OPENING: “Michael Petry: A Twist in Time” at important U.K. art venue

The Pallant House Gallery in Chichester, West Sussex has announced that they will be housing a new exhibition of the work of multimedia artist Michael Petry. Opening on July 4th, Petry’s site-specific works will populate the historical Queen Anne townhouse section of the gallery, a space famous for housing an immense collection of 20th century British art. According the the press release of the exhibition, the large exhibition will “create a dialogue with the Gallery’s historic glass collections, exploring questions of gender, craftsmanship and decoration.”

Michael Petry, Lovers, 2015. Image courtesy of Michael Petry.

Petry has a deep connection to England, making the display of his work in such a historically significant gallery all the more meaningful. Born in Texas in 1960, Petry moved to London when he was 21, and has lived there ever since. He is now the director of the MOCA, London Museum of Contemporary Art and the curator of the Royal Academy Schools Gallery. He has also published a handful of books, ranging in subject matter from gender and sexuality in museums to the seminal text on installation art.

Michael Petry, Libations, 2015. 24k gold glazed porcelain bowl filled with red wine. Image courtesy of Michael Petry. 

Although Petry has been a multimedia artist since early in his career, and has varied his media from paper to porcelain along the way, glass has always found a place in his art, as it does in this new exhibition. Although many other media appear in the exhibition, glass takes center stage.

Petry’s new works in the Pallant House Gallery are at once large and monumental, and small and hidden. Some pieces in the exhibition are immediately visible to any gallery visitor, such as Petry’s new work A Twist in Time (2015), a large glass work made up of 25 pieces of colorful blown glass. It has been installed to wind down the center of the gallery’s spiral staircase. The work is said to be inspired by the twisting shape of the bannisters in the gallery space.

Michael Petry, A detail of one of the 25 suspended pieces of "A Twist in Time", 2015. Glass, wire.

Other pieces in the exhibition hang discreetly throughout the gallery, such as Petry’s several works entitled Ghosts (2015). Made up of clear pieces of glass measuring approximately two feet in length, the work is designed to blend in with its surroundings, seen only if it is searched for.

Many of Petry’s other works will also be on view in the exhibition. Such works include Bad Restorations (2014/2015), a series of mirrored works that are reminiscent of the historical mirrors found in the gallery space. Also on view is Lovers (2015), Petry’s small glass and metal sculptures, which are placed in the Irish Glass room of the Queen Anne townhouse. By placing them in such a location, Petry draws yet another connection between the gallery space and his own work,  exploring “the space between fine art and craft”, according the the exhibition press release.

“Michael Petry: A Twist in Time” will remain on view through the Spring of 2016.

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