Poem Published

A poem by Tony Trehy, written in response to Blinky Palermo's wall painting, Blue/yellow/white/red, and its recent reconstruction, has recently been published by Greville Worthington as a limited edition card. For further information see: http://tony-trehy.blogspot.com/.

Symposium Blinky Palermo
Hessische Landesmuseum Darmstadt, 17- 19 March 2006

Those interested in the work of Blinky Palermo may be interested to learn of this symposium organised by Dr. Mechthild Haas and Dr. Klaus-D. Pohl. For further information see Hessische Landesmuseum Darmstadt.

Reconstruction complete
20 October 2005

Painting work on the ECA's reconstruction of Blinky Palermo's wall painting, Blue/yellow/white/red, has finished and the reconstruction will be unveiled tomorrow on the occasion of the conference, Four Colour Suffice: Palermo, Art and Architecture. Reconstruction was pursued after technical investigations concluded it would not be feasible to uncover the original wall painting. The work is envisaged as a homage to Palermo. The colour scheme of the stairwell was returned to approximately the same as in 1970 before the four coloured bands were repainted.

Photograph of the reconstruction of Blinky Palermo's wall painting, Blue/yellow/white/red in progress with the scaffolding still in place.

Exploring Palermo's Legacy
3 October 2005

The fruits of a collaborative project between Edinburgh College of Art, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the University of Edinburgh's Talbot Rice Gallery, entitled 'Palermo Restore' are to be made public at the end of this month. A conference and two exhibitions will explore the life and times of the influential German artist, Blinky Palermo.

At the core of the project is a wall painting by Palermo, entitled 'Blue/yellow/white/red' that was installed in Edinburgh College of Art for the 1970 Edinburgh Festival exhibition of Düsseldorf-based artists 'Strategy: Get Arts', organised by the Richard Demarco Gallery in collaboration with the Kunsthalle in Düsseldorf.

Palermo’s wall painting, a horizontal band in four colours that occupied the main stairwell of the college, was painted over shortly after the close of the exhibition. The question of restoration has been raised many times since 1970, but only recently has this been addressed by the Palermo Restore project.

In this context a conference entitled 'Four Colours Suffice: Palermo, Art and Architecture' will take place in Edinburgh College of Art on 21 and 22 October to explore the late German artist's work and the issues raised by temporary and site-specific artworks. The first day is dedicated to aspects of Palermo’s art, with sessions chaired by Dr Lynne Cooke, Curator of the Dia Art Foundation in New York and Professor Anne-Marie Bonnet, Director of the Kunsthistorisches Institut at the University of Bonn while the second day will investigate wider issues concerning relationships between art and architecture and visibility and invisibility in contemporary art. This will include a panel discussion with eminent European artists who knew or have been influenced by Palermo.

Related exhibitions at the Talbot Rice Gallery and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art will open on the same weekend as the conference. These exhibitions are being supported by arts education programmes and admission is free.

The University of Edinburgh's Talbot Rice Gallery will exhibit works from the collection of Kunstmuseum, Bonn from 22 October until 3 December. 'Palermo Restore: the Bonn Archive' will showcase Palermo’s documentation of his wall drawings and paintings, including his drawings and photographs of 'Blue/yellow/white/red'.

The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art meanwhile will present an archive exhibition examining the impact of the groundbreaking 1970 'Strategy: Get Arts' exhibition and illustrating Palermo's practice in its historical context. This exhibition to be entitled 'Strategy: Get Arts Revisited' will run from 22 October until 8 January 2006.

The Historic Scotland Conservation Centre has undertaken architectural paint analysis in the College stairwell and as a result the Palermo work will be recreated rather than restored. Plans are in place for a team of painters to begin this in advance of the conference and the opening of the two related exhibitions.