Colony is a node in the city where a temporary community, Colony Network, will gather together and create a dynamic, chaotic and fun programme on, in and around the functional installation. After a successful residence for over a year in Deptford, Anarch is roaming and will be occupying 14 Warren Street, London for Colony, a 16 day programme with daily events by multiple collaborators.
Colony is a temporary takeover of an empty retail unit in the affluent Fitzrovia area of central London. It explores the spirit of renowned artist Gordon Matta-Clark underpinned by a small selection of his rarely seen letters on exhibition for the duration. These letters serve as reminders of his character, determination, confidence, sense of humour, and open-armed, forward-thinking method of working that motivates the Colony initiative.
The two storey space will house a new Anarch commission from artist Andrew T Cross / AN-architecture. The architecturally scaled sculpture cuts through the gallery floor, coming up from the basement to occupy the showroom. The large structure, made of reclaimed wood, will inhabit the vacant unit and provide a flexible island to be colonized daily by an invited network of multidisciplinary artists and practitioners: Colony Network. This structure will function variously as studio, seminar / conversation space, performance platform, FOOD restaurant, gallery and as a stand-alone piece of public, urban sculpture.
COLONY NETWORKS (more TBC): Anarch, Andrew T Cross, Annexinema, AssemblySE8, James Attlee, ARTISJUSTAWORD invites Hector Castells
Nancy Benson, Cheatahs, Freddy Dewe Mathews, Ditto Press, La Fragua A.I.R., Dan Halhead, Alice Ladenburg, Library of Bureaucratic Absurdity (LOBA)
Nissa Nishikawa, Estate of Gordon Matta-Clark, Ramuntcho Matta, Nadege Meriau, Standart Thinking (Lise Hovesen and Javier Rodriguez) , Fritz Stolberg & Kohhei Matsuda, Marianne Walker & Oli Don, Phill Wilson-Perkin & Samantha Taylor, Jim Woodall, Volume Projects invites:, Criodhna, Costello, Malachai K, Michael Mykola Haleta, Dawn Bendick Haleta, Ryan Jordan, Charlie Kerr ,Solina Hi-Fi
The opening reception is on Wednesday 4th December, 6pm where the daily programme of events will be launched with an epic performance, XI, presented by Cheatahs throughout the space. Paying homage to Ryhs Chatham’s Guitar Trio and the No Wave movement, “XI” is a one off avant-garde work for 11 guitars. Taking a guitar drone in the key of D as a starting point, the 11 players – made up of members of Cheatahs and fellow London bands Mazes, Male Bonding, Great Ytene, Novella and Omi Palone – will each take it in turn to improvise and explore tonal possibilities within the drone.
Andrew T Cross (ATC) studied both art and architecture, his work constantly walking the thin line between the two. “Not the kind of architecture that’s filled with offices and creates skylines and not the kind of art that hangs on walls to just be looked at. I create art with a function to be interacted with, to be touched and experienced in a real and tactile way.”
ATC has created large-scale commissions with Secret Arts, Aid & Abet, Artspace, London Pleasure Gardens. Anarch director Jude Bennett and ATC have been in conversations for years around the various concepts that are touched on through Colony. This project is the basis of realising future collaborative projects between them.
Gordon Matta-Clark (1943 – 1978) is widely considered one of the most influential artists working in the 1970s and a key figure in the growth of New York’s downtown art scene. He is renowned for his building
Vacant lighting showroom and basement, 14 Warren Street W1T 5JL Opening event, Wednesday 4th December 6pm Exhibition runs 5th – 20th December 2013 Open daily from 12noon