NEWSLETTER
The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Alexandra Road, Swansea, SA1 5DZ
E-mail: [email protected]
Telephone: 01792 516900
www.friendsoftheglynnvivian.com
WINTER 2013
From the Collection:
Angel Visiting a Shipwreck by Michael Freeman 1990
“Every cloud has a silver lining” as the saying goes. So it has proved
with the extended closure of the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, for it has
made researchers, of which I am one, take stock of the resources
of the permanent collection. When one takes the time to examine
closely what the gallery possesses many “jewels” expose themselves.
One particular “jewel” that caught my eye was the oil painting Angel
Visiting a Shipwreck by Michael Freeman that was purchased by the
Glynn Vivian in 1991. Now I have to confess that although I knew of
Michael Freeman and was aware that Dr. Ceri Thomas had curated
an exhibition of the artist’s work at Oriel y Bont in 2011, I had no indepth knowledge of his paintings. This was, nevertheless, all rectified
when I met up with Michael in Swansea in August and a fascinating
discussion ensued.
Michael Freeman was born in Swansea in 1936, trained as an art
teacher at Swansea College of Art and then went on to teach in
London and locally. Michael has a great love and knowledge of modern
British orchestral music and this took him, in the latter part of the
1960’s, to the position of Music Librarian at Swansea Central Library.
He did not abandon teaching,
however, and he subsequently
worked as an Art Tutor for
the Extra Mural Department,
University College, Swansea
and for the Workers Education
Association. His paintings have
been exhibited inside and outside
of Wales for over four decades
and both Marco Polo and Naxos
have used his pictures on their
compact discs.
CONTENTS
1 Angel Visiting a Shipwreck by Michael Freeman 1990
2 Letter from the Chair
4
The Wakelin Award 2013:Video Installation Chameleon by
Helen Sear
The author of Artists in Britain
6 Current London since 1945
(Art Dictionaries
Exhibitions
Ltd, 2nd Edition, Bristol, 2006)
the respected art historian
7 The British Association David Buckman stated: “Mike is
of Friends of Museums a romantic, in the tradition of
Annual Conference
William Blake (1757 at Swansea
1827) and Samuel
8 Mornings in Madrid
Palmer
(1805-81).
He claims both Blake
9 Frank Brangwyn
and Surrealist Max
10 Friends News
Ernst (1891-1976) as
important influences.
10 100 Club
Like them, his work
10 Winter Wine Tasting
can be infused with a
sense of mystery, even
strangeness, but for that important critic Walter Pater
(1839-94), a key element of romantic art was an element
of strangeness. Those hoping for plodding realism will be
disappointed with what Mike offers. Here is an artist who
opens our eyes to new worlds.”
A comment that Mike made at the time of his exhibition,
Time and Tide, Michael Freeman at 75 (Paintings: 19582010), Oriel Ceri Richards Gallery sheds further light
on his artistic vision: “Nearly all my work is prompted
by contemplation of the sea; to live close to which is a
necessity for me.”
At our initial meeting I asked Mike if he would be so kind as
to further expand his thoughts on Angel Visiting a Shipwreck
and his work in general and this is what he wrote.
Michael Freeman Angel Visiting a Shipwreck 1990
oil on board 38cms x 38cms
© The Artist
City & County of Swansea: Glynn Vivian Art Gallery Collection
A shipwreck can be interpreted as a reliquary. I recall
a hand-cut wooden dice found on Mewslade beach.
What impromptu game did that small cubic chunk
commemorate? What beach barbecue did it survive?
I became fascinated by the wreck of the Helvetia on
Registered Charity No. 516492
1
NEWSLETTER
Rhossili sands when I was about eighteen. The giant Rondo of
seed, wood, ship, shipwreck and barnacle orchestrated by a
colourful ensemble of weather and tides began to obsess me
then.
Angel visiting a Shipwreck is thus typical of my preoccupation
since the 1990s - a blessing of the wreck’s contents and its
memories. There is a popular postcard of the Helvetia telling
the moving story of the wreck of the ship and those involved
in it - a kind of fusion of the tales of Romeo and Juliet and The
Flying Dutchman. My painting of the Visiting Angel is a work
in the tradition of such visions as Arnold Bax’s orchestral poem
The Garden of Fand or Debussy’s La Cathedrale Engloutie. Both
compositions are truly Celtic in their evocation of Atlantic
mysteries. Thus also my Angel and the large series of paintings
I completed, also in the 1990s, prompted by the legend of King
Canute: a tale which reminds us of another reliquary of vanished
pomp! Dylan Thomas’ poem Fern Hill ends with the words “Time
held me green and dying though I sang in my chains like the sea”.
