Adriano Costa, Sam Falls, Samara Scott, Michael E Smith: Zabludowicz Collection, London

The Zabludowicz Collection – which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year – is presenting four solo exhibitions of sculpture, taking place simultaneously at its North London home in a former Methodist chapel. They combine new site-specific works with pieces selected from the 3,000 works spanning 40 years of modern art which are held by the Collection. Each of the artists contributing engages in a distinctive way with the question of how to make sculpture today, while at the same time a number of threads can be seen which link their approaches. A central concern is an evocation of the human body and its fragile, messy nature, as well as the passing of time.

Adriano Costa takes a playful approach which translates the detritus of culture into mysterious compositions. Materials such as brightly coloured towels, bronze cast plaques, found umbrellas, gold coated rubber and collaged tourist T-shirts are deftly combined and the distinction between the throwaway and the precious brought into question. Costa’s contribution responds to the residual domestic traces present in the Collection’s Middle Gallery, such as fireplace and furniture, with new elements produced in situ.

Sam Falls applies his multidisciplinary background to a practice exploring the time-based possibilities of photography, sculpture, painting and video. The centrepieces here are large-scale sculptures in copper, marble and powder-coated aluminium, presented alongside video works which appropriate the lingering shots of Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky and couple them with music by the Velvet Underground.

Samara Scott lifts textures and sensations directly from the daily flow of images that surround us, addressing our complex contemporary experience of the body. She has produced a major new installation, utilising large sheets of glass to make “tapestries” that form horizontal surfaces throughout the space, and a large wall mural of magazine images and toothpaste. She describes her process as “a sort of sentimental material investigation; a slow digestion of cosmetic, edible and chemical cultural debris”.

Michael E. Smith’s work is enigmatic and thought-provoking. His exhibition populates the tiered mezzanine of the former chapel, as well as small side rooms and back corridors with found objects such as crushed plastic containers, tarred bird feathers, deconstructed computer casings and resin-encrusted clothes, The human scale and deliberate starkness of the artworks prompts reflection on the fragility of bodies, and in turn the fragility of society and the natural environment..

Zabludowicz Collection: Adriano Costa, Sam Falls, Samara Scott, Michael E Smith. Four Solo Exhibitions of Sculpture, Until 10 August, Zabludowicz Collection, 176 Prince of Wales Road, London, NW5 3PT. www.zabludowiczcollection.com

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Credit:
1. Sam Falls, Final Forever (Nostalghia, Pale Blue Eyes), (2012). Photo: Stuart Whipps