Issue 37 Spring 23 WEB - Flipbook - Page 91
National Trust’s Petworth
House unveils Royal Academy
of Art’s ‘Explorations in Paint’
Launching a year-long celebration of colour. Explorations in Paint exhibition: 6 March to
24 September 2023
The National Trust’s Petworth House in West Sussex
is delighted to host the Royal Academy of Art’s
Explorations in Paint exhibition.
The artists and their artworks include:
Rebecca Salter’s JB26 is a diptych in ink and gouache
creating a conversation and sense of equilibrium. Salter
has described her practice as ‘involved with the attempt
to capture stillness in movement, a stillness with potential,
not a passive quiet.’
The exhibition, which explores the material possibilities
of paint and its expressive potential, brings together nine
artworks by current and recent Royal Academicians.
These are practising artists elected by their peers in recognition of their work, to lead the Royal Academy. The
show includes works not previously lent by the institution,
and a new work that has never been exhibited by Rebecca
Salter PRA, the Academy’s first female President.
Colour and form merge in Salix, a boldly textured painting
by Gillian Ayres. The artist developed her work instinctively, often using her hands loaded with paint. The artist’s
gestures are traced by trails left by fingers and brush.
Another bold work, As in Alberto by Frank Bowling, is
on loan from the artist and has never been exhibited outside London before. It was made using a technique that
he originally pioneered in the 1970s, using acrylic paint,
liquified with ammonia, water and acrylic gel, here poured
over canvas printed with computer-generated striped
colours. As Spencer Richards, Bowling’s New York studio
manager describes: ‘Frank danced on the stripes, layering
painterly gestures on top.’
The exhibition was inspired by Sir Joshua Reynolds’
Studio Experiments canvases, one of which is included in
the display. Reynolds (1723-1792), the founding President
of the Royal Academy, was fascinated by the physical
properties of paint, and often experimented with different
mixtures in his studio. 2023 marks the 300th anniversary
of his birth.
Explorations in Paint has been curated for the National
Trust by Dr Lois Oliver and the Royal Academy Collections team. Many of the artworks on display hold special
significance for the artists, as the ‘Diploma Works’ that
they chose to present to the Royal Academy following
their election as Royal Academicians.
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The show also features artworks by Royal Academicians
Ian McKeever, Barbara Rae, Sean Scully, Tess Jaray and
John Hoyland.
Above,Petworth House - view over lake towards house ©National Trust Images, John Miller
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Conservation & Heritage Journal
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