These words sum up so many of my paintings, perhaps more
succinctly than all my foregoing words.
The sea and music linked with a romantic vision are, therefore, the
driving force behind Mike’s work and he has developed his own unique
language with which he hopes to enrich the mental and emotional
experience of those who engage with his pictures. My initial reaction to
viewing Angel Visiting a Shipwreck was that the imagery owed something
to the paintings of Cecil Collins. I discussed this with Mike and indeed
he had met Cecil Collins but explained he was painting in this way long
before he knew of this particular artist’s work. Collins, of course, was
a visionary artist too, but on further contemplation of Mike’s work
it crossed my mind that his philosophical outlook was somewhat
akin to the 19th Century Transcendentalists who influenced many of
the American abstract painters and, in particular, Barnett Newman
in the mid 20th Century. Ralph Waldo Emerson, the founder of the
Transcendentalists wrote in his essay Self Reliance that “who so would
be a man must be a nonconformist and that the deadness that is in
mere acquiescence and conventionalism stifles creativity”
Writing in 1890 George Bettany, author of Life of Charles Darwin,
wrote the following about Emerson: “The trammels of ecclesiastical
systems, the crystallisations of formal creeds, the limitations of
outward observances, of time honoured expressions he threw off,
and sought truths in which all men can unite.”
A fitting summary and tribute to the work and life of Michael Freeman.
Michael Freeman and Barry Plummer
Letter from the Chair
Dear Friends
The presentation of the Wakelin Award 2013 took place this year at
the Grand Theatre, Swansea on Friday September 6th. It was a well
attended, jolly event when Nicholas Thornton, Head of Modern and
Contemporary Art at Amgueddfa Cymru-National Museum Wales
introduced this year’s winner Helen Sear. She is an artist who works
primarily in photography and lens based media and is the recipient
of many prestigious awards. She teaches at the University of South
Wales and has recently been appointed a faculty member at the
British School in Rome – a centre for research excellence supporting
the arts. The work chosen for the award was one called Chameleon
– a high definition video projection of a sunflower that was filmed
by the artist in her garden deep in the dead of night by torchlight.
A fascinating still from the presentation is shown elsewhere in this
newsletter.
Jenni Spencer-Davies made the following observations regarding
Helen, her work and the Award.
“The choice for this year’s Wakelin Award by Nicholas Thornton,
Head of Modern and Contemporary Art at Amgueddfa CymruNational Museum Wales, was particularly inspired, as it reflects a
significant moment of achievement in the artist’s career. The work,
Chameleon (2013), by Helen Sear, is a high definition video projection
of a sunflower, filmed with incredible sensitivity by torchlight in the
dark, creating an image which hovers between being beautiful and
disturbing. Helen has also made the most generous gift to the Gallery
of twelve digital images from the series, Pastoral Monuments (2012),
initially inspired by the still-life work of one of the earliest 19th
Century female photographers from Swansea, Mary Dillwyn (1816-
1906), creating a wonderful context for presenting Helen’s work at
the Gallery in time to come”.
The first lecture in the Events Programme of 2013-2014 was the joint
lecture with the Royal Institution of South Wales. This year it was
held on Thursday September19th in the Faraday Lecture Theatre at
Swansea University. Emeritus Professor Prys Morgan spoke to a large
and appreciative audience and took as his subject Two late 17th Century
paintings of Margam.The paintings referred to were large topographical
oil paintings on canvas by an unknown artist of some 6ft by 6ft in
dimension. Both depicted views of the buildings in the surroundings
that existed on the site of the old Margam Abbey in that period. With
his considerable experience and knowledge he guided us through the
detailed history of his subject from its time as a Cistercian Abbey to
its dissolution by Henry VIII to become part of an estate owned by
Sir Rice Mansel – a landowner of Oxwich and Penrice, Gower. Later
the estate passed through the descendants of the female Talbot line
of the family; one of that line, Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot, built an
imposing Tudor Gothic mansion overlooking the Abbey at the foot
of the wooded Mynydd y Castell. There was a wealth of information
in the lecture and references were made to other topographical
paintings in Wales - Llanerch near St Asaph, Troy in Monmouthshire
and Erddig in Denbighshire were cited. Professor Morgan ended the
lecture by using a word newly coined by him – “Rubilee”. This was
a reference to the fact that 2013 was the Ruby Anniversary of the
acquisition of Margam Abbey and Park by the then Glamorgan County
Council in 1973. In the vote of thanks proposed to him he was rightly
spoken of as a “National Treasure”!
