Sorcha Dallas

Although this compendium of work by three young Glaswegian sculptors deserves recommendation for the newly commissioned work alone, the whole show is lent a unique ambience by the inclusion of a series of classic video artworks.

These pieces – among them Carolee Schneemann’s Up To And Including Her Limits ( a dimly observed catalogue of figures in physically stressful situations, shot in almost garish monochrome) and Bas Jan Ader’s Broken Fall – invite us to consider both the space being observed within the film and the gallery space they’re interacting with.

If that all sounds a bit left field, the nebulous criteria of the artists concerned aren’t going to bring you back down to earth. Essentially, the key word in the show’s title is ‘matter’ – in that each piece on display represents the deliberate rearrangement of matter into forms that hopefully carry a more unique and individual resonance than the dull similarity of everyday commodities.

Such a conceptually highfalutin premise shouldn’t put you off, however. Beyond this basic summation of internet, each of the pieces demonstrates a playful abstraction that makes the show a pleasure, and in no way an overly demanding one. Mick Peter’s cheekily named Nope, for example, is a large cement die wedged between the struts of a cement frame, while his Pig Tanker is a garish black pig and oil tanker hybrid.

Karla Black’s work is also marked by a certain insolence, her Differences Are Definite – construction materials neatly arranged on a table – distinct contrast to the amorphous, blended shapes of these materials in their finished sculptural state. Michael Stumpf, on the other hand, has more of taste, for the grandstand. His Rock, a black-painted acrylic and resin ‘rock’, hangs intriguingly from the ceiling, its perceived weight threatening to bring the roof down.

Along with a talent for such quirky and entertainingly readable scenes, the three sculptors involved also create work that looks temptingly tactile, just begging to be poked and prodded. In this respect the show is a definite success and a refreshing antidote to flat-packed mediocrity.