Artificial Realities: East Wing Biennial at the Courtauld

The Courtauld Institute's East Wing, view from the courtyard

Students at London's Courtauld Institute have curated 'Artificial Realities' as the latest East Wing Biennial. Pictured: the Courtauld Institute's East Wing, view from the courtyard.

(Image credit: Stephen Smith)

By Elly Parsons

last updated 2 August 2022

in Features

Featuring a drawing by Anthony Gormley and a monoprint by Tracey Emin, alongside work from 29 other international artists, student curators at the Courtauld Institute have pulled out all the stops for this year’s East Wing biennial, boldly titled 'Artificial Realities'.

Founded in 1991 by art impresario Joshua Compston, the biennial continues to celebrate contemporary and emerging artists. The Courtauld's East Wing usually houses the working art school, and the exhibition offers a rare insight into the backstage spaces of the Institute, including the basement, staircases and seminar rooms. These cleared-out, threadbare areas are now filled with a jumble of contemporary sculpture, art works and installations.

Pungent scent installations by Anastasia Brozler add to the immersive, bohemian effect. The scent in Seminar Room 1 is the most interesting – and arguably the most unpleasant. Dubbed Courtauld 1932, it imagines how the seminar rooms might have smelt at the time of the Institute’s conception, with notes of damp walls and ancient brickwork – largely evoking student digs.

The ramshackle nature of the space provides a contrast to the polished, minimalist quality of many of the works; in particular, the delicate paper and bamboo sculptures by Jacob Hashimoto, and the slim porcelain vases of Edmund de Waal.

The exhibition’s transitional spaces mark another highlight. Winding staircases display in-situ commissions from Venice Bienniale representative Marco Maggi. Blink and you’ll miss these micro-paper creations, which provide reason to pause between seminar rooms. The creations are stuck directly to the paintwork; some are already peeling off. This approach offers a reprieve from the West Wing Gallery opposite, with its tightly organised chronology and no-touching glass cabinets.

The show's philosophical title, along with the names of each room ('Traces of Memory', 'Falsehood & Fiction', 'Selected Paths', 'Alterations in Light') could be seen as over-reaching, with tenuous links to what is actually displayed. But if anything, this adds to the joy of the exhibition: that progressive, high-end artworks are held-up inside rooms where usually they would only have appeared in textbooks.

The exhibition showcases work from 31 international artists, including Jacob Hashimoto, Edmund de Waal, Anthony Gormley&nbsp;and Tracey Emin — The exhibition showcases work from 31 international artists, including Jacob Hashimoto, Edmund de Waal, Anthony Gormley and Tracey Emin. Pictured: *Gossamer Cloud*, by Jacob Hashimoto, 2006. *Courtesy Studio la Città, Verona*

De Waal's minimalist, elegant sculptures provide contrast to the ramshackle seminar rooms they are being presented in. Pictured: *In Berggasse,* by Edmund de Waal, 2015. *Courtesy the artist*

Untitled Sculptures, by Ignacio Valdes — into four rooms, dubbed 'Traces of Memory', 'Falsehood & Fiction', 'Selected Paths' and 'Alterations in Light'. Pictured: *Untitled Sculptures*, by Ignacio Valdes. *Courtesy the artist*

The exhibition makes use of unconventional spaces around the Institute, such as staircases&nbsp;and the basement — The exhibition makes use of unconventional spaces around the Institute, such as staircases and the basement. Pictured: *Karosta Kube,* by Gilles Retsin and Isaie Bloch, 2013. Created by the artists for Artificial Realities. Courtesy the artists

Language Descending a Staircase ,&nbsp;by Marco Maggi — Marco Maggi's intricate, miniscule works in paper line the walls of the main staircase. Pictured: *Language Descending a Staircase* (detail), by Marco Maggi, 2016.

INFORMATION
’East Wing Biennial: Artificial Realities’ is on view until 30 June 2017. For more information, visit the East Wing Biennial website

ADDRESS

East Wing Biennial
The Courtauld Institute of Art
Somerset House
London, WC2R 0RN

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Elly Parsons is the Digital Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees Wallpaper.com and its social platforms. She has been with the brand since 2015 in various roles, spending time as digital writer – specialising in art, technology and contemporary culture – and as deputy digital editor. She was shortlisted for a PPA Award in 2017, has written extensively for many publications, and has contributed to three books. She is a guest lecturer in digital journalism at Goldsmiths University, London, where she also holds a masters degree in creative writing. Now, her main areas of expertise include content strategy, audience engagement, and social media.