This series of landmark exhibitions includes major shows by Linder at Nottingham Contemporary and Chatsworth, a delicate range of lithophanes by Clare Twomey at The Harley Gallery, and a compelling show celebrating ‘The Art of Industry’ at Derby Museums. A communal thread is found in the four exhibitions in the celebration of both the artistic process and the impact of industrial creation.
Alongside the four leading venues participating in this year’s installment of The Grand Tour, a fringe programme of eight collateral exhibitions and events celebrate the tradition of The Grand Tour.
The fringe programme spans a wide range of activities featuring ‘Lace Unveiled’ exhibition (10 March – 22 April) at Nottingham City Museums and Galleries; ‘The Penny Podcasts’ produced by Syson Gallery investigating the provision of free access to education (March – May); ‘Scaling the Sublime: Art at the Limits of Landscape’ at Djanogly Gallery (23 March – 17 June); other projects include workshops and installations, as well as culinary experiences.
‘The House of Fame’ at Nottingham Contemporary (24 March – 24 June 2018) is an ambitious exhibition convened by British artist Linder, informed by her time as artist in residence at Chatsworth. At the heart of the presentation is a retrospective of Linder’s work, spanning more than 40 years of photomontage, graphics, costume and performance works. The retrospective is accompanied by a constellation of Linder’s artistic influences, from the worlds of art and architecture, fashion and theatre, music and design. Stretching from the early 17th century to today, ‘The House of Fame’ hosts 200 works – drawings, sculptures, furniture, jewellery, photographs, banners – by dozens of artists selected by Linder.
Her Grace Land (24 March – 21 October 2018) by Linder created during her time as artist in residence at Chatsworth. Linder draws inspiration from the house itself and its surroundings, using Chatsworth as a kind of ‘sensorium’. Linder has immersed herself in the life of the stately home and its 500-year history, producing a series of works to be experienced through a variety of senses. Linder created incense from the aromatic plants on the estate, recorded oral stories, and used the everyday sounds of the house and estate for new musical compositions alongside new photomontages.
In The Harley Gallery’s exhibition, ‘Half in Shadow: Half in Light’ (24 March – 17 June 2018), British artist Clare Twomey explores life on the historic Welbeck Estate through a series of lithophanes. Twomey reinvents the traditional technique of the lithophane with ten portraits of people who live and work on the Welbeck Estate, representing the contemporary life on the grounds. The artist sheds light on the repurposed buildings on the estate such as the Dairy and the Brewery, depicting people in their working environment and allowing new stories to take center stage.
Derby Museum and Art Gallery’s exhibition ‘The Art of Industry: From Joseph Wright to the 21st Century’ (24 March – 17 June 2018) looks back at the region’s industrial history and manufacturing landscape through both historic artefacts and contemporary artistic interpretation.
The display is organised in three different sections: ‘Industrial Landscapes’ showcases the transformation of the Industrial landscape from Romantic glorified scenes to the Victorian portrayal of a place of hardship and includes some of L. S. Lowry’s most prominent paintings; ‘People at Work – the Factory Floor’ features major loans from the Tate including a lithograph from Christopher R. W. Nevinson, photographs from Maurice Broomfield as well as ‘Workshop’ displays objects from Derbyshire’s rich industrial past – tools, machines, as well as examples of their manufacturing products, and marketing and graphic materials which we associate with them.
‘The Art of Industry’ shows the evolving relationship that artists have had with the manufacturing heritage that helps define the Midlands as a hub of industry in the UK.
