Brit Art

From a queen made of plastic bits to a 9ft rag doll, the British Art Show is a vision of the future. For a resumé of what culture has been up to, the British Art Show should be your first recourse. This five-yearly survey of our nation’s rising talent presents an invaluable compendium of the contemporary. And of course, like any synopsis, it saves an awful lot of slog. This time, a pair of freelance curators, Andrea Schlieker and Alex Farquharson, have been putting in the footwork on our behalf. Over the past year or so they have consulted hundreds of curators, critics, writers and artists, trawling the regions for the names of rising stars. But this week, at last, this vast stocktaking project finally comes to fruition. The sixth British Art Show will open at the Baltic in Gateshead on Saturday. The work of the 50-odd artists included should represent in some way the spirit of the times. For the full story - click the title Irish Art