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Saatchi makes case for young art
09.10.09
The work of 20 graduates who are hoping to emulate the success more than a decade ago of the Young British Artists is to go on show in an exhibition entitled the New Sensations.
Polished work: A piece by Andreas Blank
When Charles Saatchi lent the best of his YBAs to the Royal Academy for the infamous Sensation show in 1997, he introduced Tracey Emin, the Chapman brothers and Damien Hirst to a public many of whom had never seen a pickled shark before. Now he is helping to showcase the next generation in a collaboration with Channel 4.
Talent: Andreas Blank, left. Also on show are works by Regine Petersen, far right, and Maurice Citron, centre
The work has been selected by a panel — including artist Gavin Turk and Ralph Rugoff of the Hayward Gallery — from 600 submissions by graduates in the UK this year. New Sensations 2009 opens in Shoreditch today, in time to introduce them to collectors who will descend on the Frieze art fair in the capital next week.
Four out of the 20 artists won a bursary to produce a work for the exhibition, and have been profiled in Channel 4's Three-Minute Wonder films this week. They are Oliver Beer, 24, of the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford; Nick Goss, 28, from the Royal Academy Schools; and Andreas Blank, 33, and Regine Petersen, 33, both from the Royal College of Art.
Next week a winner will be chosen from these four. He or she will be invited to make a work for Italian fashion house Moncler which will be exhibited at events including Basel and Miami art fairs before being sold for charity.
The work by Blank, who was born in Germany and lives in London, includes everyday items, such as a suitcase, shoes and shopping bags, on pedestals.
Film-maker Beer, who lives Edenbridge, Kent, has produced a video of a choir in Brighton sewers.
“I studied music before reading fine art, and I often work with musicians and composers when making films,” he said. “A recent series used a choir to stimulate architectural spaces to sing like a wine glass sings at the tip of a finger.” Petersen concentrates on photography and Goss on painting.
Rebecca Wilson, head of development for Saatchi's King's Road gallery, said: “This is the third year of the prize and each year the quality of the work goes up. It is incredibly varied and I don't get the sense that any is being made with the market in mind.
“The exhibition offers a wonderful opportunity to see some of the best art being made by young people in the UK.” New Sensations 2009 is at the A Foundation, Rochelle School, Shoreditch, from today until 19 October.
The other 16 artists include a strong showing from London's art colleges.
They are: Amy Woodward (Camberwell College of Art), Laura Culham (University College, Falmouth), Maurice Citron (Byam Shaw School of Art, London), Thomas Yeomans (Slade, London), Jennifer Fergie (Glasgow School of Art), Camilla Holder (University of Brighton), Dong Yoon Kim and Anna-Maria Pfab (London College of Communication), Nick Mobbs (Royal College of Art), Natasha Conway (National College of Art and Design, Dublin), Zack Thorne and Ryan Leigh (Wimbledon College of Art), Rachel Adams and Richard Cook (Edinburgh College of Art), Mikhak Mirmahmoudi (Newcastle University), Tim Ellis (Royal Academy Schools).
