Private View 14 March

 It was wonderful to attend the Private View celebrating the opening of two exhibitions, Seriously... and A Very British Art Revolution, at Museum and Art Swindon on 14 March. The Friend's exhibition called Seriously... runs from 25 February until 13 September is something I am very proud to say I have been involved in helping put together, along with other members of the Friends. Friends who curated the exhibition will be giving a talk on the exhibition at 7.30pm on 24 April. The other exhibition, A Very British Art Revolution runs from 11 March until 5 July, it was curated by Katie Ackrill and Kirsty Hartsiotis, and is a great exhibition of works from the Swindon Collection, with a focus on the first decade of the twentieth century.

I took a few photographs of the event and have also used some photos taken by Claire Parsons and will indicate when this is the case, although it's fairly obvious.

We started downstairs at the Civic Offices with drinks provided by the Friends and served by them as well. After a bit of mingling and drinking, there were speeches, starting with Kirsty Hartsiotis, Collections and Exhibitions Officer seen above.

Next we heard from Andrew Cross, Chair of the Friends about how pleased he was with both exhibitions. Below you can see there was a quick shot of the audience. I'm not sure howmany attended, but it seemed pleasantly full.

Finally Frances Yeo, Museums Manager talked about how pleased she was with the turnout and the exhibitions.

We then went upstairs and looked at the two exhibitions and chatted. I took a few more photos

It was lovely to see so many people enjoying the exhibitions and chatting to each other

You will recognise some people. It was lovely to see Barbara Swann, who was Deputy Chair and writer of the newsletter, among other things had travelled from Swansea to be at the PV.

The following photos are much less 'point and see what you get', and are by courtesy of Claire Parson,  one of the curators of the Seriously... exhibition and part of an unlocking collections team and also member of the Friend's committee.

Above setting the scene

Below Barbara looking at the Robert Priseman's.

and below, Jeremy Lune appreciating a painting.

So there we are, a great evening celebrating lots of the Swindon Collection being on display for the first time in 5 years.

'Seriously ...' FMAS Choices and the Process

 I am really pleased to let you know about an exhibition opening on Tuesday 25 February, of works chosen by members of the Friends of Museum and Art Swindon which will be displayed in the small gallery where an exhibition of Wessex Landscapes was shown alongside the Hardy exhibition. Those involved will be giving a talk to the Friends on Thursday 24 April so I don't want to give away too much of the process by which items were selected, or talk too much about the works selected because it will be good for most of it to be a surprise. 

The first call outs via email went out to the Friends in August 2024 asking for volunteers to get involved in selecting artworks and ceramics from the collection. There were six of us initially involved and then this whittled down to a regular three of us meeting Katie Ackrill, Collections and Exhibitions Officer to suggest works and then vote on them. This was a fascinating process which went on seemingly for weeks as we kept meeting and trying to reach a consensus and respect differences in taste without getting too personal. We learnt a lot about the collections and to appreciate works we had never really looked at properly. 

A couple of weeks ago, we were invited by Katie for a day to help hang the exhibition, what a fabulous opportunity! Naturally I took a few photos to remind us of the day and share with others. I'll start with a serious shot of three of the main selectors: from the left Miles Franklin, Claire Parsons and me, Linda Kasmaty. Although Claire was wearing a gorgeous red coat, we decided that black and white looked good.

                 

I'll now add a few of the hanging day photos:

Some paintings had the correct fixings for the hanging system, others didn't

Some of you will recognise Andrew Cross Chair of the Friends who joined us to help on the day

In the background you'll see John Wood, Collections and Exhibitions Manager, as well as Katie Ackrill

It was a real treat to be able to see the reverse side of paintings

Miles and Andrew in action

and looking at 'Monument'

This is the reverse side of the Bomberg

above more fitting fixing

Above one of my favourite ceramic pieces some of you may remember on display at Apsley House. It is made by Laurance Simon and one of 50 ceramics gifted by Mark Golder and Brian Thomson in 2015 in memory of Ron Sloman . There was much discussion about this piece.

It takes four people to hang a painting!!

Appreciating the work once it's on the wall

'Jerusalem' by David Bomberg was chosen by John Walsh, a long standing member of the Friends who played a large role in the committee at one time. The frame was really heavy.

We also described, said what we liked about 3 works on another day. Katie will edit what we have said down to 5minutes I think and it will appear on Bloomberg Connects. Also look out for descriptions of works by those who chose them which will appear beside the works, possibly.

More on this exhibition in the next blog post.

Visit to The Stradling Collection in Bristol

 We visited the Stradling Collection on 27 April and were give a guided tour of the three floors by Curator Tanya Martin seen here below on the first floor. We last visited as a Friends group 10 years ago. Here are the links to our previous connections with the Stradling Collection.

