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CHRISTOPHER LE BRUN REDISCOVERD 21 January 2008: Christopher Le Brun, one of the most influential figures to emerge in British art in the 1980s, will present his first major UK show in 20 years at The New Art Gallery Walsall from 8 February - 6 April.
The exhibition will bring together over 100 works ranging from early paintings such as Grand Island (1979), to large-scale sculpture, watercolours and prints as well as a new series of works, Day Paintings, which have been conceived, created and completed in a matter of hours. The exhibition, curated by The New Art Gallery's Director Stephen Snoddy, will allow for a fuller appreciation of Le Brun's art than has previously been possible, and for an in-depth exploration of his complex, serious and challenging body of work built up over a thirty year period. Since his beginnings as an artist, Le Brun has investigated the relationship between figuration and abstraction, and explored the tension between what is painted and how it is painted. His work shows a repertoire of symbolic forms derived from nature, myth, poetry and music: horses, wings, towers and cypress tress, often set within semi-abstract, dark, luminous, landscapes. For Le Brun these are motifs that help him to explore formal problems within painting as well as carrying direct references or meanings. As such his work remains highly enigmatic and continuously open to re-interpretation and discussion. The exhibition will take place throughout the gallery building including the 3rd and 4th floor galleries and entrance area. A selection of Le Brun's paintings will also sit alongside works in the gallery's Garman Ryan Collection. Christopher Le Brun studied painting at the Slade and Chelsea schools of Art. Following his first solo exhibition at the Nigel Greenwood Gallery in London in 1980, he rapidly established an international reputation exhibiting world-wide. His work is in many public collections both in the UK and abroad including the Tate, the British Museum, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Stephen Snoddy, Director, The New Art Gallery Walsall, said: "Christopher Le Brun's work has fascinated me since I came across it at art school. His work resists easy categorisation and simplistic definitions, and defiantly stands apart from the mainstream. This exhibition will undoubtedly reveal him to be one of the most inventive, intelligent and highly emotive artists working in Britain today and will bring his work to a wider audience than has previously been possible." A fully illustrated catalogue will accompany this exhibition featuring essays by Stephen Snoddy and the art critic JJ Charlesworth. The New Art Gallery Walsall is run and maintained by Walsall Council and also receives significant financial support from Arts Council England. END To attend the press lunch or press preview or for further press information
please contact: New Art Gallery Walsall About Christopher Le Brun END OF ALL |
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