(selected by Sarah Lowndes)
Untitled, 2003
Since being short-listed for Becks Futures in 2004, Glasgow-based artist Hayley Tompkins has become associated with the small, lo-tech, unframed watercolour drawings which are installed, often staged, with the viewer's physical encounter in mind. Modernism and minimalism are recurrent references in the drawings, citing Malevich, Sonia Delaunay, Oskar Schlemmer and Minimalist sculpture as influences.
In contrast to the crisp, clean white sheet of paper, the lo-tech, worn effect indexes the presence of the artist's hand and brings in to play the suggestion of an image's history. For Tompkins, it is important that the work exists as naturally as possible, so nothing should feel too forced: 'The way things are arranged should feel quite behavioural, as if someone had been there and done that thing'.
Writing on Tompkins' process of drawing, Katerina Gregos notes 'each drawing begins with an idea or a state of mind that is then expressed or explored. Conceived mentally, the execution is quick and to the point. There are no wasted or superfluous decorative elements. Her working process consists primarily of small, suggestive and deliberately unspectacular gestures, which require close inspection, time and effort on the part of the viewer and, even then, defy facile interpretation'.
Tompkins (b. 1971) has exhibited widely both in the UK and internationally since graduating from the MFA at Glasgow School of Art in 1998. Recent shows include The Kerlin Gallery, Dublin, Country Grammar, Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, Minimalism and After III, Daimler Chrysler, Berlin and a solo exhibition at Andrew Kreps, New York. She lives and works in Glasgow.
See Sue Tompkins on Open Frequency.
Further information
Andrew Kreps Gallery, New YorkThe installation of the drawings itself is an important process. Tompkins installs her drawings in relation to a given space, often combining them with wall paintings or sculptural elements... read on