2
NEWSLETTER
The following evening in the Dynevor Centre a small audience of nine
welcomed the then current Artist in Residence at the Glynn Vivian
to talk about his work. Simon Fenoulhet has previously exhibited
at the Glynn Vivian and was the winner of the Gold Medal for Fine
Art in the 2010 National Eisteddfod. He is an artist who plays with
our preconceptions of the material world by skilfully manipulating
everyday objects with unexpected outcomes. Recently, his use
of light has added another dimension to his work. In his talk he
showed how using such things as discarded toys, bricks and laces
in association with light from various sources could create new
meanings. Examples of his colourful work can be seen on his website:
www.simonfenoulhet.co.uk
Yingmei Duan Happy Yingmei, at elysium gallery, Swansea,
© The Artist
© photo. Eva Bartussek
On October 18th the Friends were privileged to welcome Yingmei
Duan – a Chinese performance artist who was currently exhibiting
in elysium gallery as part of the Glynn Vivian cultural exchange event
entitled Let’s see what happens…. I was unable to be present that
evening and am grateful to Sarah Tombs and Ann Jordan for assisting
Yingmei at the talk and to Ann for providing the following information.
and the way they are perceived by that culture.The film itself reflected
these influences in a very atmospheric way incorporating symbols
and motifs following characters sitting,walking and standing. The
characters were accompanied on their Taith with and by songs and
poetry in Welsh and English and by haunting music.This was played on
a crwth-like instrument that can be described as a bowed lyre. Despite
a depressingly small audience being present the lively discussion that
followed showed that the talk and film had elicited an appreciative,
sympathetic response.
Following the last committee meeting a decision has now been taken
on how to deal with the generous donation of a painting by our VicePresident Glenys Cour. With similar generosity Glenys donated an oil
painting in 2004 to swell the funds of the Friends. The procedure we
will adopt this time will be similar to that used in 2004. Reproductions
of the painting, signed by the artist, will be used as raffle tickets and
sold at £10 each.The “tickets” themselves will be permanent, colourful
reminders of her gift and, more importantly, will be a chance to win
the original! Glenys tells me that all she wants is for her gift to help
the Friends to the best possible effect. It would seem to me that this
offers all the Friends of the Glynn Vivian and the general public who
have an interest in the Gallery an excellent chance to help her achieve
that aim. More details will follow.
By the time this Newsletter has been delivered through your postbox
the Christmas Season will be nigh and we will soon be in a new year.
Thank you for your support in 2013 – just to remind you that we will
need that support again in the coming year.
A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all
Nadolig llawen a Blwyddyn newydd dda i chi gyd.
Donald Treharne, Chair of the Friends
“Yingmei Duan’s talk gave a fascinating insight into her artistic
journey from China to Germany and included projects and events
held in Africa, Sweden, a children’s hospice and the Hayward Gallery
in London. She described herself as a curious observer of life
documented in performance, her body being the paintbrush and the
three dimensional space the canvas. Her current work Happy Yingmei
is based on The Little Prince, a story by Oscar Wilde that encompasses
friendship, loyalty, generosity and human frailty. These themes are
central to Yingmei’s work, which she continously researches and
refines and were evident in her spellbinding talk”
The annual joint lecture with the Dylan Thomas Centre was held
on Sunday November 3rd as an event in the Dylan Thomas Festival.
The lecturer was Christine Kinsey, an artist who was one of the cofounders and one time Artistic Director of the Chapter Art Centre
in Cardiff. Born in Pant y Moel, Monmouthshire she spoke of the
background of her film Taith ( the Welsh for Journey ) which was
then shown. In her introduction she refered to the influences on her
creative journey – growing up as a female in Pontypool; her search for
identity in the South Eastern Valley of Wales; her sense of Cymreictod
( Welshness ); her perception of women in a Celtic Christian Culture
Glenys Cour Petite Landscape
© The Artist
© photo. Don Treharne
3
NEWSLETTER
The Wakelin Award 2013: Video Installation Chameleon by Helen Sear
The video installation Chameleon developed from a broader
body of work I had been making that explored elements of
landscape close to my home in rural Raglan.
