ART HISTORY FESTIVAL 2023 – THE South

Attend our bitesize event – ‘Reynolds’ Paint Palette,’ with Terah Walkup, Art Curator at The Box. 

It will introduce the history of colour, paints, pigments and their global context. We will explore Reynolds’ experimental approach to painting and its relevance today through the works of Rana Begum, who created new paintings in response to Reynolds’ approach to colour. 

Enjoy a major new exhibition for summer 2023, that celebrates the 300th anniversary of the birth of famous portrait painter, Sir Joshua Reynolds, who was born in nearby Plympton St Maurice.

Reynolds (1723-1794) was known for capturing his clients’ personalities, being one of the founding members and first president of the prestigious Royal Academy in London, as well as one of the most influential painters of the 1700s. 

‘Reframing Reynolds: A Celebration’ explores the career of this famous 18th century portrait artist within a global context, highlighting themes such as image, identity, his studio practice, his early career in Plymouth Dock (now Devonport) and his use of pigment, colour and light.

See important works from The Box’s permanent collection alongside loans from national and private collections including Tate, The Woburn Abbey Collection, National Trust, National Maritime Museum and The Barber Institute of Fine Arts. The loans are supported by the Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund. Created by the Garfield Weston Foundation and Art Fund, the programme is the first ever UK-wide funding scheme to enable smaller and local authority museums to borrow works of art and artefacts from national collections.

The interpretation of this exhibition is significant and we have been supported by Dr Jenny Graham, Art Historian at the University of Plymouth. 

Rana Begum (b. 1977) is a London-based visual artist whose work explores the relationships between light, colour and form. Following presentations in Warwick, London and Dubai, her beautiful ‘Dappled Light’ exhibition travels to Plymouth this summer. Begum has also created three new works inspired by Sir Joshua Reynolds which are displayed in our Reframing Reynolds: A Celebration exhibition.

Begum uses a wide range of different materials that blur the boundaries between sculpture, architecture and painting. 

This solo show places her work in direct dialogue with The Box’s restored St Luke’s church and other spaces throughout our main building, including our South Hall and North Hall.

From sculptures created from brightly-coloured reflector tiles, to works inspired by the time Begum spent at a residency in St Ives in Cornwall, to a beautiful large-scale ‘cloud burst’ installation; this is an exhibition that draws you in, inviting you to see and appreciate detail and scale at the same time.

Begum has also created three new works inspired by Sir Joshua Reynolds which are displayed in our Reframing Reynolds: A Celebration exhibition (until 29 October), marking 300 years since this influential portrait painter was born in Plympton St Maurice, near Plymouth.

The interpretation of both exhibitions is significant and we have been supported by Dr Jenny Graham, Art Historian at the University of Plymouth. 

A panel discussion sponsored by the Royal Institute of Philosophy exploring the Philosophy of Colour and our relationship with it.

Our panel will bring together philosophers from the Open University and elsewhere, with art writers and artists exploring colour within their practice.

panelists

Keith Allen, University of York

Prof. Sophie Grace Chappell, The Open University

Jo Volley, UCL

Join us to explore colour at our regular, free Saturday family activities. This week we’ll be joining in with the Art History Festival by exploring colour in the paintings at Penlee House and making a colour wheel.