Alan Kane’s work often takes the form of sculptures incorporating found or readymade components. It plays with the entrenched systems and values of the art world, in particular the perceived hierarchies that govern different art forms.
Home-works 1 (2014) and Home-works 2 (2014) consist of reproductions of classical sculptures placed on brightly coloured painted brick plinths. They reference the neoclassical marble sculpture held by the Usher Gallery but are made of more modest materials including bricks, mortar and garden sculptures. This highlights the subjective nature of their status as fine art objects. For some, they sit uncomfortably within a fine art institution, and for others they represent the democratisation of the Usher’s collection. The illustration opposite is an artist’s sketch for the work, which will be made on site during summer 2014.
In 2010 the Usher merged with The Collection and now has an active contemporary art programme. Kane’s works will be sited in an important open-air location joining the two sites. One of the strengths of their joint collection is a group of neoclassical sculptures by Joseph Nollekens, John Gibson and John Bacon which Kane’s works specifically relate to.
