The Ingram Collection: Sea Pictures
16 January – 21 March 2010
Out with the cold and frost and off to the seaside! The beach comes to Woking as Sea Pictures splashes into The Lightbox’s Upper Gallery this February.
This sea-themed exhibition showcasing Modern British and Contemporary Art from The Ingram Collection has been curated by participants in Young Curator’s workshops together with The Lightbox’s Exhibitions Department. It promises to be a refreshing and distinctive arrangement of thought provoking pieces by a range of artists with plenty to entertain the children. Relax in a deckchair and let the sights, sounds and smells of the sea shore transport you.
The collection of British seascapes from the twentieth century allows visitors to explore the diversity possible within the theme of ‘the sea’. The scenes range from brightly coloured coastal towns to bleak and windswept oceans, from the hull of a boat, to a collection of deck shoes. If you feel inspired as you wander through the gallery, why not sit down at the drawing table and let your creativity loose?
The works on display include pieces by the most famous British artists of the last century, including John Bratby, Dame Laura Knight, Eric Ravilious and Richard Eurich. Sea Pictures places the work of these prominent artists side by side with that of a younger generation of artists including Kurt Jackson, Stephen Mangan and James Dodds.
The exhibition was curated by participants in The Lightbox’s Young Curator’s workshops, led by Katherine Crofts-Gibbons as part of her Gold Arts Award. The young people made many decisions including how to group the paintings, how to light the gallery and where to put the labels for the artwork. They studied current Lightbox exhibitions and visited two London galleries for inspiration and came up with imaginative and original ideas.
The Young Curators were particularly keen to provide interactive activities for families. Young children will be fascinated by the seaside smells and will enjoy creating their own seaside scenes. Explanatory labels explain the curatorial decisions throughout the gallery.
“The Young Curators came up with a lot of fresh ideas. I think that this will be the most playful and fun Ingram Collection exhibition seen so far at The Lightbox.” commented Collections Officer, Peter Hall.