Sir Elton John is loaning his private collection of the work of a celebrated Cornish artist to a local museum. The singer has collected Henry Scott Tuke's work since the 1980s. The artist is buried in Falmouth. More than 130 works by Tuke will go on show to mark the 150th anniversary of his birth, including 11 from Sir Elton.
"Tuke was a major British artist and Catching the Light, which is being curated by local author and art expert Catherine Wallace, is the biggest and most important exhibition of his work ever to have been staged. Tuke was one of the most important artists of the Newlyn School in Cornwall and his paintings celebrate male youth and beauty and reflect his lifelong love of the sea.
Sir Elton's collection includes works in oil, pastel and water-colour.
Other works by Tuke have been lent by the Royal Academy, Tate Britain and the National Portrait Gallery and the event is said to be the largest and most comprehensive exhibition of the artist's work to date.
Although his work was neglected for some years after his death, his importance to Cornwall, and to British Art in general, has now been widely acknowledged.
Tuke bought a cottage overlooking Falmouth Bay in 1886, from which he could paint the varied shipping in the harbour, and later purchased an old fishing boat, the Julie of Nantes, which he converted into a floating studio.
The Tuke exhibitions take place at the Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro from May 10 to July 12 and at Falmouth Art Gallery from May 3 to July 12.
Comparing something that will take your hand off without a moment’s thought to the more erogenous areas of human existence might seem like a contradiction in terms, but there’s no denying that the feel of glass beneath your hand is a very sensual experience. Ask any glassblower what attracts them to working with glass and you might get much the same answer: the sensuality of it. Perhaps it’s that careful toeing of the line as you test the limits that evinces the comparison – the drawing out, the teasing into shape, the curvaceous plumping of the material, the fragile nature of the relationship and, without wishing to appear too chauvinistic, the ultimate knowledge that in the end it will pretty much do as it likes anyway, and be all the more appealing because of it.
More than an art form
Glassblowing is much more than an art form – once discovered, it is more a symbiosis. I’ve spoken to a few glass artists and found that invariably they’ve become involved via the same route, and Nick Orsler, who operates Blown Studio Glass in Dartmouth, is no exception. “I went to university in Leicester, doing a degree in industrial design. I actually trained as a silversmith and jeweller and, although I loved working with the fluidity of hot metal, I used to get frustrated both in assembling it and the fact that when working with precious metals you are naturally restricted to working on a very small scale, whereas my natural inclination is to make large objects. Then, in my third year, I discovered the glass department.”
That discovery was to cause a sea change in the course of Nick’s career. He went on to do an apprenticeship in London glassworks and later to work with Erwin Eisch in Germany, one of the most illustrious of contemporary glass artists, and travelled all over Europe taking in the best of contemporary glassmaking.
Returning to England, he set up a studio in the City of London but, 12 years later, rents went through the roof. So, having family in Devon (his wife comes from Slapton), he decided to move here to consider his options. “I was taking my daughter to the National Marine Aquarium one day, when we decided to visit Dartington Glass because I had heard they had a glass workshop there, but found that they had just closed it.”
That was quite fortuitous for Nick because he put in an offer for the furnaces, which were about to be scrapped anyway, and consequently he was able to set up a workshop in Dartmouth at a fraction of the cost it would have been to buy new equipment.
See the work in the Smith Street Gallery
The work that Nick and his two assistants produce is sold at his gallery, Blown, in Smith Street, which deals exclusively in his own work. But Nick also supplies around 25 other galleries with examples of his work, including Hope Cove Gallery, Spinnakers in Crediton and The Lantic Gallery at Tiverton.
“What is it that inspires me? I think it’s the physical challenge. I love the heat up there. It is a difficult question to answer because the inspiration for me is the final object. I have something clearly in mind and if I struggle to get there, then I will probably ditch it. The whole process is the inspiration, right from the minute you get the glass from the furnace to finally achieving what I had in mind… or not. It’s the classic love-hate relationship... if you want to labour the original analogy further.”
It might take Nick only an hour to produce a finished piece, but that hour will have been preceded by many more thinking about it, sketching a design, and colour checking with small maquette pieces. Invariably he starts work around 5am, a good few hours before his assistants come in, to iron out any potential problems for the day’s work, and he works by the light of the furnaces only. Artificial light of any sort is avoided as much as possible during the whole process so that the true colours of the glass can be revealed.
Painstaking design
“The work that you see in my studio is all the result of very painstaking design. And if something turns out exactly the way that I perceived it, then that is a very satisfying feeling. All too often the piece will take its own form, but that is the nature of working with glass. All of my work is produced completely on spec – even commissioned pieces. I might have an overall brief, but I make it clear to potential clients that I only make what I want to make.”
Blown Studio Glass is the only hot-glass workshop in the South Hams and readily welcomes members of the public to watch the glass being worked. Nick is now offering one-day glassmaking courses, and details of these can be found on the website .
As for ambition, branching out into sand-cast and assembled work is a possibility, and working with life-size sculpture pieces would be the ideal, because that is how Nick Orsler started his journey in glass with Erwin Eisch, who was renowned for his life-size working. Until then, producing his stunningly unique, one-off creations will have to suffice. If you are interested in visiting the studio at Unit 5, Collingwood Business Park, Dartmouth, call the gallery first on (01803) 835123.
BLAST! 2008, EXHIBITION AND SEMINAR at London Glassblowing Workshop 10th May to 8th June 2008
Cohesion Glassmakers’ Network teams up with London Glassblowing Workshop to show the work of 16 British glassmakers.
