Lost & Found: Graham Hudson & the centre of attention

This winter, Milton Keynes Gallery will host an exhibition curated by Lost & Found, a group of young artists, designers, writers and musicians who have been working with Milton Keynes Gallery over the past three years, as part of its Big Lottery Funded Young People’s Project.

Lost & Found have invited artists Graham Hudson and The Centre of Attention to use the gallery as a site of production rather than simply for the presentation of objects. Visitors will therefore become directly involved in the development and realisation of this evolving exhibition.

In the Cube Gallery, The Centre of Attention (Pierre Coinde and Gary O'Dwyer) will present an installation called Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft [community and society], which refers to a book by German sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies. The installation includes functional, everyday objects occasionally sourced from the Gallery’s offices and workshops. It invites visitors to make an artistic judgement or statement by making changes to the work (such as adding, moving, editing or combining elements). In the Middle Gallery, The Centre of Attention will host the Lost & Found curators within a formal office environment where they will organise events and produce printed matter during the course of the exhibition.

Artist Graham Hudson will be in residence in the Long Gallery from 23 November to 1 December. He will construct a new work called 'A considerable extension in time and an insignificant extension in space' formed around a multi-levelled framework of scaffolding and pallets with TV monitors, record players, strip lighting and other objects from the Gallery’s ‘behind the scenes’. Hudson will use the gallery like a studio space, so that his working process becomes visible to the public, who will be able to interact with the work.

"…a studio visit is always more interesting than the same artist’s gallery show – psychologically we’ve got to close that gap – and so open up new space". - Graham Hudson in interview with curator Vincent Honore.

“All that art tries to make invisible we transform into art.” - The Centre of Attention.

“Over the last few years, Milton Keynes Gallery has served as an incubator for energetic and enthusiastic young people who are exploring career possibilities and personal development in the arts. This exhibition follows on from a number of successful film screenings, performances and events and provides Lost & Found with the major challenge of producing an exhibition of contemporary art from its conception to its delivery.” - Anthony Spira, Director, Milton Keynes Gallery. The Centre of Attention, 'Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft, Dusseldorf' (2007). Installation detail, courtesy the Centre of Attention.

Lost & Found Lost & Found were established in Spring 2007 with a membership that constantly evolves. It currently brings together a committee of 11 people, aged from 16 to 23. All committee members are based in or around Milton Keynes and attend regular weekly meetings. With support from the Education Department at the Milton Keynes Gallery, the group have previously worked with artists such as Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, have organised a city walk for local secondary school students with Dr. Noel Campbell and David Waterworth from Greenwich University and responded to the recent James Lee Byers exhibition at the gallery with an evening of interpretive live performances.

Graham Hudson British artist Graham Hudson's work is characterised by two main lines of inquiry: major installations using industrial materials that challenge institutional resources; and smaller sculptural work that evolves and transforms over a period of time. Hudson lives and works in London.

He studied BA Fine Art Sculpture at Chelsea 1997-2000 and MA Fine Art Sculpture at the Royal College of Art London 2000-2002. He is represented by Zinger Presents, Amsterdam and Monitor, Rome. For the artist's website please visit web.mac.com/grahamhudson.

The Centre of Attention The Centre of Attention, (Pierre Coinde and Gary O'Dwyer), work as curators and artists to explore the interaction between artists and the public, and how art is mediated through public galleries. The Centre of Attention opened and programmed a gallery in a warehouse in Shoreditch from 1999 to 2004, since when they have worked with a broad range of artists and organisations.

The Centre of Attention live and work in London. www.centreofattention

Lost & Found  present:
Graham Hudson & the centre of attention