Exhibitions - what's on
Exhibition: William George Mitchell and the Kirkby Library
Commission
Where: Kirkby
Foyer, Kirkby Library
Duration: 16 May - ongoing
The artist William George Mitchell was commissioned in 1964 to
produce a piece of contemporary sculpture or public art to
celebrate the opening of Kirkby Library. For many years since, this
stunning piece of art has been in storage in Kirkby Gallery due to
the size of space required to exhibit it. The piece will now be
presented in the Kirkby Foyer Gallery for the first time in over
twenty years.
William Mitchell (born 1925) specialised in large abstract
sculptures in wood, plastics, stone, marble and brick, and had his
own design company. He contributed to many large municipal design
schemes and also undertook numerous private developments. Mitchell
was commissioned to produce work for the Metropolitan Cathederal in
Liverpool and Harrods, amongst many others.
For the Love of
Books
Where: Huyton
Gallery, 30 April – 30 June 2012
Duration: (Private View: Thursday 3 May)
The usual understanding of the term ‘artists’ books’ is
influenced and typically known by popular works illustrated by
artists. Books by artists today provide a challenge to great works
of the past, as well as being an increasingly popular way in which
artists explore the fusion between image and text, graphics and
physical form.
The conventional book, a Roman invention which became a
household article after the invention of printing, has only
recently been rivalled by the computer screen and electronic text.
The works in this exhibition take on a variety of formats, from
bound volumes and photographs to sculptures and installations,
referring to the myriad functions of books besides transmitting
texts.
This exhibition seeks to demonstrate our love of books that
still exists for their traditional form, as well as that of
artists’ playful re-working of the book into a new work of beauty.
On show will be works from key historical authors and an array of
makers of artists’ books.
The exhibition is timed to coincide with the Bicentenary of
Edward Lear’s birth on 12 May 1812. His famous illustrated Nonsense
Alphabet was created during his time at Knowsley Hall. Knowsley
Arts & Heritage Service has commissioned an enormous Public Art
project led by artist Gordon Young working with the community to
create a new Knowsley Alphabet to celebrate Lear’s ‘Book of
Nonsense’, written for the Earl of Derby’s grandchildren. All of
these public artworks can be seen in the new Knowsley Leisure &
Culture Park on Longview Drive, Huyton.
Click here to
download a flyer for 'For the Love of Books'.
Click
here to read a review of the exhibition at artinliverpool.com
8 years, 9 months, 3
days & counting
Where: StART
Space Gallery / Kirkby Library
Duration: 16 April – 7 July 2012
Andrea Cotton’s practice involves the presentation of data
gathered from prison life whilst working as a teacher.
A completely personal interpretation is demonstrated whereby
everyday objects become something else: used for another function
entirely or as a means of barter. Everything and everyone is
constantly being counted and obsession becomes a form of control.
The obsessiveness of the prisoners, the meticulousness of the
system, the repetitive and mundane elements of life in prison are
all factors of my art process which is founded on drawing,
exactness and the necessity of counting.
Sporting Knowsley
Where: Kirkby
Gallery
Duration: 7 May – 28 July 2012
(Private View: Thursday 10 May)
‘Kirkby Photographic Society’ have been working with Knowsley
Arts & Heritage Service over the past year on gathering images
which celebrate the many sporting faces, events and places within
Knowsley.
This exhibition coincides with the 2012 Olympics, so is an
inspiring exhibition and an opportunity to see and learn more about
sports within Knowsley.
In 1985, in Kirkby Library, a group of keen amateur
photographers met, to organise the formation of the Kirkby Camera
Club. Since renamed as the Kirkby Photographic Society, the
society, often still referred to by it's original name, has
progressed to become one of the friendliest on Merseyside. This
exhibition is the first large show that the Society has staged as a
whole group and is especially more relevant that it takes place in
Kirkby Gallery.
Click here to
download a flyer for 'Sporting Knowsley'.
Crafted
Where: Huyton Gallery
Duration: 16 July – 6 October 2012
(Private View: Thursday 19 July)
‘Crafted’ is a celebration of contemporary craft makers, with
particular emphasis on innovative design practices.
After its success at Kirkby Gallery in 2010, ‘Crafted’ is to be
a biennial exhibition for Knowsley Arts & Heritage Service, and
will take place every two years in either Huyton or Kirkby Gallery.
This year the show will be in Huyton Gallery for the first time and
adopts a new slant, which will be about presenting the work of
established makers alongside aspiring new talent. The exhibition
will display a diverse range of crafts including ceramics, textiles
furniture and glass from celebrated designer makers: Halima
Cassell, Victoria Scholes, Tom Sutton, Sara Preisler, Egerton &
Soteriou, Peter Slight and Cathy Carr.
