Sarah Richter reviews 'Ian Hamilton Finlay | Definitions' at Victoria Miro, London
12/05/2011
Image: © Ian Hamilton Finlay Five Finals (2001)
Ian Hamilton Finlay | Definitions at Victoria Miro, London
Review by Sarah Richter for Aesthetica Magazine Blog
Ian Hamilton Finlay’s show currently at the Victoria Miro Gallery is evocative of classicism, coupled with an informed philosophical and historical glance into tradition. The show is entitled Definitions and is punctuated throughout the gallery with Finlay’s often witty and multivalent definitions of words such as Purity, Apollo, Inspiration and Militaria. Illustrate Finlay’s desire to explore the materiality of words in relations to the sculptures which are the other aspect of the culture. The presence of these classical sculptures it feels like one is walking the mystical carnage of a preserved world of antiquity, only intact to share knowledge and predict the future, which alas remains uncertain and far removed from the seeming certainty of antiquity.
This uncertainty manifests itself in the series of bronze busts entitled, Four Muses. In mythology, there were always three muses were the artistic inspiration of man. Traditionally representing beauty, charm and creativity, these women were the reason’s man created art and always possessed solidity as to who they would inspire and the great product of this inspiration would become a milestone in the historical... [read the full article on the Aesthetica Magazine Blog].
Image: © Ian Hamilton Finlay Five Finals (2001)
Definitions continues until 1 June. For more information visit www.victoria-miro.com.
Sarah Richter is a candidate for the MA in Art History at Richmond the American International University in London.
Aesthetica engages with contemporary art, contextualising it within the larger cultural framework. For further information, please visit the Aesthetica Magazine website.
Link to this page: http://www.richmond.ac.uk/n/1149.aspx