During the period of one year I had picked over 80
specimens of wild flowers from a single field and these were
photographed on my kitchen shelf in jugs and vessels from all
over the world. Inspired by the flower photographs of Mary
Dillwyn taken in the 1850’s these Pastoral Monuments (fig.1)
became a visual combination of the wild and the domestic,
the local and the global, and more importantly attempted
to draw attention to the presence of these often unnoticed
and fragile plants growing in between and at the edges of
cultivated ground. Drawing on memories of pressing flowers
as a child I pressed the printed photographs into crumpled
balls of paper and re-photographed the pictures, this time
backlit by daylight from the kitchen window. Enlarged to
human scale the resulting images demand an attention
(fig.1) Pastoral Monuments Helen Sear 2012 Inkjet on Bluback Paper
© The Artist
City & County of Swansea: Glynn Vivian Art Gallery Collection
often overlooked where the decorative and diminutive are
concerned.
Being in the physical presence of something other than our
human selves can be both arresting and affecting and the
particular sunflower Andreas had planted the same year
in our allotment had a power and weight which made it
impossible to ignore. Almost the size of a human face it
reminded me of the sunflower photographed by Man Ray
in 1934 and used as an illustration in Andre Breton’s book
L’Amour Fou of 1937.
The conversation I began with the sunflower was initially a
simple one. To light the “sun” with a hand held focussing torch
at night and to film a single revolution of the torch from a
sharp focussed beam to the circular diffused halo. Somewhere
midway during this process, which was re-staged many times,
the seed centre of the flower morphed into a disembodied
eye that looked back at me appearing as a challenge to the
dominant status of the viewer by the
object looking back. Darkness unlike
light permeates the body dissolving
boundaries between figure and ground
which might account for some of the
fear and dread associated with it, the
potential of merging with other organic
and inorganic substances associated
with the darker side of myth and
religion and an ancient pagan past. In
the final chapter of The Temptation
of St Anthony by Gustave Flaubert
the following description perfectly
describes propositions explored by
contemporary writers such as Timothy
Morton The Ecological Thought and John
Gray Straw Dogs where humans are not
viewed as a central dominant species.
“And now the vegetables are no
longer distinguishable from the
animals. Polyparies that seem like
trees have arms upon their branches.
Anthony thinks he sees a caterpillar
between two leaves: it is a butterfly
that takes flight. He is about to step
on a pebble: a grey locust leaps
away. One shrub is bedecked with
insects that look like petals of roses;
fragments of ephemerides form a
snowy layer upon the soil.”
4
NEWSLETTER
Talking with Nicholas Thornton about the
finished work he suggested a link with
romanticism and in particular the surrealisttinged neo-romantic revival of the mid
twentieth-century that presented a darker
perspective on the British landscape. Paul
Nash, one of the founding members of the
British Surrealist group painted a number
of otherworldly sunflowers Eclipse of the
Sunflower (1945) and Solstice of the Sunflower
also in the same and last year of his life and
it is known that both William Blake’s poem
Ah Sunflower and James George Frazer’s The
Golden Bough had influenced these paintings.
This held a particular resonance with my
own ongoing interest in the history and
significance of myth, and magic particularly
those associated with the countryside.
However, it is only through the resolution
and presentation of works that ideas and
artworks can be tested. It is with this in
mind that I want to thank Amanda Farr and
the team at Oriel Davies for their support
and guidance during my touring exhibition
Lure, which included Chameleon (fig.2). Neil
Fowler understood from the beginning
that the installation of the projection was
critical to it’s success and it was due to his
ingenious problem solving, that the piece
was seen in both the level of darkness
and distance required in order for the
moving image to take on a physicality in the
presence of the viewer.
(fig.2) Chameleon Helen Sear Video Installation 2012
© The Artist
City & County of Swansea: Glynn Vivian Art Gallery Collection
It is this process of transformation, of dissolving and coming
into focus, in constant flux, that has been essential to my
experience of the production and engagement with art itself,
and in particular my ongoing relationship with the monocular
gaze of the lens and the binocular world we inhabit.
It was at Oriel Davies that the work was
first viewed by Nicholas Thornton, and his
nomination for the work to become part
of the Glynn Vivian collection ensured that,
with direction from Jenni Spencer-Davies,
it would be presented at it’s optimum best.
The Wakelin Award and The Friends of the
Glyn Vivian have enabled the work to be
cared for and exhibited, as it should be, a task sometimes
problematic with the demands of moving image works that
are not made as a cinematic experience. I am truly delighted
that Chameleon will be joining a growing collection of
contemporary artworks made in Wales.