Blast! 2008 is the culmination of a busy 5th Anniversary year for the glass group and presents glass artists including Hazel Burnham, Phil Vickery, Stephen Revely, Zoe Garner, Roger Tye, Steve Beardsell, Kathryn Wightman, Ruth Lyne, Criss Chaney and Sue Parry.
As part of the opening event on May 10th, Cohesion and London Glassblowing Workshop will host a series of brief presentations on how artists can develop work overseas, followed by a discussion forum. The exhibition will be formally opened by Prof Dan Klein.
Blast! 2008 runs until Sunday June 8th when it closes by participating in a feast of glass alongside Reflect 2008, a new collectors fair brought to London by Oxbridge Fairs. Featuring antique glass alongside contemporary artists the two shows will compliment each other perfectly to make June 8th a diary day for all collectors.
We are expecting new ranges of blown glass by our gallery artists Peter Layton and Bob Crooks. Peter Layton is producing specially commissioned blown glass called Giraffe. Bob Crooks is producing hand blown glass perfume bottles and hand blown vases as well as glasses. All will be arriving in the next few weeks so keep a look out on our website.
The ethereal quality of Venice is largely due to the evanescent light that continuously plays off the gently moving waters of the lagoons and canals. Vistas seem to evaporate and then suddenly reappear. This ever-changing landscape observed under intense sunlight, enveloping haze, or dense fog is precisely what fascinated Turner. The Eastern roots of the architectural landmarks were also compellingly exotic for him.
So many exhibitions and books have been devoted to the art of Joseph Mallord William Turner that it would seem every facet of his career has been investigated. Among the titles devoted to the various locations in which he painted are Turner in the North, Turner in the South, Turner on the Thames, Turner's Holland, and Turner on the Loire. Nonetheless, there are still uncharted waters for scholars of this prolific English artist. Nearly one-third of the paintings Turner executed between 1833 and 1846 grew out of three brief visits to Venice in 1819, 1833, and 1840. The city so preoccupied him that between 1833 and 1846 there were only two years in which he did not submit paintings with Venetian subjects to the annual Royal Academy exhibitions in London. The city also figures in at least one thousand of his pencil sketches and watercolors.
The watercolors made during this visit foreshadow Turner's preoccupation with the colors of the buildings, water, and sky under changing light. The paintings he later created in his London studio reflect the influence of Canaletto's highly regarded views of the city, which had found great favor in England. Turner's second trip to Venice, in 1833, also took place in the autumn. He arrived on September 9 and stayed for about a week. Again he was productive, executing some 200 drawings and a number of watercolors. His paintings based on the studies he made during this trip demonstrate looser brushwork as he moved away from recording details of the scene in front of him. He also experimented with capturing scenes from different vantage points, such as a wide ranging view of the Piazza San Marco painted from above. Turner's last trip to Venice, in 1840, was also his longest.
Turner and Venice was the first major exhibition devoted to JMW Turner’s seminal trips to Venice opened at Tate Britain on 9 October 2004. The exhibition, sponsored by Barclays PLC, spans the twenty years between Turner’s first visit to Venice in 1819 and his last in 1840 and will bring together around fifty-five oil paintings, and over one hundred watercolours, as well as prints, maps and Turner’s Venice sketchbooks.
The Temptation of St Antony the 36ft-long canvas sells for £203,150, including the buyer's premium. The sale included work which spans the whole of the painter's life, with drawings and sketches from the 1950s when Robert Lenkiewicz lived in Hampstead, to work completed in the year of his death. The work had hung in the artist's Plymouth studio and was worked on by him over many years.
Bearnes Auctioneers Lenkiewicz 2008 sale took place over nine hours at Westpoint, near Exeter, yesterday with about 3,000 people attending. The auction, which attracted international interest, included all the important paintings from the Lenkiewicz estate.
Spinnakers Gallery is an art gallery close to Exeter - being only a 10 minute drive from the center of Exeter. There are several Exeter art galleries within Exeter and the surrounding towns. Spinnakers Gallery holds a wide selection of glass art, ceramics, jewellery and paintings.
Because the medium has become so popular, we are planning to exhibit more of glass art in the future. What I like about glass is that the material itself is nice, It reflects the light in a very special way, depending on how you look
at it. It's very sexy, It's seductive. It's beautiful. Art glass
didn't come out of the home crafts movement or if it
did, it came out of stained glass, which is an ancient technique.
Whether the works are blown glass, a fusion of glass and metal, carved or of glass and mixed media,
they all reflect an ancient tradition - the earliest known manmade
glass, simple nontransparent beads, date to 3500 B.C.
Trevor Chamberlain ROI has written several books.
Trevor Chamberlain's watercolour paintings are a celebration of light and atmosphere which is shown to great effect in his book A personal view. The incredible atmosphere Trevor Chamberlain manages to portray in his paintings is evident in his book Trevor Chamberlain: England and Beyond a Celebration of Sixty Years of Painting, making every one of his paintings such a joy to look at and a lesson in simplicity and freshness.
Trevor Chamberlain: A Personal View - Light and Atmosphere in Watercolour
Trevor Chamberlain: England and Beyond a Celebration of Sixty Years of Painting
We are please to announce that we will be showing Bob Crooks glass on a permanent basis in the near future. Bob Crooks is a leading and highly regarded British glassmaker. He is known for the high quality, skilfully executed dynamic forms and
surfaces, he has been producing over the last twelve years. Each piece is designed handmade and finished by Bob.
Bob Crooks has exhibited at international level as well as in the UK. His pieces are inspired by geometry, architecture, the natural and man made world and the glass itself exploiting the transparency, refraction, reflection and fluidity aspects of glass.
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