Exhibitions - what's on in Spring 2004

Compiled by Colin Serjent

In what promises to be a packed and top grade programme of exhibitions taking place in Liverpool up to Easter, one of the highlights is the work of George Barber featured at the Open Eye Gallery. In the early 1990s, Barber moved away from the ethics of Scratch Video and created many low tech video pieces.
"Narrative began to be at the core of a lot of his work," said Open Eye manager David Williams. "His increasing use of words over imagery, led to him working in radio and print.
"In his most recent work, his concerns are defined by the idea of direct communication, addressing the viewer directly and personally, using the simplest of devices - the voice."
The show includes two recent pieces, 'Refusing Potatoes' and 'I Was Once Involved In a Shit Show', together with the premiere of his latest work 'Shouting Match'
'Shouting Match' consists of people shouting at each other - "…..just pure vocal expression," stated Williams.

Following this exhibition, which runs until 6 March, the Open Eye then stage 'Night Porter' by Chris Shaw. They are photographs he took while working as a night porter in a London hotel over a ten year period.
It is his first major exhibition of his work and he has been chosen by Martin Parr to be featured in the Arles Photography Festival later in this year.

Elsewhere on the exhibition circuit in Liverpool, the Tate Gallery is currently displaying the large- format paintings of Michel Majeerus, who was a key figure amongst a new generation of artists emerging from Berlin in the 1990s.
"His creative horizons included the myriad manifestations of popular culture, including computer games and digital image manipulation," said a Tate spokesperson.

Other exhibitions worth seeing are 'Primetime' by Bjorn Melhus at the FACT Centre - it is the first solo exhibition to be presented in the UK by the pioneering German video artist (it runs until 7 March); the abstract expressionist paintings by Liverpool artist Sue Milburn in a collection titled 'Reflections' at the Smithdown Road based Urban Café (it ends on 29 February); and 'Wilde's People' featuring work by Matt Wilde at Ken Martin's View Two Gallery until 6 March.