New exhibition captures gritty UK
The UK gets another glimpse of the British Council Art Collection this week, which is usually on tour overseas. Urban, gritty landscapes of the UK are the focus of the third exhibition from the collection, which opens at London’s Whitechapel Gallery this weekend.
The curators of the show, artists Jeremy Deller and Alan Kane, explore urban, industrial landscapes in MY YARD, which includes works such as Edward Wadsworth’s drawings of the Midlands and L.S. Lowry’s painting of his native Manchester, ‘Industrial City’.
The Collection, which has been described as a Museum without Walls, is one of the most outstanding public collections of 20th-21st century British art. It is on show in the UK for the first time this year to mark the 75th anniversary of the British Council.
‘For most of its life, the British Council Collection travels overseas, giving international audiences the opportunity to learn more about Britain through our art. We felt that our 75th anniversary was the right time to show the collection in Britain,‘ explained Sarah Gillett, Visual Arts Manager at the British Council.
'The collection is one of the most outstanding public collections of 20th-21st century British art'
‘MY YARD shows UK audiences their home as it was throughout the 20th century, shining with the austere, melancholy beauty of Britain’s urban landscape,‘ she said.
‘This exhibition has ended up being about home,‘ commented Jeremy Deller and Alan Kane on their selection.
‘We had no plan to make another show about the UK but I suppose given the purpose and history of the British Council Collection and our separate enthusiasms, it was sort of always going to happen,' they said.
In 2007 the Collection acquired 'Folk Archive', a work by Deller and Kane which looks at folk traditions and rituals in Britain today.
‘It is heartening that there is a forthright national collection of art, with the purpose of promoting British culture around the world that has the depth and spirit to show many versions of OUR YARD,' added the artists.
The British Council has been collecting works of art to promote the achievements of British artists, craft practitioners and designers overseas for more than 60 years. The Collection now includes more than 8,500 works covering all media and aspects of British art and design from the 20th and 21st Centuries.
Artist Paulo Rego will curate the fourth exhibition from the Collection which will open on 19th December at the Whitechapel Gallery.
Moving from established artists to investing in new talent, the final curator for the closing exhibition will be selected through the Fifth Curator Competition, which closed in September. The competition will see an aspiring curator, to be announced on 27th November, select their choice of works from the British Council Collection for the last in this series of anniversary exhibitions.
MY YARD will run until 6 December. You can see the pieces on show, and others, at British Council Collection.
