Contemporary Eye Series: Material Matters: Pallant House Gallery, 2009

Inspired by Pallant House Gallery's Collection of Collections, we proposed to the gallery a series of exhibitions that would look at contemporary art through the lens of the collector. Major works by internationally acclaimed artists were temporarily lent to the gallery from private collections; these were woven in amongst the gallery's permanent displays and spaces to create a dynamic dialogue between its historic interior and their contemporary aesthetics, merging the familiar with the cutting edge.

The first in the series, Material Matters, explored the challenges posed by contemporary art and the various mediums used to produce it; from multi-media installations that used light, sound and video, to artworks that were deliberately created on consumable materials that would visibly deteriorate with time; the exhibition played with notions of experimentation and preservation. 

For Crossovers, the second in the Contemporary Eye Series, we invited into Pallant House radical works by artists who re-imagined traditional techniques and notions of craftsmanship (such as ceramics, glass, textiles, wood carving and taxidermy) in innovative and modern guises; these were playfully inserted into the gallery's domestic setting, and the result was one of jovial juxtaposition. 

The Contemporary Eye Series was a great success, providing a fascinating insight into the world of art collecting as well as bringing together contemporary collector, artist, guest curator and gallery in a unique and effective collaboration.