Darren Almond
Encyclopedia
Darren James Almond (b. 1971 Appley Bridge
, near Wigan
, Lancashire, England) is an artist based in London. He graduated from Winchester School of Arts in 1993, with a BA (hons) degree in Fine Arts.
In 1995, Almond had his first solo exhibition in London, showing a single work, KN120, which consisted of a large ceiling fan installed under London's Westway and wired to his studio. A Real Time Piece (1995), was a live video link that showed his studio, empty but for an industrial flip-clock on the wall that amplified the passing of each minute. Amongst Almond’s other early works is a series of nameplates in cast aluminium, made in imitation of the plaques on British 125 inter-city trains. The film Schwebebahn (1995) features the Sky Train, Wuppertal
’s public transport system; over three days, Almond journeyed from the beginning of the line to its end and back again, filming inside and outside of the train in one long unedited take.
Since 1998, Almond has taken a series of photographs on nights with a full moon, using extended exposure times of fifteen minutes or longer. The Fullmoon series began as a way of navigating the places of traditional landscape painters, e.g. with a shot of Mount Saint Victoire in Provence that had been the subject of many of Cézanne's paintings, but has evolved over time to include other remote locations. For Six Months Later (1999), Almond repeatedly photographed at very precise times an identical location of his studio throughout a set period of time. Each shot features Almond’s desk and chair, a window, two fans and a wall mounted flip clock. Each and every photograph is identical with the only variations being the amount of light that permeates the space and the time displayed on the clock. Meantime (2000) comprised a shipping container the artist had transformed into a functioning digital clock and filmed as it traveled across the Atlantic.
The film installation Mine (2001) was shot in Karaganda
, Kazakhstan. In this two-part work, one projection was shot in color and shows the miners in their locker room changing for work. The camera is stationary and the miners come and go. The second projection shows the view of the tunnel, in black and white, shot from the train that descends into the passages of the mine, in effect what is awaiting the miners when they are finished dressing for work. His series ‘Infinite Betweens’ consists of photographs that were taken in Tibet, where traditional prayer flags are hung in trails across the mountain ridges as a way to make offerings of thanks and prayers. The flags accumulate and become scattered over one of the highest and most exposed landscapes on earth. As with the Fullmoon photographs, Almond made use of moonlight and long exposures to shoot ‘Infinite Betweens’, preserving the movement of the flags and confronting the viewer with impossible perspectives, different focal points and a feeling of being within the picture. These photographs developed out of Almond’s film In the Between (2006), a 3-channel HD video with audio that examines the new high speed train that connects China with Tibet, a reinforcement of Chinese dominance. The title of these works refers to the Buddhist vision of relativity of all beings and things, the idea that we always occupy an ‘in-between’ state that is never ending and infinite. In Sometimes Still (2010), Almond follows a Tendai monk as he engages with the Buddhist process of Kaihōgyō
, the feat of physical and mental endurance by which these monks attempt to reach a state of Buddhahood.
. His subsequent solo exhibitions include those at The Renaissance Society
, Chicago
(1999); De Appel, Amsterdam
(2001); Kunsthalle Zürich, Switzerland
(2001); Tate Britain, London
(2001); K21 Düsseldorf, Germany
(2005); Museum Folkwang
, Essen
(2006); SITE Santa Fe, New Mexico
(2007); Parasol Unit, London
(2008); and Darren Almond: The Principle of Moments, White Cube Gallery, London
(2010). In 1997 at just 26 years of age, Almond was the youngest YBA included in Charles Saatchi’s Sensation show where he showed two works, A Bigger Clock and Fan, featuring objects, an oversized wall mountable flip clock and an equally out of proportion ceiling fan. He has also participated in the Berlin Biennale, Germany
(2001); Venice Biennale
, Italy
(2003); Busan Biennale, South Korea
(2004); The Turner Prize, Tate Britain
, London
(2005); Moscow Biennale, Russia
(2007); and The Tate Triennial, Tate Britain
, London
(2009).
Almond is represented by White Cube
, London and Matthew Marks Gallery
, New York.
in New York, the Saatchi Collection in London, the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin, the Rubell Family Collection in Miami and the Kramlich Collection in San Francisco.
in 2005, where he exhibited the four-screen video installation If I Had You (2003) about his grandmother – ‘a portrait of youthful reminiscence and the dignity of old age’ In 1996, Almond was awarded the Art & Innovation Prize by the Institute of Contemporary Art
, London
, followed by his solo exhibition at White Cube, London in 1997.
