格里•韋伯

格里.韋伯1973年生於英國多塞特,曾就讀倫敦金匠學院,一直在倫敦生活及工作。

韋伯是英國著名雕塑家,以合成藝術見稱,善於將各種物品分類整理並組成抽象造型。他採用的物料可謂五花八門,從木塊、鋼鐵、石頭,以至罕有使用的物件如有機玻璃、鋼化玻璃、霓虹燈甚至聲音等都可出現在他的作品中。作品《無稽之談》(2001),其名稱是一個用來形容荒誕故事的用語;確實,每當觀眾嘗試解讀其作品也只得無稽的同感。作品的個別元素(包括題目)與觀眾的個人記憶互動後都可以產生這個效果。然而,這些只是意義上的提示,卻並非寓言性的符號。

在一次訪問裡,韋伯曾經這樣形容他的創作過程:「物料並不是主導者,而是提供者。一件環環相扣的合成作品─塑料與木塊並列,玻璃放在金屬之上,各部份均合為一體─我從來不會視物料為物料那麼簡單。我認為物料本身和它的視覺外觀有著很大分別,而物料的使用亦非常直接。所有物料都是現成的,你只需要把它們分類選用。物料或聚或合,也是依據創作者某些預期效果而成…其後,它們仿似骨肉相連,物料也就被提升至較高的藝術層次。某程度上,這可能關係到一個形狀或形體的創造,但我從不會在腦海中認定某些東西。我喜歡保持種種的可能性。」

韋伯曾在英國本土及海外舉行個展,包括波度拉美畫廊 (紐約,美國,2009及2006);阿普洛奇畫廊 (倫敦,2008,2003及1998);「出口」(愛馬仕工作室,首爾,韓國,2008);「Deep Heat T Reg Laguna」 (奇森海爾畫廊,倫敦,2004)等。主要聯展包括:「說真的」(南錫美術館,法國,2005);英國藝術展VI (波羅的當代藝術中心,蓋茨赫德,英國,2005);「核戰爭」(德累斯頓美術館,德國,2004);「只是一個幻覺」(蘇黎世當代美術館,瑞士,2004);里昂當代藝術雙年展(法國,2003);及「一天清早」(白教堂畫廊,倫敦,2002)。

Gary Webb

Gary Webb was born in 1973 in Dorset, UK. He studied at Goldsmiths College in London, where he continues to live and work.

Webb is a British sculptor known for his assemblages in which he constructs abstract forms by arranging an assortment of objects. He works with a wide range of materials, such as wood, steel and stone to the more unusual perspex, steel glass, neon, and sound. The title of the work Cock and Bull (2001) may refer to the expression once commonly used to describe a ridiculous story and any attempt to read narrative into this work would be just that. The personal memory or relevance attached to individual elements in the work and even the title contributes to the impact, but as suggestions of meaning rather than allegorical signifiers.

In an interview, Webb once described his work methods: “the materials are not the leaders, they are the suppliers. A piece is so tightly assembled— the plastic next to a piece of wood, the glass on the metal, the whole thing together— that I never really think of them as simply materials. I think of the material and the visual appearance as being very different and used in a very direct way. The materials are all there already and you need to somehow sort them out. They are put together for the reason of making them work, or not work… When combined they seem to generate a sort of stubbornness, the material has been pushed to a glorious level. I suppose in some ways this relates to the way a shape or form is made, but I never want to fix things in my mind. I like to keep the possibilities.”

Gary Webb has exhibited in solo shows both in the UK and internationally including: Bortolami Gallery, New York, USA in 2009 and 2006; The Approach, London, 2008, 2003, and 1998; Export, Atelier Hermes, Seoul, Korea, 2008 and Deep Heat T Reg Laguna, Chisenhale Gallery, London, 2004. Selected group shows include: Pour de Vrai, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nancy, France, 2005; the British Art Show 6, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, UK, 2005; ATOMKRIEG, Kunsthaus, Dresden, Germany, 2004; It’s All an Illusion, Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zürich, Switzerland, 2004; Biennale d’Art Contemporain de Lyon, France, 2003; Early One Morning, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, 2002.