Kate MccGwire arrived in Paris nine days before her second solo show at La Galerie Particulière. The trip from her home near Hampton Court, however, was far more extended and circuitous than the typical Eurostar commute; she and her partner had spent the past ten weeks traveling along the Thames, across the Channel and down into Belgium and France on their 108-year-old Dutch barge. Along the way, inside her 32 sq m floating studio, she was producing several of the plumed pieces now on display, allowing the changing scenery to guide her creative process.
Granted, her collection of forms—at once animal, anthropomorphic and abstract—do not aim for any single representation. The twisting mass of meticulously applied magpie feathers housed in a glass cabinet could suggest myriad interpretations, making it somewhat of an otherworldly, sculptural Rorschach test. ‘I like to ask people what they see,’ MccGwire tells Wallpaper* during a walkthrough. As for her reading: ‘I think of it as being a three-dimensional presence of a state of mind – trapped and convoluted, but beautiful. It’s a confusing thing; the work is never just beautiful.’
This is among the pieces MccGwire made over the course of her journey; and she notes how the iridescent blue hue of the feathers now reminds her of the Marne river. Certainly, it offers a dramatic contrast to the works composed of pristine white feathers on the other side of the gallery. Here, a goose-covered sculpture might conjure up coiled swan necks or, as the artist reveals, a fleshy close-up. ‘These could be creases and crevices of the body.... The hybrid creature of human and animal has been with us forever. I think it’s deep-seated in us to make that connection.’
Three wall-mounted works in goose feature a central cavity emphasised by pigeon quills. Here, there’s an unmistakably erotic aspect that dovetails with the concept of spatialism proposed by Lucio Fontana. This show’s title, 'Scissure', comes from this series, which MccGwire continues to explore. ‘Each time I’m doing one, I’m thinking ahead towards the next piece,’ she says.
As a result of this finessing, and because each creation is unique, the artist is ultimately moving through her own evolutionary process. Pelt, a different wall-mounted grouping consisting of kid leather punctured with crow quills, yielded an interactive piece whereby viewers can place their hand under the base through a hole in the pedestal. ‘Have a fondle!’ she quips.
For all MccGwire’s labour – extensive sourcing, cleaning the feathers and quills, manipulating each one by hand, applying them with remarkable precision – the effort is matched by the effect, which ultimately, is her aim. ‘I don’t like to explain too much,’ she says. ‘I prefer people to be transported.’
Yet, with noticeable delight, she divulged the medium that allowed her to achieve the wayward, watery lines in a drawing series she is exhibiting for the first time: graphite powder-covered maggots. Titled Vermiculus, the idea came about from observing fisherman with their boxes of maggots and wondering what marks the creatures might make. The gross-out factor notwithstanding, it confirms MccGwire’s wildly imaginative application of the natural world. And go figure, the blackened larvae left a wondrous tangle of trails.
Along the way, inside her 32-square-metre floating studio, she was producing several of the plumed pieces now on display. Pictured: Fissure, 2016
Her collection of forms – at once animal, anthropomorphic and abstract – do not aim for any single representation. Pictured left: Sissure Breach (detail), 2016
The artist explains, ‘I think of it as being a three-dimensional presence of a state of mind – trapped and convoluted, but beautiful. It’s a confusing thing; the work is never just beautiful.’ Pictured left: Sissure Breach, 2016. Right: Pelt, 2016
Three wall-mounted works in goose feature a central cavity emphasised by pigeon quills. Pictured: Fissure (detail), 2016
The artist concludes, ‘I don’t like to explain too much. I prefer people to be transported.’ Pictured: Covert (detail), 2016
INFORMATION
’Kate MccGwire: Scissure’ is on view until 15 October. For more information, visit La Galerie Particulière’s website
ADDRESS
La Galerie Particulière
16 rue du Perche
75003 Paris
-
The Sialia 45 cruiser is a welcome addition to the new generation of electric boatsPolish shipbuilder Sialia Yachts has launched the Sialia 45, a 14m all-electric cruiser for silent running
-
Tokyo design studio We+ transforms microalgae into coloursCould microalgae be the sustainable pigment of the future? A Japanese research project investigates
-
What to see at London Craft Week 2025With London Craft Week just around the corner, Wallpaper* rounds up the must-see moments from this year’s programme
-
Contemporary artist collective Poush takes over Château La CosteMembers of Poush have created 160 works, set in and around the grounds of Château La Coste – the art, architecture and wine estate in Provence
-
‘David Hockney 25’: inside the artist’s blockbuster Paris show‘David Hockney 25’ has opened at Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. Wallpaper’s Hannah Silver took a tour of the colossal, colourful show
-
Jack White's Third Man Records opens a Paris pop-upJack White's immaculately-branded record store will set up shop in the 9th arrondissement this weekend
-
‘The Black woman endures a gravity unlike any other’: Pharrell Williams explores diverse interpretations of femininity in ParisPharrell Williams returns to Perrotin gallery in Paris with a new group show which serves as an homage to Black women
-
What makes fashion and art such good bedfellows?There has always been a symbiosis between fashion and the art world. Here, we look at what makes the relationship such a successful one
-
Architecture, sculpture and materials: female Lithuanian artists are celebrated in NîmesThe Carré d'Art in Nîmes, France, spotlights the work of Aleksandra Kasuba and Marija Olšauskaitė, as part of a nationwide celebration of Lithuanian culture
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been doing this weekInvesting in quality knitwear, scouting a very special pair of earrings and dining with strangers are just some of the things keeping the Wallpaper* team occupied this week
-
Tom Wesselmann’s enduring influence on pop art goes under the spotlight in Paris‘Pop Forever, Tom Wesselmann &...’ is on view at Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris until 24 February 2025