Helen Sear
5
NEWSLETTER
Current London Exhibitions
Paul Klee: Making Visible Tate Modern until March 9th 2014
Facing the Modern: The Portrait in Vienna 1900 National Gallery until January 12th 2014
Art does not reproduce the visible; rather it makes visible
(Paul Klee 1918)
After over fifteen years of belonging to the Friends, at last I got
around to borrowing the Art Fund card from Judy Barnes last
month. The attraction was the newly opened Paul Klee: Making
Visible exhibition at Tate Modern. I have been a fan of his work
since my son bought me the book KLEE, edited by Steffano Roffo
(1993) after a trip to Switzerland. Wondering why I’d not heard of
him before on art history courses, I asked arty acquaintances and
was shocked to be informed that it was because he did not readily
fit into any specific category. The main positive of art is that it is
open to all new ideas and approaches, but apparently it is not as
inclusive when it comes to academic rigour!
The exhibition itself did not disappoint, in fact it was like getting
two for the price of one; walk around looking closely at the
images and you see one exhibition and then meander through
looking from afar and you observe a second. The rooms, of which
there are seventeen, are named with individual one word titles e.g.
Room 2 (creation), Room 3 (composition), (1915 – landscape with
flags), Room 4 (organisation), (1917 – here stars and the moon are
depicted) until there is a welcome exception in Room 14 (1933)
because it is title-less and left to one’s own interpretation! (fig.1).
These categories are a little elastic to say the least and some
images, in my humble opinion, would be best included under the
previous room’s title. Pictures using his ‘line transfer method’ in
Room 6 (gradation), could have been included in Room 5 (rotation),
as the former is dominated by some intriguing representations
of pottery and fish. There was an image entitled Battle Scene in
Room 8 (architecture) that could perhaps have more readily been
included in the previous Room 7 (overtime).
The initial Room 1 is a précis of his life, as is the exhibition hand
out, but thereafter one is amazed at not just the mark making and
use of colour, but also the range of materials he used. You can find
at least one picture in these rooms using - gouache on paper in
Room 2; water colour tempera on chalk-primed paper in Room
9; tempera on canvas on wood in Room 10; gouache on fabric on
plywood in Room 15; watercolour on burlap in Room 17; and also
dotted about the conventional oil on canvas. Reference is made
to his links with The Blue Rider group and the Bauhaus where in
Room 12 (hovering) there is a reference to the free art classes he
offered there with Kandinsky in 1927. Ten years later the painting
Blue Night 1937, which is hung in Room 16 (disturbances), reflects
the encroaching Nazi influence and the inclusion of Klee’s works
in the Munich Degenerate Art exhibition of that year. I hope that
some of the pictures recovered recently from a flat in Munich, as
reported on the BBC News earlier this month, previously thought
to be lost, are in fact those painted by Paul Klee.
An opportune time to move to the National
Gallery exhibition Facing the Modern: The
Portrait in Vienna 1900 where most paintings
have Jewish connections and there is a far more
sombre tone to the works, several of which
are unfinished. There are also death masks on
display in Room 5 - Love & Loss which don’t
help to lighten the atmosphere! It also includes
the portrait of the pregnant Edith Schiele dying,
which Egon drew in black chalk on paper three
days before he also died of Spanish influenza.
(fig.1) Paul Klee (1879-1940) Fire at Full Moon 1933
Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany
In Room 4 - The New Viennese there is a portrait
of Heinrich Mann (brother of Thomas) that
prepares one for what is to come in room
5. It is by Max Oppenheim and is an oil on
canvas painted in 1910 and almost displays the
psychological conflict within both sitter and
artist. In the same room can be found Richard
Gerski’s oil on canvas portrait of Alexander
Zenchusky (1908), which can be read two ways;
either as uplifting or disturbing, because the
light-suited, relaxed Alexander dematerialises
6
NEWSLETTER
against the shimmer of a summer shore. Spaced between these
two images can be found Kokoschka’s portrait of 1909, in the
same medium, of Peter Allenberg, alias ‘the wandering jew’.
The biggest contrast is to be found between Room 1- The Old
Viennese and the uplifting Room 2 - The Family and the Child where
one is immediately struck by Kokoschka’s 1909 Portrait of Hans
Tielze and Erica Tielze-Conrat and another oil on canvas by him
in the same room painted the same year entitled Children Playing
where his composition placing the children lying down means
they look up at the viewer. These two paintings need to be kept in
mind when one reaches Room 6 - Finish and Failure, which is only
toned down by three oil on canvas 1911 male portraits. Here
hangs Gustav Klimt’s 1917/18 unfinished beguiling portrait and
accompanying preparatory sketches of Amalie Zucherkande, (fig.2),
who was sent to a concentration camp in 1942.
