The Paris-based German artist Katinka Bock inhabits and responds to Common Guild’s high-ceilinged domestic gallery spaces with a series of new sculptural works in copper, lead, clay and fabric. Here, the materials chosen and their process of production have a narrative that links them to Glasgow and its industrial history as well as the much wider story of the post-industrial city (the exhibition’s title, ‘Radio Piombino’, is a reference to the north Italian port once known for its thriving steel works). A few months prior to the show a series of fired clay tubes, gently contorted like twisted human necks, were placed in sites around Glasgow, including a local fish restaurant, a couple’s flat and the mouth of the Clyde river. The effect on their light cream surfaces is subtle but significant, and much of the intrigue in this exhibition is in its quiet detail. Metallic casts of fish are rough with incinerated scales and flesh; objects are wrapped in clay sheets and fired, leaving a slight stain on the inside; copper tiles are weathered in the Scottish rain – Bock’s thoughtful attention to place and materials crackles throughout the gallery’s two floors.
- Chris Sharratt