The Private Universe
Curatorship proposal for Starting Point
Contemporary Art Society and Leeds Art Gallery
Of the many themes that run through the history of art, I find there are two tendencies that although parallel, point to opposite directions. One is the impulse to explore the outdoors, the love for the great landscape and the sublime. The other, also intertwined with art at its core is a disposition for indoor activities, the private, the intimate, and the precious. Reviewing the list of works from the Leeds Art Gallery collection it is perhaps this last strand that resonates on my mind. The objects and artworks in the collection make me think of the private universes of libraries and drawing rooms, and the time-consuming, meticulous occupations that take place therein. This curatorship proposal sets to explore the private universe behind the practices of art through a selection of works such as sketches, studies and annotations, and the objects and spaces that surround them.