Both exhibitions continue until the dates shown above, so do try
and see them - and also The Young Durer: Drawing the Figure at
the Courtauld Gallery on until January 12th 2014, which I also
popped into. This gallery always leaves one feeling contented as
it is a must to revisit its impressive Impressionist paintings. Entry
is free with the card although the older galleries are currently
closed for refurbishment. ENJOY
(fig.2) Gustav Klimt (1862 - 1918)
Portrait of Amalie Zuckerkandl 1917-18
Oil on canvas 128 x 128 cm
© Belvedere, Vienna
Donated by Vita and Gustav Künstler
Zena James
The British Association of Friends of Museums Annual Conference
at Swansea on September 26th, 27th and 28th 2014
The Conference theme is “Keeping Heritage Alive” and during the
weekend delegates will enjoy a full programme of events, including
receptions, lectures by Keynote speakers, the AGM and also take
part in discussions on topics of interest. The event will be rounded
off by the Conference Dinner.
On the Friday afternoon and Sunday morning there will be an
opportunity to visit local sites of interest, including the Dylan
Thomas Centre and Trail; the Brangwyn Panels; Swansea and
Oystermouth Castles and Scenic and Historical Gower. Also
tours to the Egypt Centre, National Waterfront Museum, Swansea
Museum and the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery “Off Site” have been
arranged.
The 41st BAfM Annual Conference will be hosted by The Royal
Institution of South Wales – Friends of the Swansea Museum and
supported by The Friends of The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, The
Friends of the Egypt Centre and The National Waterfront Museum.
The Conference will be held at The Marriott Hotel Conference
Centre, Swansea.
If you require any further information and a copy of the Conference
Brochure please contact:
Malcolm Hill
Tel. (01639) 794480
or Lyndon Morris
Tel. (01792) 232282
email: [email protected]
email: [email protected]
7
NEWSLETTER
Mornings in Madrid
If you have a morning in Madrid, don’t go to the Prado. Go to the
Reina Sofía. If you have another morning in Madrid, go back there.
It’s that good. We were based in Toledo (recommended), 74 km and
30 mins away on the high-speed train. From the Atocha (bless you!)
station, Madrid central, practically the first view is of the external
twin glass lift-towers of the Reina Sofía Gallery.
It’s a breath-taking building. The exterior, once a hospital, is a typical
Madrid block. Inside, a purpose-built gallery by the architect Sabatini,
just into its third decade. Add to that Ian Ritchie’s glass lifts and
the 2005 liver-red add-on, by the aptly named Nouvel, with slanting
reflections of Madrid seen every which way, there is a great contrast
both with the monumental Velasquez/Prado and the glass delight of
the Palacio de Cristal, both across the road in the Retiro Park.
With four floors, and a dual-carriageway of rooms, there’s a lot
to take in, and a lot to read: letters, contemporary news-cuttings,
telegrams. It’s a stop-and-study place. But where to start? The
current theme of the Gallery in October 2013 covered War,
Irruption and Revolt, 1945-82, the art that came out of a divided
world. So you start in Room 206. Guernica. In front of you. The
real thing. In other rooms, people milled around. Here, there was
a stillness, an air of homage, of seeing something immense. It was
rougher than I expected, as if just done, hardly finished, the message
more than the media, the more startling because of this. My
Hong-Kong Chinese friend lingered on, her first encounter with the
Spanish Civil War. She told me she remembered her mother giving
food to the refugees of the Cultural Revolution. It all rang bells.
Alongside, now seen through a bit of a teary blur, hang the sketches,
single figures, smaller works that fed into the Guernica. And a host
of letters and contemporary theories: “Notice the lamp of truth
remains intact”, and including an image of Catalonian frescoes of
1123 that make you think “Ah-hah” when you notice the mis-aligned
eyes.
Then up to the top floor in the glass elevator, Madrid glinting in the
autumn sun. Spacey rooms full of that big, brave art that makes you
gasp: Robert Motherwell, Sam Francis and his drips, Morris Louis (a
huge favourite with 6-year-olds I taught), Rothko, Brassaï’s graffiti
series, Asger Jorn. Strongly balanced by the Spaniards, lots of bold
black and red, Saura, Guerrero, with Miró and Dalí as constant
commentators on the explosive political scene. Together with Gris,
González, Chillida, Tàpies, Serrano and Solana, you never forget
where you are.
The four of us met again under a huge and joyful Roy Lichtenstein
sculpture Brushstroke. The floor I missed, according to my friend
from the North, was a brilliant and thoughtful collection of
photographs by Chris Killip, originally from the Isle of Man, now
teaching in America. It is to do with “la vida cotidiana”, work and
free time (voluntary or not) and the conflicts of the 21st Century,
including the miners’ strike, and the de-industrialisation of NorthEast England. So I caught up with it on the excellent RS website, plus
an interview with Killip. Worth watching.
