Lady Beck Studios is off to a flying start in the Leeds art scene with a new exhibition from Clare Holdstock. We sent Fiona Holland to investigate…

Tucked away in the heart of Mabgate, is the recently founded Lady Beck Studios and Project Space, formerly known as Enjoy Art Space. The site is made up of three floors and includes a gallery as well as several studio rooms and workspaces. Lady Beck is run by the Assembly House studios in Armley, and strives to continue Enjoy’s legacy of being a space that is run by and for artists in Leeds.

From 24-27 November, Lady Beck places host to Periphery, a collection of new sculptural work and assemblages by the artist Clare Holdstock, who currently lives and develops her artistic practice in Hull.

In her show, one interesting notion Holdstock attempted to address was the recent history of Modernist high design. Several tower-like structures stand in the space, which bear resemblance to the Modern designer Charles Eames’ Toy, a construction kit for children.

‘It is refreshing to find a rise in independent exhibition spaces emerging in Leeds that differ to the staple art institutions that already exist in the city’

Holdstock also managed to put together a personal account on the make up of contemporary urban spaces, bringing together forms and shapes of various sizes and materials such as discarded metal, plastic sheets, and concrete. These obstacles were scattered around the room filling the entire space, meaning viewers had to step over and around the objects to move through the exhibition. The abstract forms Holdstock created alluded to scrap-like structures of temporary signage or abandoned man-made objects that might be found on a roadside or underpass, making reference to the fragility and short-lived aspects of twenty first century urban landscapes.

It is refreshing to find a rise in independent exhibition spaces emerging in Leeds that differ to the staple art institutions that already exist in the city. Artist-run spaces like Lady Beck allow us to glimpse into the developing creative talent of art graduates from around the country, and to engage in an artistic community.

Fiona Holland

(Image courtesy of Fiona Holland)