40 Years of the Future: Where Should We Be Now?
Exhibition
40 Years of the Future: Where Should We Be Now?
07 July 2024 - 06 October 2024
Castlefield Gallery
Artists: Jeffrey Knopf, Theo Simpson, Hope Strickland
Presented in partnership with the University of Salford Art Collection, 40 Years of the Future: Where Should We Be Now? brings together the work of a sculptor, photographer and artist-filmmaker – Jeffrey Knopf, Theo Simpson, and Hope Strickland. These artists are deeply committed to their disciplines, but also keen to work with them in expanded and non-traditional ways.
In both the content of their work and materials used, Knopf, Simpson and Strickland explore our complex relationship with the past, present and future. Importantly they challenge the dominant cultural narrative that the world has only one history. As Castlefield Gallery marks 40 years, this exhibition asks us to pause, to reflect and consider how we might imagine the future with the recognition that history isn’t the same for everyone; that amongst the artists we work with and the people that visit Castlefield Gallery, the past is felt and experienced differently.
The exhibition will present existing pieces alongside commissioned works developed in partnership with the University of Salford Art Collection, some of which will enter the University’s collection for the benefit of future generations. This builds on Castlefield Gallery’s decade of co-commissioning and artist development collaborations with the University of Salford Art Collection.
Presented in partnership with the University of Salford Art Collection
40 Years of the Future: Where Should We Be Now? is supported by Castlefield Gallery Commissioning Patrons Prof Chris Klingenberg and Bridget and Richard Schilizzi
READ
Commissioned with the University of Salford Art Collection, these texts were produced in response to the work of artists Jeffrey knopf and Theo Simpson:
- Jeffrey Knopf, The Closest I Got to Freud’s Desk, 2024, essay by Clare O’Dowd
- Theo Simpson, essay by Duncan Wooldridge
WATCH
Artists Jeffrey Knopf, Theo Simpson and Hope Strickland talk more about their work in this video filmed and edited by Jules Lister.
“Castlefield Gallery has never been a space to shirk challenging exhibitions, and in their 40th year, they continue to support projects that rigorously question our position in the world.”
“Both the artists involved and the visitors [are invited] to pause and reflect on the previous decades and take into consideration that the past is experienced differently by different groups of people and individuals. How can this affect how we shape the future? What needs to be considered going forward? These are the questions that the three artists are tackling in the show.”
Images
Banner:
- Theo Simpson, Ground Effects IV (2024). Photographed by Jules Lister.
From top to bottom:
- Jeffrey Knopf, The Closest I got to Freud’s Desk (2024). Photographed by Jules Lister.
- Theo Simpson, Remainder II – Drift (2022), detail. Photographed by Jules Lister.
- Hope Strickland, I’ll Be Back (2022). Photographed by Jules Lister
- Jeffrey Knopf, Companions (2024). Photographed by Jules Lister.
- Hope Strickland, I’ll Be Back! (2022), film still. Image courtesy of the artist.
Downloads
Press Release
286.5048828125kbExhibition handout
6520.7705078125kbExhibition plan
8170.017578125kbLarge print illustrated exhibition guide
6488.7470703125kbClare O'Dowd essay
174.16796875kbDuncan Wooldridge essay
171.4228515625kb
