Victor Burgin: UK76 at Richard Saltoun and Burgin/Barthes at John Hansard
//Cut The Cost Of Living, UK76, Victor Burgin, 1976//
The work of artist Victor Burgin is undergoing re-appraisal in the light of two forthcoming exhibitions, one of which starts this week.
London’s Richard Saltoun Gallery is marking the 40th anniversary of Burgin’s photo-text series UK76 by presenting the work in its entirety and in the form in which he showed his art in the 1960s and 70s: pasted onto the wall and scraped away at the end of the exhibition.
Meanwhile, in the New Year, John Hansard Gallery – the Southampton space where David Thorp and I staged the recent show Eyes For Blowing Up Bridges – will be mounting an exploration of Burgin’s engagement with the theories of philosopher Roland Barthes.
//Life Demands, UK76, Victor Burgin, 1976//
UK76 comprises eleven 1m x 1.5m photographic prints overlaid with text. Commissioned to produce the series by the National Community Development Project, Burgin subsequently added short captions using the language of contemporary British newspapers, advertisements and fashion magazines.
UK76 runs at Richard Saltoun from December 4 to January 29, 2016. Read about the show and Burgin here.
Burgin/Barthes opens at John Hansard in February – keep your eye on the gallery’s site for details.
See Burgin’s 1970 work Any Moment on Ubuweb’s Anthology Of Conceptual Writing.