We had a fantastic time and I would thoroughly recommend a visit at the least, but a tour gives you so much more insight into the man behind the collection, Ken Stradling and the collections

I loved this glass vase made by Timo Sarpaneva one of Finland's most celebrated designers in 1991

Here Tanya is holding up the famous Rooster dish by Nicholas Vergette

I loved going into the cellar where the treasures are stored when not on display. Above I spotted a piece by Sam Herman who came to talk to us in 2018.

I have taken photos of some of the amazing things stored down there

I can't remember much about these two but they made the tour very interesting

Below Rosemary looking at many ceramic pieces

And below a couple of ceramic pieces by Kate Malone who has also been to talk to us

What an amazing visit, thank you once again Tanya for your fascinating insight into the collection of Ken Stradling. Sad to see after 113 years, The Guild where Ken spent so much of his working life closed last summer.

Remembering Ken Stradling

 On a recent visit to the RWA, as we passed the Ken Stradling Collection premises; a miniature Kettle's Yard, I thought about Ken Stradling, and how old he might be now. We visited the collection as a Friends' group in July 2014, during that visit, Ken showed us around and talked about how he had been MD of The Bristol Guild, which involved travelling round Europe buying delightful things, many of which he would buy for himself. Here's the blogpost from 2014, and a photograph of Ken from that post, among the ceramics and coloured glass he loved so much:

When I looked him up, I discovered he had died this year on 31 July, aged just over 100, and thought I would recall via this post how much we appreciated the visit, and what a special place the Ken Stradling Collection is. It's well worth looking at the website for more information on Ken Stradling. I have booked Cleo Saunders from the Ken Stradling Collection to come and talk to us about Ken and his legacy on 28 June. It's also worth reading his obituary in the Guardian

I'll add a few photos of  the building which anyone familiar with Bristol will recognise, it's 48, Park Row, BS1 5LH

Below a ceramic teapot

and the inside of the shop

a poster now out of date, the website will give you opening times and more information about visiting

I thought I'd also include the building which used to be His Master's Voice in Bristol with a carved dog above the doorway. The dog, called Nipper, was apparently born in Bristol

A Celebration of Colour: A Display of Artworks and Ceramics in the Civic Offices

Since Monday 31 January, there has been a display of artworks and ceramics in committee room 3 on the ground floor of the Civic Offices, it's open to all, so please do go and have a look. I visited on Monday when there was no overhead lighting, the 8 artworks were only lit by light from the ceramics cases. I thought Gillian Ayres might have been upset to see her painting 'Florestan', a wonderfully bright and vibrant piece barely discernable in the gloom, on the right in the photo below. Interestingly, the camera phone brightened the room up so it doesn't look as dark as it was at that time.

The painting on the left is Nicholas Horsfield's 'Oval 1979 Evening, Downstream towards Vernon' 1979. Both paintings presented by The Contemporary Arts Society.

There are 3 cases with ceramics in them

on slightly different themes related to the celebration of colour theme. I haven't got a list of the pieces, although in the cabinet above, Kate Malone's jug bottom left really stands out

There are some lovely ceramic pieces in the exhibition

It would be very good to have a guide to our ceramic's collection, something some members of the Friends would be amply qualified to put together.

Here are the rest of the artworks:

Above, an old favourite on the right, Mark Lancaster's 'Cambridge' , 1969, purchased in 1971, partnered with a new acquisition by Emily Drake.

Above 'Sunset Over Essex' by Pen Dalton, a gift from the artist through the Centre for British Painting in 2013

Above left 'Drift' by Julie Umerle, also a gift from the artist through the Centre for British Painting in 2013, and on the right 'Burnt Gorse' painted in 2011 by Simon Carter, a Gift from the artist through the Centre of British Painting

This painting  is 'Three Over Two' undated by Andrew Crane, a gift from the artist through the Centre for British Painting in 2013. Analysis of the artworks appears on the labels beside each one, so it's worth having a look. 

Members of the Friends are still reeling and express disbelief that Swindon Borough Council closed down the Swindon Museum and Art Gallery for good before they had a credible alternative. I receive emails about that, here's the latest one received this week:

'Yes, Apsley House Indeed. We can't believe it's gone or why it is that we have such an uncultured council. Massively depressing for Swindon's art community after so many years of promise of a new building. It's the sting in the tail (of the croc??) this substitute of a museum by bite sized outreach exhibitions that won't attract attention, only pointing up the fact that they have no home.'

I emailed a friend who I knew had been, she said: Visited the Civic Offices yesterday. 'Thought the ceramics were fantastic but as you say it’s difficult to see the paintings in the gloom.  The room is on the north side of the building, no chance of the sun getting in at the moment, so not sure why both blinds and curtains were closed. The view is of a maintenance yard and van parking so perhaps the aim was to blot that out. Wondered whether the overhead lights should have been switched on - possibly not suitable but if they are covered by diffusers they might be OK.' 

With a town over almost a quarter of a million people, the fact we no longer have our museum and art gallery is a disgrace.