When we asked Nick Austin which artists he responded to he mentioned Stuart Sherman (1945–2001) an American performance artist, playwright, filmmaker, essayist, sculptor and collagist. Join us for a rare screening of examples of Sherman’s video works selected by Austin and provided by Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI). Often recording the artist at a little table set up in public space, on which everyday objects are set out as his performative props, Sherman’s moving image works provide an eccentric counterpoint to Austin’s paintings and sculptures. Little known outside the alternative circles of New York’s downtown avant-garde scene, Sherman’s works are a revelation. Don’t miss this opportunity to survey a range of his works.

With the kind assistance of Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), New York, we are screening Stuart Sherman: Programmes 1, 2 & 3. These selections of later video works by Stuart Sherman, produced in the 1980s and '90s, continue the artist's idiomatic manipulations of everyday objects and situations. Throughout his artistic career, Sherman never limited himself to any one art form, and these works show his agility in adapting his practice to the unique syntax of video. Though he makes use of direct camera addresses and basic video editing, the conceptual witticism of his minimalist Spectacles performances is evident, as it is in his own poetic written encapsulations of each work.

Programme 1

Gray Matter, 1987, 1 min, color, sound

Video Walk, 1987, 1 min, color, sound

Don't Hang Up I'm Freezing, 1993, 4 min, color, sound

A Glass of Fish, 1993, 2 min, color, sound

Cheers!, 1993, 2 min, color, sound

Black and White & Grain, 1993, 1 min, color, sound

The Leap, 1993, 3 min, color, sound

Programme 2

Berlin (West)/Andere Richtungen, 1986, 6 min, color, sound

Son of Scotty and Stuart, 1993, 5 min, color, sound

Bill Rice's Beer Garden, 1994, 5 min, color, sound

Me and Joe, 1994, 4 min, color, sound

8 Eggs, 1994, 5 min, color, sound

Programme 3

Newsbreak, 1994, 3:47 min, color, sound

Holy Bible, 1994, 3:25 min, color, sound

Ah Choo!, 1994, 39 sec, color, sound