I digress, back to where we started… how to curate an exhibition?
Get to Know the Space. Have/create a floorplan of the space to identify separate ‘pockets’ or areas that ‘talk’ to each other. Then I also look at visual lines across the entire space: what do visitors see when they come in? What is not visual when they come in? Is there a natural walk, flow to the space? Visit the space, be in the space, before and after selection.
Make Jigsaw Pieces. Once all the selected artwork sits nicely in a spreadsheet it is hard to play around with it and I will need some form of hard copy of every single piece to start thinking around the design.
With photocopies of the work I create the design on my own floor, always with the real space in mind. I play until I think I have a design that works. It works for me when an exhibition ‘hangs’ together or ‘sits’ together in a way that it allows every piece to be part of the group without losing its personality.
Group Your Jigsaw Pieces/Divide the Space. Looking at the selected pieces I identify themes, subject matter, groups of colour or sometimes material used. In a smaller space it is often one piece that stands out which will be my starting point from which I design the whole show. In a rectangular space it is often two or three connected pieces that I want to have in a balanced line and I will take that as my starting point.
Sometimes, the biggest pieces are placed first. Sometimes the most unconventional piece needs to be housed first… every space or every collection of art demands a different, what I call, anchor. This way I am anchoring myself as a designer in a sea of often totally diverse art.
Make the Jigsaw Fit. Then the jigsaw pieces arrive in the space... I always incorporate some time in my schedule to shift things around in the real space.