Harewood’s new visual arts programme for 2010 celebrates the 21st anniversary of the Terrace Gallery, the first dedicated contemporary art space to have been established in the setting of a country house, against a backdrop of 250 years of artistic innovation.
Throughout its 250 year history, contemporary artists have been drawn to Harewood. A nerve-centre for ideas and skills, Harewood has, for generations, supported artists in their practice creating an exceptional environment where innovation thrives with a legacy of world-class collections.
So we can’t think of a better reason to take a trip out this spring and enjoy Harewood, inside and out! There’s loads to go and contemplate, so don’t dilly dally!
Fragile Stories 2nd April – 13th June
‘Fragile Stories’, a new exhibition drawn from Harewood’s outstanding collection of ceramics, will showcase beautiful pieces gathered from different countries around the world including tiny yet potent treasures such as Marie-Antoinette’s teacup.
These seemingly fragile objects were sometimes transported half way across the world in the 18th Century and those from the Far East inspired the race among the European factories to produce genuine porcelain; this exhibition uncovers these and other hidden stories behind Harewood’s collection.
Curated by artist/curator Kerry Harker, the exhibition traces the innovations through history that transformed the use of porcelain. Displayed against the backdrop of the Watercolour Rooms and China Room, the exhibition will include striking blue, red and gold Japanese Imari wares; creamy celadon-glazed porcelain from China; the explosive colour and shapes of the Sevres factory in France; the bejeweled colours of early Meissen porcelain; and the stunning hand-painted table wares from English factories such as Coalport.
Paul Rooney: ‘Bellevue’ 2nd April – 20th June
Northern Art Prize winner Paul Rooney’s new film Bellevue is shown for the first time in its natural home at Harewood, where it was filmed on location in the summer of 2009, following its presentation as part of the group exhibition ‘Under the Volcano’ at the Bluecoat Gallery in Liverpool.
The film draws on the English writer Malcolm Lowry’s time in a psychiatric ward at New York’s Bellevue Hospital in 1935, which informed his novella ‘Lunar Caustic’. The film’s main character, ‘Bill’, is taking part in an advertising company’s focus group meeting, which uses the conference facilities of Harewood House itself. But Bill also appears to be acting out scenarios set in a 1930s New York psychiatric institution, in which he takes on the character of a failed jazz musician recovering from alcohol abuse. Eventually, this 1930s world and the shadow it casts over the present, entirely disrupts the proceedings.
Bellevue was co-commissioned by Film and Video Umbrella with Bluecoat, Liverpool, in association with Harewood House and Spacex, Exeter.
Richard Woods and Sebastian Wrong: ‘WrongWoods’ and ‘Bricks & Mortar’ 2nd April – 13th June
British artist Richard Woods is renowned for his work with garish and repetitious motifs, which he has applied to buildings and interiors across the world. In the range of ‘WrongWoods’ plywood cabinets (based on G Plan post-war utility designs) and ‘Bricks & Mortar’ seating on display on the State Floor, he has collaborated with designer Sebastian Wrong to produce ranges for Established & Sons.
For the first time, this witty and contemporary collaboration inhabits Harewood’s interiors, where art and design have long co-existed since Robert Adam’s interiors and Thomas Chippendale’s furniture were commissioned for the building of the House in the 1760s.
Awesome Movement / Fantastic Motion 2nd April – 13th June
A new exhibition by Leeds-based artists collective Nous Vous whose work crosses the boundaries of graphic design, publishing, illustration, art and commerce.
The idea of ‘innovation’ will be explored and upturned by this playful and thoughtful collaboration of artists in ‘Awesome Movement/Fantastic Motion’ which will be on display in the Terrace Gallery. Graduates of Leeds College of Art & Design, work by the collective has been shown at Project Space Leeds (PSL), the Contemporary Art Society and Square Yard Gallery, Newcastle
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