Not Vital: SCARCH

A visit to Hauser & Wirth gallery to see the Don McCullin ‘Stillness of life’ exhibition had the added bonus chance to see work by the Swiss artist Not Vital.

When walking from the car park to the main entrance visitors are greeted by Vital’s architectural sculpture (or ‘SCARCH’ as Vital refers) ‘Cannot Enter Cannot Exit”. A striking structure resembling a tall house made in highly reflective metal, at 3m high the piece has a monolithic presence that dominates the space. Once in the gallery space other earlier works by Vital dominate the space, such as ‘House to view the sunset’ entice the viewer to pause and walk around the sculpture viewing every aspect and angle to gain a sense of presence. I was immediately drawn to the fantastic ‘100 architects’ that was displayed in a long gallery space with 50 marble structures, of varying size, either side of central walkway. Each structure represents an architect by their year and month of birth. The large column the year and smaller top section the month (for example 15 Feb 1948 equates to 19x19x48cm and 15x15x2cm). Such a fascinating and cleaver concept that is both provocative and visually stunning. Sadly photography was not permitted in the gallery…

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‘The multidisciplinary exhibition will highlight the Swiss artist’s deep-rooted interest in the relationship between architecture, landscape and human perception. A conflation of the two words sculpture and architecture, ‘SCARCH’ transcends the boundaries of both formal terms, creating immersive, site-specific structures that provide a sense of wonder by means of alternative perspectives. Vital has travelled and exhibited widely since the 1970s, living between the United States, Niger, Italy and China, as well as his native Switzerland. The works on display will span Not Vital’s expansive oeuvre over the past five decades, ranging from early rudimental works from the 1960s, portrait sculptures, mixed-media works on paper and socially-driven installations relating to his global projects.

Central to Vital’s practice is an exploration of the spatial and socio-cultural backdrop of his homes and workplaces. He is able to immerse himself in new contexts and cultures with astonishing ease, collaborating with local craftspeople and sourcing regional production in the most remote areas.’ [taken from the promotional material from:https://www.hauserwirth.com/hauser-wirth-exhibitions/26434-not-vitalscarch ]

Don McCullin: Stillness of life

‘If you look again at McCullin’s landscapes, you start to sense the figure who made the pictures, invisible behind the lens, stepping forward with nothing but his own shadow – in the marsh, against the snow, along the causeway, over the brow. By now he is stripped of all superfluities. He is not a man in repose, who lingers lazily. He is striding into the wind, as always.’

Mark Holborn, 2018

I found Don McCullin’s landscapes to be representative of the bleak British winter landscape, with his use of monochrome to emphasise the stark contrasts in the texture of fields, tree line and sky. There’s a sense of impending doom in McCullin’s sky’s that tell of storm and rain and the cold harshness of these landscapes. Often the black in a photo would dominate in such a way that details became lost or meaningless. It was quite fitting then to see this exhibition during a stormy weekend, set in the same landscape that McCullin photographed. Many of these photos could have been taken in the field surrounding Hauser & Wirth.