In Camera: Snowdon and the World of British Art (20 Jul – 26 Sept 2010)
The Lightbox will add its own unique angle to an exhibition of work by iconic photographer, Lord Snowdon, this summer. Casting his work in a new light in his 80th year, the award-winning gallery and museum will contrast Snowdon’s striking portraits of some of the UK’s most celebrated visual artists with Modern British sculpture from The Ingram Collection.
Up to 40 photographs will be displayed in the Upper Gallery and will be complimented by the sculptural work of some of the significant visual artists depicted in Snowdon’s portraits. Offering a rare glimpse inside the studios and private working spaces of leading figures of the British art world, from John Bratby (1958) to Grayson Perry (2005), the exhibition may provide the public with their first opportunity to put a face to the name of the creators of familiar works.
Snowdon’s portraits are famous for stripping subjects of artifice and pretence, exposing genuine emotion and allowing the camera to see the raw truth. Not originally intended to be viewed as framed ‘exhibition’ prints, many of the pieces on display were first published in the 1960s, in early issues of The Sunday Times Magazine, and also in an influential book entitled ‘Private View’.
Connections with The Ingram Collection, currently on long-term loan to The Lightbox, are sure to resonate with regular visitors. Michael Regan, Exhibitions Manager at The Lightbox, confesses his favourite Snowdon piece is a portrait of Elizabeth Frink in her studio, where she is shown reclining in an armchair surrounded by her work. Examples from Frink’s 'Soldiers', 'Goggle Head' and 'In Memorium' series, from The Ingram Collection, were also recently featured in a special display to coincide with the thought- provoking ARTIST ROOMS: Jenny Holzer exhibition.
“We look forward to adding a new dimension to our ongoing relationship with The Ingram Collection,” says Michael Regan. “Exhibiting sculptural work alongside Snowdon’s portraits of artists who created it will provide an exciting new context for the public to explore.”
Visitors to the exhibition will also have the opportunity to engage with the work on display by following a trail around The Lightbox, in search of 2-dimentional pieces from The Ingram Collection by artists featured in the Snowdon exhibition.
For further information and to organise interviews or reviews for In Camera: Snowdon and the World of British Art, please contact 01483 737800 or email press@thelightbox.org.uk