Kate Groobey Gets Around

Kate Groobey's Pure Pleasure show is in Venice

by Ancient Champion, Columnist
first published: May, 2019

Pure Pleasure...

Kate Groobey
Pure Pleasure
Venice 2019
Opening Wednesday 8 May 6:30 - 10pm
Continues through June 22nd
Location: Castello 2432, Fondamenta dei Penini

Last year, award winning artist Kate Groobey's charmed, entertained and thrilled us bigly. Real bigly when she tucked her once-seen-never-forgotten video revue, Pure Pleasure, into the tower room at the ikon in Birmingham.

Pure Pleasure is… Well don’t even take this as any indication that my life is shit but seeing Kate’s Pure Pleasure was one of my best 15 minutes of 2018 involving dancing and dressing up and putting on masks as it does. That’s right, there are masks, there are shoes, there are bikinis made from paper, there a props and backdrops, all hand-made & hand-painted. The faces, feet, and bikini are attached with safety pins. The costumes are hand painted. Kate writes the music on her computer. She’s in costume dancing on camera with improvised dance moves. And it’s all been filmed on an iPhone.

Now until June 22nd there’s an opportunity to live Pure Pleasure again, this time in Venice.

The exhibition has been organised by Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, UK and a.topos, Venice, Italy, and the event includes a conversation between Kate and the Ikon's Jonathan on May 13th. You can see our 2018 feature & interview, Kate Groovey here.

Kate Groobey Commander Bra Painting

Let's hope for Kate's Venice bow the organisers have pushed the gondola out and hired the Venetian Rockettes equivalent and suited them out suitably as multiple dancing Kate Marionettes. Like a mini Homecoming with a synthetic drum line. Or something at least. Pure Pleasure is entertainment at it's finest.

Exhibtion Dates: 8 May - 22 June 2019
Opening reception: Wednesday 8 May 2019, 6:30 - 10pm
Event: Kate Groobey in conversation with Ikon Director Jonathan Watkins,13 May 2019, 6pm
Location: Castello 2432, Fondamenta dei Penini, 3122, Venezia
Vaporetto: Arsenale, ACTV 1 - 4.1 - 4.2, Alilaguna linea blu / Celestia, ACTV 4.1 - 4.2 - 5.1 - 5.2
Opening Hours: Closed on Tuesdays otherwise open daily 10am - 6pm

Essential Info:
Kate Groobey website
IKON about the show
a.topos cultural collective
OL & Kate here

Ancient Champion
Columnist

Ancient Champion writes for OUTSIDELEFT, relentlessly records instrumental easy listening tracks, and is always completing the short story collection, Six Stories About Motoring Nowhere. More info at AncientChampion.com

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