a full english breakfast!x

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