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OPENING this Sunday, the exhibition A Cornish Perspective
by more than 90 members of the Newlyn Society of Artists not only marks
the return of the society to the Royal West of England Academy in
Bristol after an absence of 17 years but also promises to take both the
academy and the city by storm.
Curated
by Denny Long, one of the several members of the society who is also an
academician, from a 24 long installation of toy cars by Richard
Ballinger which runs through the main galleries to Peter Webster's 36
sheet installation; from Margo Maeckelberghe's paintings to Ian Brown's
photographs, the range of works it offers could hardly be more varied
or vital.
A
showcase for a society which had its beginnings in the late 19th
century, Newlyn Art Gallery was built by the great public benefactor
John Passmore Edwards on land given by C N Le Grice, predecessor of the
prominent painter and present member of the society Jeremy Le Grice,
the exhibition's historical section pays tribute to the society's
origins with works by such founding members as Stanhope Forbes, Frank
Bramley and Walter Langley.
Something
of a roll call of the great and the good, there are also works by such
distinguished early members as Harold Harvey, Norman Garstin, Dod
Procter, S J Lamorna Birch and Laura Knight, while the celebrated
post-war modernist period is remembered with works by, among others
Paul Feiler, Terry Frost, Peter Lanyon, Bryan Wynter, Jack Pender,
Alexander Mackenzie and Michael Canney.
Their
presence also serves as a reminder of the close links that existed,
particularly in the 1960s, between Bristol, Bath and Penwith, when the
Arnolfini Gallery in Bristol played host to exhibitions by artists who
lectured at the Royal West of England Academy and at Bath Academy of
Art, Corsham, and who also had studios in Penwith and were members of
the Newlyn Society of Artists.
The most comprehensive
exhibition the Newlyn Society of Artists has mounted in a good while,
as Denny Long points out: "Due to the major changes in exhibition
programming since the opening of The Exchange in Penzance and the
refurbishment of Newlyn Art Gallery, plus the large current membership
of the society, themed exhibitions are now the norm, with a proposal
and selection procedure resulting in quite small shows.
"Members
of the society have welcomed this chance to show their work in a
prestigious gallery located in a major city. The way forward for the
society may well be large open exhibitions such as this in national and
even international venues."
Be
that as it may, it is sad that people from Penwith will have to travel
so far to see this show and perhaps even further to see future large
shows by the Newlyn Society of Artists; one can only hope that common
sense will prevail in the years ahead and that some way will be found
to enable art lovers to see the society in all its strength playing, as
it were, on its home ground, where it belongs to be, in Newlyn.
Well worth a visit,
A Cornish Perspective by the Newlyn Society of Artists can be
seen in the Royal West of England Academy, Queen's Road, Clifton,
Bristol, 10am-5.30pm Monday-Saturday, 2-5pm Sunday, from this Sunday
until July 5. At 2.30pm on Saturday, June 13, there is a tour of the
exhibition led by some of the contributing artists
article copyright THE CORNISHMAN
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