What do you think of it so far?
Susan Finlay: I ended up going to Nottingham Contemporary FOUR times in six days when I was back as everyone wanted to take me, Susie the artist from London, so all in all I had a very thorough look. I thought it was (sincerely) . . . nice. Contemporary, but also easy on the eye for the mums and dads, and I was surprised to find some of the Hockney's tender and moving. Didn't realise I liked him so much . . . Also, the staff were incredibly helpful and enthusiastic (almost unnervingly so), and the building worked although the lace 'print' on the outside was maybe overdoing it (I could just imagine the architect's meeting - 'sensitive to the local area' - kind of thing). Otherwise, hmmmmmm, yes, NICE!
Susan Finlay is an artist and writer from Nottingham who now lives and works in London. She is co-founder of the Coelacanthe Press with Phoebe Blatton. In 2004 she wrote an excellent novel called Arriviste about the London art scene. www.thecoelacanthpress.co.uk
David Garratt: One of my favourite painters and great to see the exhibition in a new gallery that actually looks like it's going to push a few boundaries and be a bit more experimental than some other galleries in our region. Nice to see a lawn sprinkler, my 4th favourite Hockney, and I thought the four galleries all looked really cool.
My main enjoyment of the day though was the new semi automatic doors and seeing the David Shrigley salt and pepper shakers in the shop. The only shame was the amount of old people congregating around 'A Bigger Splash' like it was the holy grail! I always find that funny in galleries when people go towards the famous one and stand there looking constipated waiting to be hit in the face with an epiphany.
David Garratt studied at Nottingham Trent University and now lives in Sheffield. He spends a lot of time reciprocating smiles and examining the phenomenon of celebrity, including his own. We recommend a look at his work: www.davidgarratt.co.uk
We'd like to know more about your views of the Nottingham art scene in general. If you have something you'd like to say, get in touch
