Watercolour in Britain: Tradition and Beyond at Millenium Galleries on artrepublic.com
Exhibition running from Jun 17 2010
until Sep 05 2010
Continuing the Great British Art Debate at Museums Sheffield this summer, Watercolour in Britain: Tradition and Beyond will explore the remarkable diversity of a truly British art form. Featuring significant and rarely seen works by artists including JMW Turner, William Blake and Edward Burra, the exhibition will look at watercolour’s iconic status in our cultural heritage and those artists who have pushed the boundaries of its potential. The story of watercolour in Britain has largely celebrated a much-loved, traditional approach to the medium. Defined by many British artists, including Turner and J.R. Cozens, throughout the 18th and 19th century, these familiar, often spontaneous depictions of the landscape have come to characterise a particular ideal of British art. Yet watercolour has been used in many ways by many different cultures over the centuries, each suggesting contrasting ideas about art, expression and technique. Exploring both its popular traditions and the development and subversion of established practice, Watercolour in Britain will examine a range of diverse approaches to the medium. Drawn from the collections of Tate, Museums Sheffield, Norfolk Museums & Archaeology Service and Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, Watercolour in Britain: Tradition and Beyond will explore the medium’s sheer versatility. From intensely detailed works of observation to wildly expressive images, the exhibition will showcase delicate Pre-Raphaelites still lifes and atmospheric JMW Turner landscapes alongside the visionary imagery of William Blake, the urban vistas of Henry Rushbury and the harsh realities of Edward Burra. The exhibition will look at of how the use of watercolour has further diversified, employed by sculptors such as Henry Moore and Anish Kapoor as part of their working practice, and embraced by Surrealists such as Paul Nash and Graham Sutherland. Watercolour in Britain: Tradition and Beyond will also see local talent on display, with work from painters across the city on sale in the exhibition. Watercolour in Britain: Tradition and Beyond is the latest exhibition as part of the Great British Art Debate at Museums Sheffield. A four year collaboration with Tate Britain, Norfolk Museums & Archaeology Service and Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, the project explores identity through national and regional art collections. OPENING HOURS: Mon - Sat: 08.00 - 17.00, Sun: 11.00 - 17.00 Image Credits: Joseph Mallard William Turner, Dunstanburgh Castle, 1798-1800. Courtesy Laing Art Gallery, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums John Frederick Lewis, Hhareem Life, Constantinople, 1857. Courtesy Laing Art Gallery, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums Dante Gabriel Rossetti, St George and Princess Sabra, Courtesy Tate, London 2010 Conroy Maddox, The Strange Country, 1940 C his daughter Lee Saunders Courtes Copyright Anish Kapoor, Untitled, 1990. Courtesy Tate, London 2010.jpg  |