The Leisure & Culture Service is excited to announce that we
will be awarding selected graduates from the Bachelor of Design
course at Liverpool Hope University an opportunity to exhibit
alongside established and celebrated makers.
Click here
to download a flyer for 'Crafted'.
Lucy Foster
Where: StART Space Gallery
Duration: 23 July – 7 Oct 2012
Lucy is a recent Fashion Fabrics and Accessories graduate from
De Montfort University and has been involved in numerous projects,
including recently exhibiting work in the prestigious Premiere
Vision Indigo Exposition in Paris.
Creative, fresh and focused, Lucy is currently working as a
freelance designer and artist with a flair for innovative colour
and trend led designs. The collection exhibited here is
Lucy’s Degree show work. ‘Roaring Twenties’
was inspired by numerous things, including: the 1920’s era, flapper
girls, art deco, and the film ‘Cabaret’.
Lucy specialised in screen and digital printing on heavy and
lightweight fabrics in order to create a layering of depth within
the collection. Her use of devoré (a chemical burning process) was
introduced to create a luxurious and lavish feel to the work.
In March of this year, Lucy was commissioned by the De Montfort
to create a shawl from her collection to be presented as a gift to
The Queen on her recent visit to the University. A replica of
which will be displayed at the gallery.
Images 35: Best of British
Illustration
Where: Kirkby
Gallery
Duration: 13 August – 13 October 2012
‘Images 35’ is a showcase of work by the UK’s most talented
illustrators, including new work from the big names in the
industry.
‘Images’ is the premier and longest running jury-selected
illustration annual and touring exhibition in the UK. It provides
the leading showcase for the variety of contemporary illustration
commissioned in the UK today. Launched in 1976, AOI has organised
Images for the 35th time, marking a long history of promoting the
best of contemporary British illustration.
On display is a selection of 90 artworks showcasing the talents
of illustrators who have made a significant contribution to their
industry over the last year. The exhibited work provides an
overview of the illustrations that were selected by an expert panel
of internationally acclaimed judges. This years panel includes Sam
Freeman (Art Director of Design Week), Martin Harrison (The Times)
and Geoffrey Pais (BBC Learning).
The AOI was established in 1973 to promote contemporary
illustration, advance and protect illustrators rights and encourage
professional standards. It has successfully increased the standing
of illustration as a profession and improved commercial and ethical
conditions of employment.
To coincide with the summer holidays and the ‘Big Draw’ in
October, there will be a range of art workshops to accompany this
exhibition.
Click
here to download a flyer for 'Images 35: Best of British
Illustration'.
Sarah Deveraux-Ward: Remote
Control
Where: StART
Space Gallery / Kirkby Library
Duration: 29 October 2012 – 13 January 2013
‘Remote: Control’ is a selection of work by Sara Devoreux-Ward.
The artist's work aims to deconstruct and reassemble, creating a
link between traditional printmaking processes and new technology,
particularly those used to create circuit boards. She seeks to
create a unity between the technical and the conceptual, the
digital and the traditional, whilst drawing on the effect of the
television and its cause of communication and family breakdown.
Quentin Blake: Larger than
Life
Where: Kirkby
Gallery
Duration: 29 October 2012 – 12 January
2013
(Private View: Thursday 1 November)
We are delighted to present the exhibition, ‘Larger than Life’,
which is a new body of work by world-renowned illustrator Quentin
Blake. Blake is best known, both in England and internationally, as
an illustrator of children’s books, however over the past ten years
his pictures have increasingly escaped from the pages of books.
Blake has produced designs for fabrics, wallpaper, ceramics,
lampshades and greetings cards but also, as large as life and
sometimes even larger, works for the walls of museums and hospitals
and other public spaces.
For the first time, the exhibition will feature his
illustrations for these public spaces including: the reception area
of a children’s hospital in London; residential wards and bedrooms
of elderly mental health patients; a hospital for eating disorder
patients and most recently – a series devoted to mothers and babies
swimming together under water for a new maternity unit in Angers,
France. Patients and doctors vouch for their therapeutic effect:
visitors to the exhibition will be able to experience it for
themselves.
The exhibition will also include a specially commissioned
Reading and Family Room complete with lots to see and do in this
area for families.
Kirkby Gallery is only one of four galleries that Larger than
Life is touring to, the other venues are Compton Verney in
Warwickshire, The Foundling Museum in Paisley and Laing Art Gallery
in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Click
here to download a flyer for 'Quentin Blake: Larger than
Life'.