Presences explored the tensions between public and private, outside and inside, urban and domestic. A collaboration between artist, Paul Coldwell and architects, 5th Studio, the exhibition constructed settings people can inhabit, imagine, maintain and transform.
Inspired by the world of domestic objects, 5th Studio and Coldwell investigated a new setting, in this case, a public gallery. Their combined objects and representational work negotiated the existing spaces in the gallery and beyond - edges, thresholds, stairs and window spaces - and everyday in-between settings that hold the potential to discover the unfamiliar within the familiar.
Coldwell is a sculptor and printmaker; his work has ranged from small, intimate pieces to larger collaborations, such as with the Freud Museum and the Brodsky Quartet. With their practice based in Cambridge, 5th Studio's work ranges from the scale of furniture to larger urban projects.