I saw black and white films, sculpture, a media room, terraces and
a free-access library. And had a moment’s sun-on-the-face under a
pendulous Calder mobile, Carmen, in the courtyard garden, clever
marketing I thought. There was a slight breeze, but no movement. I
was tempted to shin up there with an oilcan.
Reina Sofia Gallery, Madrid
© photo. Stuart Wright 2013
There are three external lift-towers. Use them, save the legs.You’ll
need a floor-plan. No, really you do. I had two, and scribbled all over
them, but still managed to miss a whole floor, even having kicked off
with a double expresso and a toastie in the airy restaurant, with its
comfy throne chairs and the fastest baristas in the capital.
“A place in which we recognise ourselves” is how the Ministry of
Education, Culture and (of course) Sports describes this collection.
And as we raced, elated, across the road to catch the 3.10 to Toledo,
I agreed with Mr Punch - “That’s the way to do it!”
p.s. If you have a third morning, do go to the Prado. Join the queue.
See Goya’s ‘Black’ Paintings, and The Third of May. But specifically
hunt out a painting by Antonio Gisbert The Execution of Torrijos and
Companions at the beach at Malaga. Be amazed.
Mary Uzzell Edwards
8
NEWSLETTER
Frank Brangwyn
There are many very good reasons to make a trip to the enchanting
mediaeval Belgian city of Bruges, but a visit to the Arentshuis is
not top of everybody’s list. Which is a pity, as the second floor of
this elegant 18th Century town house is home to an impressive
permanent exhibition that provides an extensive overview of the
rich variety of the work of Anglo-Welsh artist Frank Brangwyn. The
ground floor plays host to temporary displays, and if you hurry you
can catch a powerful show* comparing Brangwyn’s engravings to
those of Jules de Bruycker, a contemporary from nearby Ghent.
I must come clean and admit that I had not come across FB myself
until I attended the July opening of the current exhibition at Oriel
Ynys Môn in Llangefni - Drawn to the Light: Kyffin Williams and Venice.
In addition to several of Kyffin’s depictions of La Serenissima, curator
David Meredith has adventurously gathered together a selection of
work by big hitters such as Monet, Canaletto and … Brangwyn - the
latter’s billowing oil of Venice: St Mark’s from the Lagoon, on loan from
the National Museum Wales, reminding me of the book illustrations
of American artist N.C. Wyeth.
A few weeks later I made my first visit to the William Morris Gallery
in Walthamstow in north east London, voted Art Fund Museum of
The Year on reopening in 2012 after a major redevelopment. Whose
name should crop up again, but that of FB, who had helped to save
Morris’s childhood home and set it up as a museum. There is a
small, changing display of works from the Brangwyn Gift that was
presented to the borough in 1936 - look out for an exhibition of his
war posters next summer.
The Arentshuis similarly honours Brangwyn’s birth in Bruges in
1867 where from very early childhood he worked in his father’s
ecclesiastical workshop. When the family returned to London five
years later, this training equipped the youngster to become a paid
assistant to William Morris at the age of fifteen. Two years later his
skills with oils were such that he had a painting accepted at the
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, and at twenty four he won a
gold medal at the Paris Salon with his picture of a Funeral at Sea.
In the late 1880s Brangwyn travelled to Cornwall as a deckhand
and there outstripped the members of the Newlyn School with his
plein air paintings - and fathered an illegitimate son. He sailed on
to Constantinople and with a brightened palette produced vibrant
paintings such as The Buccaneers, but while the British public were
startled by the splashes of ‘Brangwyn red’, it took the French by
storm when exhibited in Paris. The work attracted the attention of
the entrepreneurial Siegfried Bing who commissioned FB to paint an
exterior frieze around his new Maison de L’Art Nouveau.
of Anne of Cleves. While decorating the Chapel of Christ’s Hospital
School in Horsham he was made a full member of the Royal
Academy in 1919, and then in 1925 work began on an Empirethemed mural for the Royal Gallery in the House of Lords. For one
reason or another the paintings did not meet with approval and, at
lasting cost to Brangwyn’s reputation, were rolled up and stored at
Kenwood House in north London (close to Highgate School, where
I work!) - as it had been Lord Iveagh who had initially overseen the
enterprise. Displayed at the 1933 Ideal Home Exhibition, the city of
Swansea decided that they could be fitted into a new Guildhall that
was under construction at the time. Sadly they cannot be seen as
I write because the Brangwyn Hall - like the Glynn Vivian itself - is
closed for refurbishment.
