Unit (art collective)

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Unit was a short-lived but influential artist's collective in East London which organised exhibitions between 1997-1999 - a crucial moment in London's burgeoning contemporary art scene. Many of the artists that participated in Unit exhibitions have moved on to achieve international acclaim. The core members were curator Stéphanie Bacqué and artists John Chilver, Stuart Croft, DJ Simpson, Ben Tunstall and Neil Zakiewicz.

Initially intended as a one-year gallery project space in Bethnal Green, London E2, Unit later organised a series of exhibitions at various international galleries and temporary exhibition spaces as guest curators.

A notable exhibition in the first year was "World of Painting" (1997) featuring painters John Chilver, Paul Morrison, Michael Raedecker and Michael Stubbs.

Unit's exhibitions programme received widespread attention, with reviews in publications such as Time Out Magazine, The Independent newspaper, Flash Art Magazine among others.

In 1998 Unit was invited by Chisenhale Gallery, a leading public art venue in east London, to organise the group exhibition "Post Neo-Amateurism", with Stuart Croft, Rowena Dring, Michelle Griffiths, Yasu Ichige, Ben Judd, Janice Kerbel, Waseem Khan, Klega, Jon Lockhart, Brighid Lowe, Caroline McCarthy, Kate Smith and David Thorpe. In the same year Unit also organised a solo exhibition by the iconic late artist John Latham at SaliGia Gallery in Clapham.

In 1999 Unit worked with London galleries such as Gasworks Gallery, Mota Gallery, and was invited by Dresden gallery Büro Für Kunst to realise "Zauberhaft", an exhibition of 21 international artists that included Eberhard Havekost, Enrico David, David Burrows, Liz Arnold and Joël Bartomoléo.