The fascinating variety of abstract art is being celebrated at Chester’s Grosvenor Museum with the exhibition ‘Pure Beauty: The Pleasures of Abstract Art’, which runs until 2 February.
The exhibition has been created in partnership between the Grosvenor Museum and the University of Chester. It has been selected by Professor Neil Grant, the University’s Head of Art and Design.
Professor Grant explained: “Abstract art aspires to be a pure form of visual expression, concerned solely with the creation of an image from the materials and creative processes of art. Just as music is the manipulation of sound, abstract art seeks to create a response in the viewer by the use of pure patterns of form, colour and line.”
He continued: “The exhibition examines some of the strategies artists have adopted to develop a form of art that does not rely on storytelling, but instead stimulates speculation and an emotional reaction in the viewer. Engaging the intellect and the feelings in many ways, the art ranges from the sharpness and clarity of flat, hard-edged colours to the tactile and expressive qualities of spontaneous, sweeping gestures.”
The exhibition includes work by several distinguished British artists, including Ivon Hitchens, Patrick Heron, Eduardo Paolozzi, Cornelia Parker and Ian Davenport.
The programme of accompanying events includes:
4 December, ‘Who’s Afraid of Abstract Art?’ lecture by Dr Tom McGuirk, Senior Lecturer in Art Theory at the University of Chester
15 January, Exhibition tour with Professor Neil Grant, Head of Art and Design at the University of Chester
25 January, ‘Drawing Workshop: Marks Towards Abstraction’ led by Professor John Renshaw and Dr Tom McGuirk from the University of Chester
The Grosvenor Museum is open Monday – Saturday 10.30-5 and Sunday 1-4, admission free.