Weck, Ziba de. Index, Parasol Unit / Koenig Books, London, 2008
Heynan, Julian. Darren Almond. 50 moons at a time, K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, Cologne 2004
Barnes, Brad. Darren Almond. 11 Miles…From Safety, Jay Jopling / White Cube, London 2003
Walker, Hamza and Martin Herbert. Darren Almond, Kunsthalle Zürich, Zurich 2001
Films
This Is Modern Art, (presented by Matthew Collins), Oxford Television Company, Production, Channel 4, June–July, 1999
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2008/jan/17/art.china
Susie Rushton, The Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/reviews/captain-moonlight-a-new-exhibition-of-darren-almonds-ethereal-nocturnal-images-is-about-to-open-at-white-cube-770712.html
Erica MacArthur, Art Review
http://www.artreview.com/forum/topic/show?id=1474022%3ATopic%3A118657
Gareth Scurlock, The Times
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/travel_images/article3162395.ece
Appley Bridge
Appley Bridge is a village in West Lancashire, England. It is located off Junction 27 of the M6 motorway and is nestled in the Douglas valley alongside the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.-History:...
, near Wigan
Wigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
, Lancashire, England) is an artist based in London. He graduated from Winchester School of Arts in 1993, with a BA (hons) degree in Fine Arts.
Life and career
Almond works in a variety of media including photography and film, which he uses to explore the effects of time on the individual. He uses ‘sculpture, film and photography to produce work that harnesses the symbolic and emotional potential of objects, places and situations, producing works which have universal as well as personal resonances.’In 1995, Almond had his first solo exhibition in London, showing a single work, KN120, which consisted of a large ceiling fan installed under London's Westway and wired to his studio. A Real Time Piece (1995), was a live video link that showed his studio, empty but for an industrial flip-clock on the wall that amplified the passing of each minute. Amongst Almond’s other early works is a series of nameplates in cast aluminium, made in imitation of the plaques on British 125 inter-city trains. The film Schwebebahn (1995) features the Sky Train, Wuppertal
Wuppertal
Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in and around the Wupper river valley, and is situated east of the city of Düsseldorf and south of the Ruhr area. With a population of approximately 350,000, it is the largest city in the Bergisches Land...
’s public transport system; over three days, Almond journeyed from the beginning of the line to its end and back again, filming inside and outside of the train in one long unedited take.
Since 1998, Almond has taken a series of photographs on nights with a full moon, using extended exposure times of fifteen minutes or longer. The Fullmoon series began as a way of navigating the places of traditional landscape painters, e.g. with a shot of Mount Saint Victoire in Provence that had been the subject of many of Cézanne's paintings, but has evolved over time to include other remote locations. For Six Months Later (1999), Almond repeatedly photographed at very precise times an identical location of his studio throughout a set period of time. Each shot features Almond’s desk and chair, a window, two fans and a wall mounted flip clock. Each and every photograph is identical with the only variations being the amount of light that permeates the space and the time displayed on the clock. Meantime (2000) comprised a shipping container the artist had transformed into a functioning digital clock and filmed as it traveled across the Atlantic.
The film installation Mine (2001) was shot in Karaganda
Karaganda
Karagandy , more commonly known by its Russian name Karaganda, , is the capital of Karagandy Province in Kazakhstan. It is the fourth most populous city in Kazakhstan, behind Almaty , Astana and Shymkent, with a population of 471,800 . In the 1940s up to 70% of the city's inhabitants were ethnic...
, Kazakhstan. In this two-part work, one projection was shot in color and shows the miners in their locker room changing for work. The camera is stationary and the miners come and go. The second projection shows the view of the tunnel, in black and white, shot from the train that descends into the passages of the mine, in effect what is awaiting the miners when they are finished dressing for work. His series ‘Infinite Betweens’ consists of photographs that were taken in Tibet, where traditional prayer flags are hung in trails across the mountain ridges as a way to make offerings of thanks and prayers. The flags accumulate and become scattered over one of the highest and most exposed landscapes on earth. As with the Fullmoon photographs, Almond made use of moonlight and long exposures to shoot ‘Infinite Betweens’, preserving the movement of the flags and confronting the viewer with impossible perspectives, different focal points and a feeling of being within the picture. These photographs developed out of Almond’s film In the Between (2006), a 3-channel HD video with audio that examines the new high speed train that connects China with Tibet, a reinforcement of Chinese dominance. The title of these works refers to the Buddhist vision of relativity of all beings and things, the idea that we always occupy an ‘in-between’ state that is never ending and infinite. In Sometimes Still (2010), Almond follows a Tendai monk as he engages with the Buddhist process of Kaihōgyō
Kaihogyo
The is a set of the ascetic physical endurance trainings for which the Japanese ‘marathon monks’ of Mt. Hiei are known. These Japanese Monks are from the Tendai school of Buddhism, a denomination brought to Japan by the Monk Saichō in 806 from China....
, the feat of physical and mental endurance by which these monks attempt to reach a state of Buddhahood.
