Wolverhampton Art Gallery February – March 2008

Children in Conflict
Until 16 February
This exhibition draws together work by internationally renowned contemporary artists, looking at the ways in which children can become caught up in conflicts created by the adult world. As part of this exhibition, in association with Christian Aid, renowned war artist John Keane has been commissioned to produce a series of paintings about issues facing millions of young people in war torn Angola, West Africa. The exhibition also includes powerful works from Simon Norfolk, Anthony Haughey and Emma Summers.

Pop Art: Now and Then
16 February – 8 August
The third pop hang in Wolverhampton’s new Pop Art Gallery explores the relationship between the Pop Art from the 1960s and today’s contemporary art. The Pop Art influence on younger artists is explored, with works from Gavin Turk, Michael Craig-Martin, David Mach and many more. The exhibition shows off Wolverhampton’s own Pop Art collection, complemented by loans to bring the best Pop Art, old and new, to the West Midlands.

Bittersweet by Hyewon Kwon
Until 23 February
This emotional film shows one of many simple piano melodies which can be played with only two fingers: Francis Lai’s ‘Theme from Love Story’. Bittersweet’s disconcerting twist is that the pianist actually only has two fingers on each hand, due to the condition ectrodactyly. Kwon uses a single-take close-up, typical of her desire to combine formal simplicity with emotional significance.

Passage to the Future: Art from a New Generation in Japan
1 March – 26 April
This high profile, international exhibition comes exclusively to Wolverhampton as its only UK tour venue. The show comprises sculptures, installations, photographs and video works produced at the beginning of the 21st century by eleven young Japanese artists who are responding to the state of the world around them. Artists have reflected their own personality in the art making this a fresh and vibrant look at contemporary Japanese art and culture. Includes artists Atsushi Fukui, Satoshi Hirose and Maywa Denki.

Translation/Translatio by Aaron Williamson
1 March – 23 May 2008
Performance artist and film-maker Williamson explores the 9th Century process ‘translatio’, the movement of sacred relics, such as bones and clothes, from underground burial galleries to containers in the altars of a churches or cathedrals. Williamson was filmed carrying a domestic relic, an abandoned, broken washing machine, for two miles around Rome. This walk was then ‘translated’ to a London street, where the washing machine was ‘mistranslated’ into a wheel.

Wolverhampton Art Gallery is open Mon–Sat, 10am–5pm. Free entry. For more information on current exhibitions and events, visit the website wolverhamptonart.org