SENIOR CURATOR: PERFORMANCE & ENGAGEMENT, ZABLUDOWICZ COLLECTION                                                 

ANTONIA BLOCKER

Senior Curator: Performance & Engagement, Zabludowicz Collection

Antonia Blocker is a curator predominantly interested in how audiences engage with artistic practices beyond the exhibition format. She was formerly Curator: Public Programmes at Whitechapel Gallery and has previously worked in public programming at the Institute of Contemporary Arts and Serpentine Galleries. She is on the board of trustees at Lighthouse, a Brighton-based arts charity. She has an MA in Curating Contemporary Art from the Royal College of Art.

“Rather than a specific conceptual curatorial agenda, I’ve chosen more intuitively works that resonate, but very much influenced by the recent UK lockdown measures. My selection is clearly reflective of the domestic, and is indicative of how we must find inspiration and entertainment within the confines of our homes and interiors. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly the ‘still life’ features quite prominently in my selection, and I’m taken with the multiple meanings suggested by the term – I have felt my life become so much stiller in this past year – less velocity, which I miss – and yet it is also still life – it goes on, whether we like it or not.  

While this may seem a little negative, ultimately I think most of these works have an edge of joy – they show that creativity can spiral from the most seemingly mundane of sources.”

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David Hockney, The Round Plate, April 1986, 1986. Courtesy of RAW Editions.

“While a very traditional subject matter, this photocopier edition is a reminder than Hockey has always embraced technologies not traditionally used for art making. Perhaps it might also be an inspiration to repurpose and find creativity in the tools available to us! “

Jonas Wood, Large Shelf Still Life, 2017. Courtesy of Browse & Darby. 

“Wood’s work has a flat, awkward quality to it, and again, this sense of unease and flatness feels correct right now – but of course, on the other hand, there is so much solace and joy to be taken from plants, especially in a time like now.”

Maya-Inès Touam, Jelly Shoe & Butterfly, 2020. Courtesy of African Arty.

“In this colourful still life, through her assembly of object, Touam seems to be suggesting that it is context that makes strange. The exotic or mundane or only so due to how they are encountered. The works acts as a reminder that perspectives are subjective and can shift.”

Eileen Cooper, Julia, 2020. Courtesy of Rabley Gallery. 

“The nuance of this portrait is almost at odds with Cooper’s bold and almost naïf style. Her expression suggests to me a sense of resignation, dejection, boredom and ennui; her pose neither fully awkward nor comfortable. It seems to resonate deeply with this past year.”

William Roberts, Dream of Dancing Women, 1978. Courtesy of Goodman Fine Art. 

“I‘ve chosen to fully project myself onto this reclining figure – both awake and asleep I dream of being with others – to dance, laugh, gather. I also love how pragmatically these dream figures appear – they simply exist in painting’s plane, as though they were real – although suspended in space.”

Colin Pearson, Large Winged Pot, c1980s. Courtesy of Oxford Ceramics. 

“This ceramic piece is a paradox – the light freedom of wings combined with the domestic doldrums of a pot. The fanciful and joyful nature of this piece is so appealing; why should functional not also be frivolous? “

David Hockney, The Round Plate, April 1986, 1986. Courtesy of RAW Editions.

David Hockney, The Round Plate, April 1986, 1986. Courtesy of RAW Editions.

“While a very traditional subject matter, this photocopier edition is a reminder than Hockey has always embraced technologies not traditionally used for art making. Perhaps it might also be an inspiration to repurpose and find creativity in the tools available to us! “
Jonas Wood, Large Shelf Still Life, 2017. Courtesy of Browse & Darby.

Jonas Wood, Large Shelf Still Life, 2017. Courtesy of Browse & Darby.

“Wood’s work has a flat, awkward quality to it, and again, this sense of unease and flatness feels correct right now – but of course, on the other hand, there is so much solace and joy to be taken from plants, especially in a time like now.”
Maya-Inès Touam, Jelly Shoe & Butterfly, 2020. Courtesy of African Arty.

Maya-Inès Touam, Jelly Shoe & Butterfly, 2020. Courtesy of African Arty.

“In this colourful still life, through her assembly of object, Touam seems to be suggesting that it is context that makes strange. The exotic or mundane or only so due to how they are encountered. The works acts as a reminder that perspectives are subjective and can shift.”

Eileen Cooper, Julia, 2020. Courtesy of Rabley Gallery.

 Eileen Cooper, Julia, 2020. Courtesy of Rabley Gallery. 

“The nuance of this portrait is almost at odds with Cooper’s bold and almost naïf style. Her expression suggests to me a sense of resignation, dejection, boredom and ennui; her pose neither fully awkward nor comfortable. It seems to resonate deeply with this past year.”

William Roberts, Dream of Dancing Women, 1978. Courtesy of Goodman Fine Art.

William Roberts, Dream of Dancing Women, 1978. Courtesy of Goodman Fine Art. 

“I‘ve chosen to fully project myself onto this reclining figure – both awake and asleep I dream of being with others – to dance, laugh, gather. I also love how pragmatically these dream figures appear – they simply exist in painting’s plane, as though they were real – although suspended in space.”

Colin Pearson, Large Winged Pot, c1980s. Courtesy of Oxford Ceramics.

Colin Pearson, Large Winged Pot, c1980s. Courtesy of Oxford Ceramics. 

“This ceramic piece is a paradox – the light freedom of wings combined with the domestic doldrums of a pot. The fanciful and joyful nature of this piece is so appealing; why should functional not also be frivolous? “

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