Selected exhibitions
Almond’s first one-person exhibition was in 1995 at Great Western Studios, London. In 1997 he had an exhibition at London’s Institute of Contemporary ArtsInstitute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...
. His subsequent solo exhibitions include those at The Renaissance Society
The Renaissance Society
The Renaissance Society is a non-collecting contemporary art museum in Chicago, Illinois. It is located on the campus of the University of Chicago, although it is a fully separate entity.-Overview:...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
(1999); De Appel, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
(2001); Kunsthalle Zürich, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
(2001); Tate Britain, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(2001); K21 Düsseldorf, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(2005); Museum Folkwang
Museum Folkwang
Museum Folkwang is a major collection of 19th and 20th century art in Essen, Germany. The museum was established in 1922 by merging the Essener Kunstmuseum, which was founded in 1906, and the private Folkwang Museum of the collector and patron Karl Ernst Osthaus in Hagen, founded in 1901.The term...
, Essen
Essen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
(2006); SITE Santa Fe, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
(2007); Parasol Unit, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(2008); and Darren Almond: The Principle of Moments, White Cube Gallery, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(2010). In 1997 at just 26 years of age, Almond was the youngest YBA included in Charles Saatchi’s Sensation show where he showed two works, A Bigger Clock and Fan, featuring objects, an oversized wall mountable flip clock and an equally out of proportion ceiling fan. He has also participated in the Berlin Biennale, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(2001); Venice Biennale
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(2003); Busan Biennale, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
(2004); The Turner Prize, Tate Britain
Tate Britain
Tate Britain is an art gallery situated on Millbank in London, and part of the Tate gallery network in Britain, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, opening in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the works of J. M. W. Turner.-History:It...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(2005); Moscow Biennale, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
(2007); and The Tate Triennial, Tate Britain
Tate Britain
Tate Britain is an art gallery situated on Millbank in London, and part of the Tate gallery network in Britain, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, opening in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the works of J. M. W. Turner.-History:It...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(2009).
Almond is represented by White Cube
White Cube
White Cube is a contemporary art gallery designed by MRJ Rundell & Associates in Hoxton Square in the East End of London Mason's Yard, in central London and White Cube Bermondsey in South East London...
, London and Matthew Marks Gallery
Matthew Marks Gallery
Matthew Marks is an art gallery located in the New York City neighborhood of Chelsea. Founded in the early 1990s by Matthew Marks, it specializes in modern and contemporary art in a variety of media: including painting, sculpture, photography, installation art, film, and drawings and prints...
, New York.
Collections
Almond’s works are part of important collections of international contemporary art such as the Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York, the Saatchi Collection in London, the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin, the Rubell Family Collection in Miami and the Kramlich Collection in San Francisco.
Awards
Notably, Almond was shortlisted for the Turner PrizeTurner Prize
The Turner Prize, named after the painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist under the age of 50. Awarding the prize is organised by the Tate gallery and staged at Tate Britain. Since its beginnings in 1984 it has become the United Kingdom's most publicised...
in 2005, where he exhibited the four-screen video installation If I Had You (2003) about his grandmother – ‘a portrait of youthful reminiscence and the dignity of old age’ In 1996, Almond was awarded the Art & Innovation Prize by the Institute of Contemporary Art
Institute of Contemporary Art
The Institute of Contemporary Art is an art museum and exhibition space located in Boston, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The museum was founded in 1936 with a mission to exhibit contemporary art.-Mission:...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, followed by his solo exhibition at White Cube, London in 1997.
Public Commissions
In 2011, Almond was commissioned with a photographic installation and lightbox panels for the Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry.Monographs
Madden, Kathleen. Terminus, Galerie Max Hetzler / White Cube / Holzwarth Publications, 2008Weck, Ziba de. Index, Parasol Unit / Koenig Books, London, 2008
Heynan, Julian. Darren Almond. 50 moons at a time, K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, Cologne 2004
Barnes, Brad. Darren Almond. 11 Miles…From Safety, Jay Jopling / White Cube, London 2003
Walker, Hamza and Martin Herbert. Darren Almond, Kunsthalle Zürich, Zurich 2001
Films
This Is Modern Art, (presented by Matthew Collins), Oxford Television Company, Production, Channel 4, June–July, 1999
Reviews
Adrian Searle, The Guardianhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2008/jan/17/art.china
Susie Rushton, The Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/reviews/captain-moonlight-a-new-exhibition-of-darren-almonds-ethereal-nocturnal-images-is-about-to-open-at-white-cube-770712.html
Erica MacArthur, Art Review
http://www.artreview.com/forum/topic/show?id=1474022%3ATopic%3A118657
Gareth Scurlock, The Times
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/travel_images/article3162395.ece