Ikon at Plinth

By Emily, Plinth

Plinth are currently in the process of transforming an untouched Georgian house, dating back to 1710, opposite the British Museum into a unique pop-up space – part home, part gallery. We’ve decided to leave many of its charming original features untouched; carved wooden doors and window surrounds, plaster cornicing, wood-panelled doors and marble fireplaces all create a unique backdrop for our exhibition. The building is full of nooks and crannies to discover, and we’ve embraced the space’s idiosyncrasies. Determined to make our mark, and regain some of the property’s former glory, we’ve added vivid colours from the Georgian period: burnt orange, carmine red, soft pea green, pale pink and dark grey. New limited editions by Cornelia Parker, Beatriz Milhazes, Richard Deacon, Richard Wilson and Ding Yi will be exhibited, and proceeds from their sale will support Ikon’s 50th Anniversary Investment Fund, established last summer to celebrate their recent milestone.

     
Beatriz Milhazes, Love and Peace (2015)        Richard Wilson, Still Life Jug (2015)

      
Cornelia Parker, STOP (2015)                             Richard Deacon, Icon (2015)

      
Ding Yi, Appearance of Crosses (2015)             Inside 44 Great Russell Street

Plinth is delighted to announce that Susan Collis, a British artist with an oeuvre especially suited to the Great Russell Street space, will create a site-specific installation in the Ikon studio on the top floor. Collis’ work interrogates the value, monetary and cultural, assigned to objects which variously reject and conform to accepted notions of ‘artwork’. Collis is interested in the shift in perception which necessarily takes place on realising, for instance, that the ostensibly accidental paint-drips on a stepladder are, in fact, an illusion created by the meticulous and opulent inlaying of opals. The value of high concept, literally precious substances, and the labour of the artist/artisan are called to throw each other into subtle relief.

Plinth is not only about providing a new platform for unique artist-designed products and limited editions. It’s a project centered on a spirit of openness, and creating a means by which a wider audience can access and own contemporary art. We look forward to welcoming a broad range of creatives to take part in conversations, dinners and events at Plinth. Really, we want to create an ‘artist’s salon’ – a sentiment echoed by Ikon’s Director Jonathan Watkins, who enthuses about the prospect of “beautiful furniture, armchairs, little coffee tables… It should be a place where people come to speak about art and relax.” We couldn’t have put it better ourselves.

Plinth is open 11 February – 19 March 2016. Open Monday – Saturday, 10am-6pm
44 Great Russell Street (opposite the British Museum), London WC1B 3PA

Ikon at Plinth editions are also available to buy online and at Ikon Shop.

Click here to download the press release. Feel free to get in touch if you’d like any more information: emily@plinth.uk.com