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As a conclusion to the Merz Barn Project in context (2011 - 15) exhibition at CUBE Gallery (21 - 25 March), Richard Demarco Director of the Demarco European Art Foundation will present a short talk outlining the significance of Kurt Schwitters and the Merz Barn project in the NW, as a vital and ongoing contribution of the narratives of British Modern art.
By installing a replica of Kurt Schwitters’, rustic, decrepid Cumbrian Merz Barn in the forecourt of the Royal Academy in London, Richard Demarco said that Penelope Curtis Director of Tate Britain had posed a fundamental question for British Art, and indeed for artists in the NW of England, that as yet has not yet been answered..
“it will also make people think about where artists make work and who gets to see it".
In his talk in Manchester Richard will attempt to answer that question, and will also expand on the important contemporary art legacy and influence of Schwitters and other interned and refugee artists from WWII; including Eduardo Paolozzi, etc.
Richard Demarco (born in Edinburgh, 1930) is an artist and promoter of the visual and performing arts. He has been one of Scotland’s most influential advocates for contemporary art through his work at the Richard Demarco Gallery and the Demarco European Art Foundation, as well as his professorship at Kingston University in London. For many years, the Gallery promoted cross-cultural links, both in terms of presenting artists such as Marina Abramovic within Scotland and in establishing outgoing connections for Scottish artists across Europe.
His involvement with Joseph Beuys led to various presentations, from Strategy Get Arts in 1970 to Beuys' hunger strike during the Jimmy Boyle Days in 1980. Also particularly notable were the presentations by Tadeusz Kantor's Cricot 2 group during the 1970s and 1980s. An unofficial performance of The Water Hen at the former Edinburgh poorhouse during the Edinburgh Festival in 1972 was a notable success. Cricot 2 returned to Edinburgh in later years. Demarco introduced Beuys and Kantor to one another and in one performance of Lovelies and Dowdies Beuys performed under Kantor's direction.
Since the early 1990s, Richard Demarco's activity has been through the Demarco European Art Foundation. Richard Demarco has attended every Edinburgh Festival. He has attended or been extensively involved with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the largest arts festival in the world, since its inception.
Richard Demarco on Kurt Schwitters
Venue
Date
March 25th at 2pm
Speaker
Richard Demarco
MERZ BARN.net
Background
Kurt Schwitters
The Merzbarn
The Merzbauten
Project development
Media and events
Location
Links
Contact Merz Barn
Merz Barn on Twitter
Merz Barn Flickr
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