Writing

Pastoral Scheme is an exhibition comprising of 4 works resting, hanging, standing, and leaning. It is a comment on modern architects and the change it has undergone to being square like and made of materials such as steel rather than the softer materials. Her works aim to upend conservative and neutral aspects of architecture, which I really appreciate, as some modern architecture has become so bland and this work has such a satisfying feel, and also has a touch of the 90s.

My first thought on the exhibition was how tactile everything was. It is work that you would want to touch and run your hands over as it draws you in. Some of the works have a textured surface whilst some are sanded smooth which creates a subtle contrast. Unkovich combines painting and sculpture together where they complement each other and work nicely all together.  There is a theorist Clement Greenberg who thinks that they should stay in their separate categorise, that sculpture should be sculpture and painting should stay in painting, Unkovich has commented on this combing the two different genres.

The way Unkovich has composed her works in this interior space works really well. The contrast between her smooth and textured works goes well in the space, and each work is different yet they match. My favourite work was Field Arch Quartet, which was made out of fiberglass and plaster. It is really delicate but I would have loved to have seen it free standing in a room so it would be something that you would want to walk through like you were in a garden. But it’s also interesting to see works in a gallery leaning against a wall rather than hanging as it is so common for works to be hanging and it gives it a different feel. This also works well as part of her idea of it also being part of a workshop space so it would be fitting for things to be leaning up.

In the second space of the exhibition she has made little puzzle pieces out of gib board and arranged them very thoughtfully in the room. She has thought about even the picture rail line and in the corner she has designed a piece that sits there but has a curve so the corner of the wall is still there. Instead of hanging each little piece Unkovich has attached each piece so it is part of the wall an example of how she has combined painting and sculpture again. The work suits the space as it is quite enclosed. You feel like you are in a surreal room yet it feels really calming standing there.

Overall I felt the best thing about this exhibition was how it interacted with the space and how Unkovich incorporated a lot of techniques and ideas into one well executed piece of work.