The Common Guild presents an exhibition of work by Woflgang Tillmans on view 20 April – 23 June, 2012.
Woflgang Tillmans Onion 2010, Inkjet print on paper 208x138cm
Featuring an important group of works acquired by the Arts Council Collection alongside a number of new works selected by the artist, this exhibition covers the characteristic range and diversity of imagery in Tillmans’ practice.
Ranging from intimate portraits, dense with emotional intensity, to vast monochromes, baring the traces of the physical process involved, Tillmans is known for both the range of subject and the varying scale of his photographs. Sometimes highly choreographed and other times completely spontaneous, Tillmans demonstrates a simultaneous understanding of the emotional relationship between the photographer and his subject and the objectivity of the photographic process.
“I love the piece of paper itself, this lush, crisp thing. A piece of photographic paper has its own elegance, how it bows when you have it hanging in one hand or in two and manipulate it, expose it to light – I guess it is quite a gestural thing.”
Tillmans is also known, perhaps unusually for a photographer, for the diversity in the presentation of his work – from his signature bulldog clips, map pins and sticky tape mounts to Plexiglass hoods and bespoke vitrines. Through this range of scale and format, object, whilst reminding the viewer of the temporality, and fragility, of the image that they see.
Frequently referencing other genres, such as painting and sculpture, in both the content and the presentation of his work, Tillmans also explores the context of the photographic image, reminding the viewer of both its ubiquity and is uniqueness.
Exhibition open daily during Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art (20 April – 7 May) as follows: weekdays from 10 am – 5 pm, until 7pm on Thursdays and Fridays, and Saturday & Sunday 12 noon – 5 pm
From 8 May – 23 June: Tuesday – Saturday 12 noon – 5 pm, until 7pm on Thursdays and Fridays, and by appointment
The Common Guild
21 Woodlands terrace
Glasgow
G3 6DF
www.thecommonguild.org.uk