Exhibition
Keith Tyson: Cloud Choreography and Other Emergent Systems - Parasol unit
Keith Tyson's work can be seen as an ongoing investigation into the question of how and why things come into being. Many of them investigate the physical forms and systems found within the natural world; others examine the effects of mankind on the environment, and the ensuing man-made forms and systems. In other works, Tyson questions the creation of the artwork itself, positing it as something which can be randomly generated by systems, but simultaneously making us aware that these systems are generated by the artist. Influenced as much by astrophysics and mathematics, as by observation of and reflection on nature, Tyson’s work presents a unique combination of scientific data with poetic artistry. This urges us to consider the roots of creativity alongside its aesthetic beauty. The works operate on a number of levels: as examples of physical, mathematical or scientific data, or of processes or systems. The breakdown of sophisticated and simple processes and mathematical data into an artistic aesthetic is something which greatly interests Tyson, and in all his works there is a consideration of ‘beauty’ (whether be it natural or artificial).
The structure of the exhibition at Parasol unit is broadly split into two parts. The first part, in the lower gallery, features works that focus on natural processes and systems, such as the Nature Sculptures, Nature Paintings, and a new series of works entitled Cloud Choreography paintings. In these series of works, we see a transition from observing the natural world in sculptural form, to attempts at recreating elements of it through chemical processes and rendered on large-scale aluminium sheets. In the upper gallery, the second part of the exhibition focuses more on mathematical, man-made and process-driven systems, and include sculptures from the Fractal Dice series alongside paintings from a new series of work entitled Operator Paintings, which are being shown as a series for the first time.
Cloud Choreography and Other Emergent Systems is a new exhibition by the winner of the 2002 Turner Prize, Keith Tyson, which brings together several groups of his works. Set up as an exploration of Tyson’s practice, rather than as a mid-career survey, the exhibition focuses on the systems and processes that inform the creation of his work.
This exhibition at Parasol unit is accompanied by a new publication on Keith Tyson’s work.
Keith Tyson (born 1969 in Ulverston, Cumbria, UK) held his first solo show From the Art Machine at the Anthony Reynolds Gallery in 1996 and since then has exhibited extensively both in the UK and internationally. Solo exhibitions include: David Zwirner Gallery, New York, USA (1996); Galerie Vallois, Paris, France (1997); Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London (1997); Molecular Compound 4, Kleines Helmhaus, Zurich, Switzerland (1999); Delfina, London (1999); One of Each, Galerie Ursula Krinzinger, Vienna, Austria (2000); Studio Wall Drawings, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London (2000); Supercollider, South London Gallery, London (2002); Kunsthalle Zurich, Switzerland (2002); Works for a Teleological Accelerator, Arndt and Partner, Berlin, Germany (2003); Collected Short Stories, Galerie Vallois, Paris, France (2003); The Terrible Weight of History, Galerie Judin, Zurich, Switzerland (2004); Geno Pheno I, Haunch of Venison, London (2004); Geno Pheno II, PaceWildenstein, New York, USA (2005); The Bates College Museum of Art, Maine, USA (2005); The Sum of All Possible Paths, Galerie Vallois, Paris, France (2006); Nature Paintings, Haunch of Venison, Zurich, Switzerland (2006); Large Field Array, Louisiana Museum, Humlebaek, Denmark (2006); Studio Wall Drawings 1997–2007, Haunch of Venison, London (2007); Nature Paintings, Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle, Cumbria (2008); Random Nature, Project B, Milan, Italy (2008).
In 2002, Tyson was awarded the Turner Prize for his show Supercollider at the South London Gallery.
His work is held in numerous collections worldwide, including the Arts Council Collection, London; Centre Pompidou, Paris, France; Fondation François Pinault, Paris, France; The Henry Moore Institute, Leeds; The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, USA; The South London Gallery Collection, London; Tate Modern, London; The Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA.
