May was a very busy month here at Contemporary Six, although we're not complaining!
We kicked off the month halfway through our exhibition 'Art Botanique', a collection of textile designs by Pierre Adolphe Valette. The show was a remarkable success and I am incredibly pleased to say that a piece from the exhibit was acquired by the Special Collections Museum at Manchester Metropolitan University! Not only is this a wonderful achievement for the Gallery but it is also heartwarming to see a piece of Valette's work back at the University he taught at for so many years.
This exhibition comprised a beautiful collection of exclusive and unseen floral designs. Created in the first half of the 20th century, these delicate blooms show the artist’s skill as a draughtsman. A number of works feature text by the artist; coding systems and colour palette studies - showing the hidden processes behind design manufacturing.
Valette is best known for his atmospheric and moody depictions of Manchester created in the early 1900s. His impressive works sit alongside the paintings of his student L.S. Lowry in the Manchester Art Gallery.
Unlike his most recognisable works, these pieces are a beautiful mix of exquisite vibrant floral paintings, some with a Japanese influence and many with colourful birds. They reinforce what we already knew, that he was a superb draughtsman who never stopped creating.
With over 70 paintings, the show was the largest exhibition of Valette’s paintings to be seen in a commercial Gallery.
A short two week show of mixed Gallery work proceeded 'Art Botanique', featuring a selection of paintings by Gallery artist's presenting a glimpse of what we are known for here at Contemporary Six. Which was turned on its head by our ongoing brand new exhibition 'STAGED' which began June 1st.
'STAGED', is a group exhibition where the viewer is invited to see the push and pull in interactions of staged objects, depicted by an array of artists from different fields. Frequently fusing form with hidden meaning, the academic tradition of the still life has often been used to portray artists' thoughts and desires. As well as an insight into the artist's mind, it also represents a unique window into the cultural context of the time through the portrayal of everyday items. We would like to shed a contemporary light on this classic subject matter, integrating modern methods with a discipline paved for us by the masters.
'Objects penetrate one another. The never cease to be alive.' - Cézanne
'STAGED' is our very first ever collection of still life works, a brand new venture for the Gallery showing a variety of Gallery and guest artists - and I am proud to say - a substantial work by American superstar, Andy Warhol.
This work is an iconic drawing and a fine example of Warhol's output during his formative years and the first decade of his profession. Conceptualised in the year he first exhibited with the prestigious Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), 'Ohne Titel' comes from a period of creating which combines his illustrative beginnings with his soon to be concept driven future.
In Warhol's early career he was famed for his depictions of women's shoes. Commissioned by the former art director of Glamour magazine, the artist created a series of shoe drawings which garnered him the title of 'Leonardo of the shoe trade'. Following the high praise of the fashion sphere, Warhol became the sole illustrator for the shoe manufacturer I. Miller between 1955 and 1957, making new drawings of shoes each week for ads in the New York Times. As 'Ohne Titel' was conceived during this time, it is imbued with the fancifulness of the fashion world - the unscrupulously long and narrow toe of the stiletto harks to the then prescribed feminine ideal. With its mediaeval-esque undertones, this depiction of the heel in conjunction with the cage leaves so many undertones to be questioned and deciphered.
Constructed using a process often accredited to Warhol, 'blotted line' combines drawing with rudimentary printmaking. Using ink on unabsorbent paper, Warhol would draw his image and then using a second sheet of paper he would gently press the two together to create a broken imprint of his illustration. These drawings were often layered with blotted line and hand finished with either watercolour or in the case of 'Ohne Titel' with applied gold leaf.
'STAGED' will come to an end on the 22nd of June and will be replaced by a show of mixed work for the summer, featuring brand new pieces from the likes of Louisa Longstaff-Scales and Linda Schwab. Watch this space...
