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Mead Gallery Opening Party for Latest Exhibition - Girl Rider

  • Opening Party Drinks: Friday 11th January 6.30-8.30pm All welcome.

For their current commission for the Mead Gallery, Cullinan + Richards have developed a new installation which continues to investigate the relationship of sculpture and painting to a performance event.

Fusing the early 20th century spectacle of horse diving with an exploration of modes of display, Cullinan + Richards have ramped up their output only to open the trap door at the final moment. Domestic furniture is reborn as formal sculptures out of an oil slick of household paint, canvases are divorced from the wall, as action and event invert the objects to create an essay on anti-commodity and a position for women.

The Horse Diving spectacle was devised by the sharpshooter and showman William 'Doc' Carver in 1880s. The horse would run up to the top of the wooden structure where the 'Girl Rider' would jump mount the running horse before diving off the platform into a water pool some 40 - 60 feet below. The act toured the States before becoming a permanent fixture at the Atlantic City Steel Pier, one of America's greatest amusement piers, known for showcasing the world's top entertainers.

Cullinan + Richards have exhibited widely internationally, including The Whitechapel Gallery, South London Gallery, Mobile Home Gallery, Museum of Contemporary Art Seville, Daniel Spoerri Foundation, Italy, Whitstable Biennale, Kunstmuseum Lucerne Switzerland.

Cullinan + Richards have worked in collaboration with the designer and typographer Jonathan Barnbrook on a special poster for the exhibition which is available free during the show.

Cullinan + Richards will give a talk about their work in the gallery on Saturday 8th March at 2.30pm - 3.30pm.

Commissioned by Mead Gallery, Warwick Arts Centre

The Mead Gallery Exhibition pages.

Exhibition dates:

Sat 12 January - Sat 15 March 2008

Opening times:

Mon - Sat 12-9pm