Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2011: In the Presence

Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2011: In the Presence opens a window onto the future of contemporary art, bringing together some of the best work currently emerging from the UK’s art schools by 40 recent graduates.

The exhibition shows the range of materials and processes employed by artists today – appropriation, traditional studio practice, spatial interventions, digital production, collaboration and the use of chance and found objects, and offers an indication of what audiences may encounter in art galleries in the coming years.

Participants are selected by a panel of artists who have often previously taken part in the exhibition themselves. This year they are Pablo Bronstein, whose solo exhibition Sketches for Regency Living was held at the ICA in 2011, Sarah Jones and Michael Raedecker. Over half the participants in Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2011: In the Presence come from outside the UK reflecting the international intake of the UK’s art schools and their importance in attracting artists to this country.

The artists selected for Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2011: In the Presence are Marie Angeletti, Cornelia Baltes, Joshua Bilton, Sarah Brown, Savinder Bual, David Buckley, Leah Capaldi, Alicja Dobrucka, Tomas Downes, Peles Empire, Katie Goodwin, Kate Groobey, Noel Hensey, Anna Ilsley, Kim Kielhofner, Minae Kim, Se-jin Kim, Sui Kim, Ute Klein, Hyewon Kwon, Ian Marshall, Georgina McNamara, Sophie Neury, Rasmus Nilausen, Nick Nowicki, Marco Palmieri, Selma Parlour, George Petrou, Yelena Popova, Jessica Sarah Rinland, Anne Kathrin Schuhmann, Dagmar Schurrer, Alison Stolwood, Jonathan Trayte, David Ben White, Samuel Williams, Lisa Wilkens, Poppy Whatmore, Hyun Woo Lee and Rafal Zawistowski.

Complementing the exhibition are talks and artists’ salons that bring together differing viewpoints to discuss contemporary modes of production and structures of professional artistic development. The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue with an introductory essay by Professor Peter Osborne, which discusses the history and definition of contemporary and suggests how we might understand the word in relation to the artworks selected. Texts on the artists’ works are by Patrick Coyle, Siôn Parkinson, Chinmoyi Patel and Heather Phillipson.

Bloomberg New Contemporaries: Archives and Artist Publications
Recent delvings into the archives of Young Contemporaries and New Contemporaries has unearthed a treasure trove. Some of the best finds are presented in the Fox Reading Room, along with artist publications by artists with work in this year's exhibition. 

Audio Guide
To hear participating artists talk about their work in the exhibition and what motivates them, you can connect to the gallery WiFi and visit www.ica.org.uk/tour/bnc2011 (requires smartphone).