20 Oct 2011

A Darkness More Than Night, QUAD Gallery, 11 November 2011 - 29 January 2012

Image: Mike Cooter, Scarlet Street, 2006/2011, Courtesy the Kirk Collection.


Thom Andersen /// Chris Burden /// Mike Cooter /// John Divola /// Douglas Gordon /// Johan Grimonprez /// David Noonan /// Hadrian Pigott /// Laure Prouvost /// Fergal Stapleton /// Sturtevant /// Nicole Wermers /// Cerith Wyn Evans


QUAD Gallery
Derby, UK

Curated by Ariella Yedgar and Rosie Cooper

'A Darkness More Than Night' explores contemporary art through 'noir', a genre most readily associated with stylish Hollywood crime dramas of the 1940s and 50s, yet whose precursors date back through nineteenth century to Greek tragedy. Taking a forensic approach, the exhibition considers the aesthetics and mood of noir, and describes them through some of its key components, such as Darkness and Scene of the Crime. Another major noir element is the MacGuffin, a term attributed to Alfred Hitchcock for an object or idea that is pursued by characters throughout a film but that has little inherent value other than to drive the narrative forward. The exhibition features contributions by contemporary artists from across the world who work in a variety of media - including sculpture, installation, print and film.

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