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One of the country's most distinguished artists is celebrating his 70th
birthday with a unique exhibition at the Royal Cornwall Museum in
Truro.Jeremy Le Grice has lived and worked in Cornwall for most of his
life so it is appropriate that the county which has inspired so much of
his work should provide the venue for this exciting retrospective.
Featuring
70 paintings - from Sailor which won him a medal at the Royal Drawing
Society's National Child Art Exhibition when he was only nine to the
Lugger Ripple, a trio of charcoal drawings which he finished this year
- the exhibition charts Jeremy's progress as both artist and man.
"It
spans my whole lifetime," said Jeremy, whose studio overlooks Newlyn
harbour. "When Sailor won me that medal I knew I wanted to be an artist
so it is the first painting everyone sees when they walk in.
"I
was also very proud of the self-portrait I did whilst I was at Eton. It
realised my ambition of winning the school painting prize against
fierce competition and I got great encouragement from Wilfred Blunt,
the senior drawing master. That painting is hanging next to others that
I drew at school."
Other famous works include Alsia Studio
(1993) which represents the challenge faced by every artist when
confronted by a partly blank canvas, Menstrual Moon (2000) which is
about the absence of sunlight and Sennen Window (1987), a celebration
of the nearby beach and sea.
Whilst Jeremy won't be able to talk
to every visitor individually about his lifetime journey in art, the
wonderfully comprehensive catalogue that accompanies the exhibition
should prove a comparable guide.
Written by Jeremy, it is a clear example of his literary as well as his artistic abilities.
Le Grice at Seventy was launched this week with a private view attended by hundreds of Jeremy's friends and museum guests.
Curatorial
assistant Suhashini Sinha provided musical entertainment with her
clarinet and, prior to a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday, a tribute
from William Packer, the Financial Times art critic, was read out by
museum director Hilary Bracegirdle.
Mr Packer wrote: "Throughout
the 10 years that I have known Jeremy's work I have been struck by its
intensity and energy, the innate sense it displays of progression and
the use he makes of silhouette within his own spaces.
"Jeremy Le
Grice has always been his own man. He is the artist and painter he
professes himself to be, with maturity absorbed positively.
"Year
after year he returns to the themes he has seen and felt most strongly
about living in Cornwall, his work is thus as Cornish as can be.
"He has always used his eye idiosyncratically, and made paintings beautifully."
Le Grice at Seventy runs at the Royal Cornwall Museum until December 23.
Admission is free, for more information contact 01872 272205 or visit royalcornwallmuseum.org.uk
Article copyright THE CORNISHMAN
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