ANONYMOUS. That's the word the director of Derry's Context Gallery, Hugh Mulholland, applies to the pristine, white cube that is its latest incarnation.
Coming from a man who for over two years has been curator of a space which could only be described as quirky, it is a positive description. The old gallery's wooden floors, row of arched windows along one wall and intrusive support columns were physical restrictions which artists often incorporated as a feature of their shows.
But, says Mulholland, while this made for interesting exhibitions, it also limited the range of work which the gallery could accommodate.
Mulholland anticipates that the conventionally shaped, first floor gallery which opens today will allow him to host thematic and group shows as well as workshops and lectures. The 34 foot by 27 foot space - with an impressive 15 foot ceiling - has a small reception area where visitors can browse through art magazines before entering the main exhibition space.
"The anonymous nature of the new space actually puts a different emphasis on the nature of the work we are going to show," says Mulholland. "I want to start showing work that could equally be shown in any art gallery in London or New York."
The Context Gallery's new venue is one door down from its previous site in Artillery Street. It remains within the building occupied by the 200 seat Playhouse Theatre which has also been recently upgraded.
Since it opened in January 1994 under the direction of 30 year old Mulholland, the Context Gallery has become a valued exhibition space for one person shows by emerging artists from Ireland, the UK and the rest of Europe. Just as the Orchard Gallery put Derry on the map as a respected venue for work by well known international artists, the Context Gallery has made it one for solo shows by younger artists.
ITS new premises, says Mulholland, makes the gallery "one of the best contemporary venues of its size in Ireland. This is in keeping with my intention to offer artists at a critical stage of their development a space which can best accommodate the diversity of contemporary visual art practice."
Mulholland plans to host one or two solo or group shows each year by "big" artists from Ireland or abroad and is currently negotiating exchanges with several international venues and curators.
As a trained sculptor who then studied art administration at UCD, Mulholland acknowledges that the Context Gallery has concentrated on sculptural and lens based work to date. But this is set to change, starting with the new gallery's opening show.
Excavations, by Sligo based, Belfast born artist, Ronnie Hughes, is a selection of nine oil paintings from two larger bodies of work, City Reformed and Urban Revisions. City Reformed deals with notions of identity, expressed through new architecture, particularly in relation to Belfast, while Urban Revisions focuses on the city's inhabitants who have been "remodelled" during the past quarter century.
While conscious that the upgraded premises may lead to comparisons between the Context Gallery and the Orchard Gallery, Mulholland says he doesn't feel under pressure to compete with his neighbour.
"There shouldn't be competition," he says. "The city of Derry should have more than one space. What we are doing is offering artists more opportunity to show work and that's a good thing. It's not like we are two commercial galleries competing for clients. We are trying to increase the provision for visual arts in the city."