artistexplorer

You don't usually expect to hear of a powerhouse museum like the Tate promoting emerging artists, but today the Tate opened an installation in the Duveen Galleries, the museum's major exhibition space, which they hope will launch the career of a promising artist, Eva Rothschild. The commissioned work is called "Cold Corners" and is on view until the end of November. The artist, according to an article in today's Independent, is fairly well-known in art circles, but has yet to have much of a more public presence in the art scene.

In a google search, I came across a 2007 Roberta Smith review of the artist's New York debut show at 303 Gallery. At the time, Roberta felt that Rothschild had "her work cut out for her:" 

Rothschild demonstrates that there is more to her work than sharp and shiny black geometric silhouettes, including an involvement with materials and process that takes her work beyond garden-variety goth-flavored Minimalism. But it doesn't take her far enough in any one direction, which creates an aura of generic professionalism.

The two years since this review must have been gestational for the artist, for she has garnered praise from the outgoing Tate director Stephen Deuchar, who said Rothschild has "skillfully taken on the challenge of the Duveen Galleries which are huge, and architecturally rather pompous." (I guess he has no qualms about bashing his own gallery spaces if he has one foot out the door.)

Will the critics take the Roberta Smith point of view, or will the Tate emerge victorious in finding a new rising star? We'll have to see.