2024 Artist in Residence : Katrina Palmer : The Touch Report

Interesting online lecture from the National Gallery discussing last year’s Artist in Residence Katrina Palmer.

Priyesh Mistry, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Projects, took us through Palmer’s previous work and discussed the problem of displaying work in a gallery which is based on the idea of absence.

He talked us through the book Palmer produced as part of the project which is called “The Touch Report” after the informal name for an internal gallery report on incidences where the public touch an artwork. In the book she describes acts of violence in paintings in the gallery without naming the picture. To make this into a installation for the gallery it was put in an empty room, with the shadow of a missing painting, and a purpose-built bookcase.

As you know I will go to anything at the National Gallery, well to be honest at most galleries, but I never saw any communications about this installation or book so I missed the chance to go. I am a member there so you’d think I would have received something. I did wonder if this reflected how difficult it was to describe.

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