Birds of a feather: Kate MccGwire’s gentle sculptures at La Galerie Particulière, Paris
Kate MccGwire arrived in Paris nine days before her second solo show at La Galerie Particulière. The trip from her home near Hampton Court, however, was far more extended and circuitous than the typical Eurostar commute; she and her partner had spent the past ten weeks traveling along the Thames, across the Channel and down into Belgium and France on their 108-year-old Dutch barge. Along the way, inside her 32 sq m floating studio, she was producing several of the plumed pieces now on display, allowing the changing scenery to guide her creative process.
Granted, her collection of forms—at once animal, anthropomorphic and abstract—do not aim for any single representation. The twisting mass of meticulously applied magpie feathers housed in a glass cabinet could suggest myriad interpretations, making it somewhat of an otherworldly, sculptural Rorschach test. ‘I like to ask people what they see,’ MccGwire tells Wallpaper* during a walkthrough. As for her reading: ‘I think of it as being a three-dimensional presence of a state of mind – trapped and convoluted, but beautiful. It’s a confusing thing; the work is never just beautiful.’
This is among the pieces MccGwire made over the course of her journey; and she notes how the iridescent blue hue of the feathers now reminds her of the Marne river. Certainly, it offers a dramatic contrast to the works composed of pristine white feathers on the other side of the gallery. Here, a goose-covered sculpture might conjure up coiled swan necks or, as the artist reveals, a fleshy close-up. ‘These could be creases and crevices of the body.... The hybrid creature of human and animal has been with us forever. I think it’s deep-seated in us to make that connection.’
Three wall-mounted works in goose feature a central cavity emphasised by pigeon quills. Here, there’s an unmistakably erotic aspect that dovetails with the concept of spatialism proposed by Lucio Fontana. This show’s title, 'Scissure', comes from this series, which MccGwire continues to explore. ‘Each time I’m doing one, I’m thinking ahead towards the next piece,’ she says.
As a result of this finessing, and because each creation is unique, the artist is ultimately moving through her own evolutionary process. Pelt, a different wall-mounted grouping consisting of kid leather punctured with crow quills, yielded an interactive piece whereby viewers can place their hand under the base through a hole in the pedestal. ‘Have a fondle!’ she quips.
For all MccGwire’s labour – extensive sourcing, cleaning the feathers and quills, manipulating each one by hand, applying them with remarkable precision – the effort is matched by the effect, which ultimately, is her aim. ‘I don’t like to explain too much,’ she says. ‘I prefer people to be transported.’
Yet, with noticeable delight, she divulged the medium that allowed her to achieve the wayward, watery lines in a drawing series she is exhibiting for the first time: graphite powder-covered maggots. Titled Vermiculus, the idea came about from observing fisherman with their boxes of maggots and wondering what marks the creatures might make. The gross-out factor notwithstanding, it confirms MccGwire’s wildly imaginative application of the natural world. And go figure, the blackened larvae left a wondrous tangle of trails.
INFORMATION
’Kate MccGwire: Scissure’ is on view until 15 October. For more information, visit La Galerie Particulière’s website
ADDRESS
La Galerie Particulière
16 rue du Perche
75003 Paris
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Christmas gift ideas for design lovers
Wallpaper* global design director Hugo Macdonald compiles his festive wish list – from Poltrona Frau's luxurious dog leads to Carl Aubock's wicker magazine wall rack
By Hugo Macdonald Published
-
‘I want to push it forward’: Dries Van Noten’s new creative director is Julian Klausner
A member of the Dries Van Noten design team since 2018, Belgian designer Julian Klausner has been promoted to creative director after the namesake founder’s exit from his eponymous label earlier this year
By Jack Moss Published
-
Inside Dior’s ‘Gold House’ in Bangkok, a spectacular celebration of Thai art and craft
Daven Wu takes a trip to Bangkok to discover ‘Gold House’, a gilded new concept store from Dior which is rooted in both Parisian savoir-faire and artisanal Thai craft, featuring a café, gardens and showstopping gilded facade
By Daven Wu Published
-
Architecture, sculpture and materials: female Lithuanian artists are celebrated in Nîmes
The Carré d'Art in Nîmes, France, spotlights the work of Aleksandra Kasuba and Marija Olšauskaitė, as part of a nationwide celebration of Lithuanian culture
By Will Jennings Published
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been doing this week
Investing in quality knitwear, scouting a very special pair of earrings and dining with strangers are just some of the things keeping the Wallpaper* team occupied this week
By Bill Prince Published
-
Tom Wesselmann’s enduring influence on pop art goes under the spotlight in Paris
‘Pop Forever, Tom Wesselmann &...’ is on view at Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris until 24 February 2025
By Ann Binlot Published
-
Miu Miu’s Women’s Tales film series comes to life for Art Basel Paris
In ‘Tales & Tellers’, interdisciplinary artist Goshka Macuga brings Miu Miu’s Women’s Tales film series for Art Basel Paris to life for the public programme
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
Art Basel returns to Paris: here is everything to see and do
Art Basel Paris 2024 (18 - 20 October 2024) returns, opening at the newly renovated Grand Palais
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
Elmgreen & Dragset explore contemporary masculinity in Paris
We visit Elmgreen & Dragset at their Berlin studio ahead of new exhibition ‘L’Addition’ at Paris’ Musée d’Orsay, a subversive take on the classical form
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Don’t miss Henri Matisse and Ellsworth Kelly at Fondation Louis Vuitton
Fondation Louis Vuitton present a series of works by Matisse and Kelly, celebrating the influence they had on the trajectory of contemporary art
By Tianna Williams Published
-
‘Who has not dreamed of seeing what the eye cannot grasp?’: Rencontres d’Arles comes to the south of France
Les Rencontres d’Arles 2024 presents over 40 exhibitions and nearly 200 artists, and includes the latest iteration of the BMW Art Makers programme
By Sophie Gladstone Published