FB was knighted in 1941 and in 1952 the first ever retrospective of
a living artist was staged by the Royal Academy. Brangwyn’s art had
arguably gone out of fashion by then, and he had withdrawn from
public gaze well before his death at the Jointure in 1956 - though
his reputation is now generally considered to be on the up once
more. I have found that there is much to admire in the wide range
of artefacts that the man with ‘a mission to decorate life’ produced,
from the rich colouration of some of his early oils to the astonishing
chiaroscuro contrast in his engravings.
David Smith ([email protected])
*The exhibition closes on the 12th of January 2014:
http://bezoekers.preview.brugge.be/jules-de-bruycker-visits-frankbrangwyn-2
Acknowledged as a leading figure in the development of the Arts and
Crafts Movement towards modernism, he married in 1896 and set
up a huge studio in Hammersmith. Large scale work continued, with
a series of panels for the Great Hall of the Worshipful Company
of Skinners being completed between 1901 and 1909. They can be
viewed by appointment, when the knowledgeable Beadle will give
you a guided tour.
After the Great War, Brangwyn joined an exodus of Morris acolytes
(including Eric Gill) to Ditchling in East Sussex and bought The
Jointure, a house named for its connection to the divorce settlement
Edward Kenneth Center Portrait of Frank Brangwyn
© The Artist’s estate
City & County of Swansea: Glynn Vivian Art Gallery Collection
9
NEWSLETTER
Friends News
E Mail updates
Swansea Metropolitan University Student Representative
Our email database is growing and it is fast, efficient, and a paperless
method of letting our members know what is going on. As ever, if
any member has changed their email address, please contact me
on [email protected] so that I can make the necessary
amendments. Also our thanks go to Maurice Whitehead for his
invaluable help with the database.
This post is still vacant.
Friends Website
A further reminder to log in to our website to check for up to date
information
Our corporate membership allows members free or reduced access
to many exhibitions. Should any member like to make use of these
cards, please contact Judy Barnes on [email protected] I
have used it myself recently to see the Emilio Greco exhibition at
the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art in London and would
recommend it.
Lecture Series 2013-2014
http://www.friendsoftheglynnvivian.com You can download our
Programme of Events and Newsletters. If you have any suggestions
for the website, please contact Malcolm Hill on m.hill23@ntlworld.
com
The new Lecture Series began in September and we have a series of
vibrant and informative talks planned for 2014. I would urge Friends
to attend, they are free to members and time well spent.
New Friends
I have still not been able to identify the member with standing
order reference 309546 37244268; any help with this would be
appreciated. All standing order renewals have been gratefully
received and I have sent out the membership cards. Most members
who pay by cheque have done so, but we have a few gaps. I will send
out a reminder but urge those who have not renewed as yet to
please do so as your membership is much valued by the Friends.
We have one new member since our last newsletter, and we extend
a warm welcome to Mr. Steven Jones of Neath. Should any current
member know of anyone they think might be interested in joining,
please let me know and I will contact them.
Former Friends
We have had no notifications of people not wishing to renew;
however I will be writing to members who have not paid
subscriptions for the current year i.e. September 2013-September
2014 asking if they wish to renew.
100 Club News
August
Number 24
5
September
October
November
83
51
Judy Barnes
Friends Membership Secretary,
64 Eaton Crescent, Swansea SA1 4QN
Tel. (01792) 476187
e mail [email protected]
Friends Winter Wine Tasting
Stephen Foot
Mrs Baddely
Ceri Barclay
Susie Lucas
44 Don Treharne
3 Mavis Morgan
26 Margaret Body
35 EMH Jones
£25
£10
£25
£10
£25
£10
£25
£10
Hilary Rose, 100 Club Promoter
16 Kilfield Road, Bishopston, Swansea, SA3 3DL
Tel. (01792) 232808
Contact
Membership Renewal 2013-2014
A Date for your Diary
Here are the most recent winners:-
Design by Andy Davies
Art Fund Cards
Thursday December 12th 2013 from 7pm – 9pm at
ND John, Wine Merchants Ltd, 90 Walter Road,
Swansea, SA1 4QF
Cost per Friend is £10
The 30 available places will be allocated on a first come,
first served basis
Payment can be made by posting your cheque,
(payable to “The Friends of the Glynn Vivian”)
to: A. George, FoGVAG, 6 Richmond Villas,
Ffynnone Road, Swansea, SA1 6DQ
Please note that tickets will
not be issued for this event names will be checked
on arrival
We look forward to
seeing you!
If you have any comments on this issue, or any contributions for future issues please contact
the editor, Malcolm Hill on Tel. (01639) 794480 or email [email protected]
10