Walker Art Gallery of National Museums Liverpool displays Peter Chang's Objects

Written by Sam Mcfate Thursday, 13 January 2011 22:28

LIVERPOOL, UK - Unnatural Selection: Jewellery, objects and sculpture by Peter Chang brings a riot of color and wild forms to the Walker Art Gallery, one of the National Museums Liverpool, from 15 June to 30 September 2007. The first British retrospective of the Liverpool artist is a comprehensive look at his successful international career. Chang is a contemporary 3D artist whose work includes stunning sculptural jewellery. The exhibition brings together around 150 pieces, from British, European and American museums and collectors. The Walker Art Gallery is the national gallery of the North. For over 120 years it has housed Liverpool’s most outstanding art collection. Many of the gallery’s most important works have been on display in the city for nearly 200 years.

Chang creates precious objects from the mundane. In his early work, he used found objects, from disposable razor handles to felt tip pens, teasing them into exquisite forms. He exploits the intrinsic qualities of man-made materials, adding depth and sensuality. Using acrylic, resin and PVC with some pieces also including small fragments of precious metals, the results are vibrant, gleaming objects and extraordinary jewellery and sculpture.

Grouped to show themes and subjects the artist has explored throughout his career, exhibition highlights include:

§ A fabulous array of striking jewellery. One bracelet, an original commission by the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia (2004), has spiky projections that make reference the inner workings of the body, memories of underwater life and microscopic creatures.

§ Practical, but totally fantastical objects, include three mirrors, a box with a scorpion's tail, salt and pepper mills with a webbed crown and tentacles. A spectacular table (1994) from the British Council offices in Hong Kong. This stunning piece mixes diverse images of musical artifacts from the 50’s, oriental lacquer techniques and Japanese armor, incorporating an extraordinary use of color, an intrinsic element reflected in all Chang’s work.

§ Surreal sculptures that reflect Chang's wide range of influences. From natural shapes and forms to science fiction gadgetry his sculptures are intriguingly varied. One untitled piece (2000) is based on two conjoined tetrahedrons with playful frills emerging at the joint, evoking memories of the sea.

§ Prints and printing plates dating from the 1960s. Chang's early interest in printing established his fascination for the relationship and interaction between colors. His experience as a printmaker has given Chang the dexterity to exploit a never-ending palette of colors within his 3D work. The prints on display are explorations of the nature of color and how he engages with it.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Born in 1944 Chang grew up in Toxteth, Liverpool. He began his art training in 1958 at The Art School in Gambier Terrace and continued to study at the Liverpool College of Art. He won The Liverpool Senior City Scholarship which enabled him to study etching at the famous Atelier 17, Paris, under S.W. Hayter, who also taught Picasso, Giacometti, Joan Miro. Between 1968 and 1971 Chang attended the Slade School of Fine Art London in part assisted with a Bursary from The Holt Educational Trust. Peter Chang now lives and works in Glasgow.

SELECTED RECENT SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Peter Chang - It's Only Plastics… Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim, Germany 2002-03. Touring to Berlin, Munich, Hanau, Idar-Oberstein.
Peter Chang - Neue Arbeiten Galerie Biró, Munich, Germany 2002
Peter Chang - A Visionary Museum of Art and Design, Helsinki, Finland and American Craft Museum, New York, USA 2000

SELECTED AWARDS
The Wingate Scholarship London, England 2005-7
Creative Scotland Award Scottish Arts Council, Edinburgh, Scotland 2000
The Jerwood Prize for the Applied Arts London, England 1995

Visit the Walker Art Gallery - William Brown Street, - Liverpool - Open 10am-5pm every day Information 0151 478 4199 - Website : www.thewalker.org.uk