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Blog and Roll All Nite - Be Arty Every Day!

Greg McGee on youtube. 'Ave a look!

The first is all singing, all dancing, all acting magic bit o' banter:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt0FfSHQPlw

The second is an interview with Business Links York. That's right!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUu6RX55sYE

ARTSPACE NEWS

York St John Fine Arts Department have created the ‘ArtSpace Prize’, named after the gallery co-owned by the judge, Greg McGee, once again delighted to choose the recipient of what was once the ‘Start4Art Prize’. “I’m honoured to be asked to judge the winner, and I’m delighted that ArtSpace has been recognised with this eponymous prize. The quality of York St John’s degree shows is known nationally, and whittling down the runners up from such a collection of exciting degree exhibitions was very hard. Ails and I attended the Degree Show night, and we were really thrilled by a dozen pieces. But when it came to judging the work I had to think from a gallerist’s more curatorial point of view. Who would benefit from this as an opportunity? Whose work has the most muscle so it can stand up for itself as a 2 week solo show? Jack’s work was wild and very witty, and it merited closer inspection via the portfolio that now accompanies every York St John’s graduate’s display. There is obviously a lot going on this young man’s mind, his portfolio had the breadth of ideas of a team of five artists. One of the images haunted me for days. As soon as I felt that delicious mix of amusement, revulsion and admiration for the man’s showmanship, I thought: ‘that’s our boy’.

Roddy Hunter, Head of Fine Arts says:

“This award is a collaboration between YSJ Fine Arts and The ArtSpace to support professional development of our graduating artists.

The prize was judged by Greg alone to discover which artist exhibiting at the CREATE ’10 Graduate Exhibition he believed would benefit most from working with The ArtSpace to fulfil the commercial and professional potential of their work. The prize thus rewards its winner with mentoring, a solo exhibition in The ArtSpace Gallery in September and an invitation to return to exhibit at York St John in CREATE ’11.

My role was to accompany Greg on his tour of the exhibition and help him with understanding the context and development around each artist’s work. To this end he also looked at portfolios and supporting work to get the fullest sense of the artist as well as the work. Overall, I believe Greg felt that Jack’s current work had a critical, contemporary edge but was also interested in some other works he has undertaken throughout your studies at York St John”.