As well as practicing as an artist, Richard Ducker runs an extensive curatorial programme through Fieldgate Gallery.  His latest show is in collaboration with Viktor Wynd Fine Art, a gallery that opened in last year within The Last Tuesday Society’s east London space.  The show, titled ‘Strangeness and Charm,’ was conceived by Ducker in response to the curious and surreal items on display within this space and features the work of six artists: Alice Anderson, Hilary Jack, Liane Lang, Kate MccGwire, Andro Semiko and Dallas Seit.  Together, the works on display explore the ways in which myth and ritual function as conceptual and artistic devices to, as Ducker explains, “find meaning in the now.”  Building on his concept through the writings of Georges Bataille, Ducker delivers an exhibition of paintings and sculptures that invoke intrigue through their appearance.  For example, Kate MccGwire’s sculptures, which are created using birds’ feathers, are imbued with a haptic quality that is at once alluring and challenging, prompting the viewer to consider how a work’s physicality informs our perception of it.

‘Strangeness and Charm’ runs until 13 March 2010 at Viktor Wynd Fine Art, 11 Mare Street, London, E8 4RP.

Richard Ducker will also be exhibiting new work in an upcoming solo show at Oblong Gallery in London.

Image: 'Strangeness and Charm' installation shot, courtesy of Fieldgate Gallery