Object-Culture is the first pop up shows of a series of four which will happen back to back from now into May 2010 at Red Gallery on Rivington Street (London). ART-PIE went to see Paul Sakoilsky, the curator to find out more about it.
ART-PIE: Can you tell our readers more about you?
Paul Sakoilsky: I am an artist, a writer, a philosopher and I guess also a curator but I do not like using this word. I used to help out at the 30 Underwood Street Gallery back in the days, I mean between 1993 and 2000 when the gallery shut down for good. I worked in mixed medias and have been mainly focusing in the past few years on a project called The Dark times which has spawned a variety of works, installations and performances, which have been shown in solo and group shows across Europe.
AP: This first pop up show called ‘Object-Culture’ comes via Our History run by Ernesto Leal and having for aim to celebrate acid-house and international club culture. How did you two meet and what is this pop up show all about?
PS: We meet when I was helping out at the 30 Underwood Street Gallery, Ernesto was putting together music at the time. He also used to come to the reading I used to give in Soho when I was studying philosophy. Ernesto and I really liked the idea of bringing together different cultures – music, street life, club scene, art, philosophy, … and this is what ‘Object-culture’ and the three other pop up shows are all about. We wanted to get all this together in this building before it gets demolished and redeveloped into an Art’otel.
AP: You mentioned music, can we expect live bands playing here then?
PS: Yes, we have got a huge space downstairs where live bands will perform as well as DJs throughout the course of this exhibition. This first show will also coincide with the launch of the shop just next to the main gallery where prints, t-shirts, artworks among other things could be purchased.
AP: One of the other aspect of theOur Cultural History concept is to keep memories of all sort of events that occurred in the area of East London. Wouldn’t it be a good idea and a nice tribute to only have artists from that area?
PS: I do not think that it needed to be restricted to artists from this area only. Art does not know barriers, Art is an international practice and an area like East London has benefited from artists with such varied backgrounds and horizons that it made sense to have artists from everywhere and anywhere.
AP: This series of pop up shows is actually the fourth show from Our Cultural History. The previous one was ‘ART-CORE’ which happened last year at the Ultralounge in Selfridges where the visual expression of 21 years of dance culture was celebrated. It was a great success. Does this put any pressure on you?
PS: No, not all all. I am lucky to have around me a bunch of amazing artists, writers, philosophers and friends who have shown a real interest in this project. A real buzz has been going around already and this for me is already a success as far as I am concerned.
Object-Culture is the first of 4 pop up shows happening back to back throughout April and May 2010. This first show runs until the 25th April 2010
Watch this space for the review and in the meantime make sure to pop down for what sounds to be a great gathering of artists around the philosophical issue that is the “Object” in “Art”.
ART-PIE
Related links
> The Dark times
> Our Cultural History