Tag: Ardwick

Some of the work from our Blake exhibition October 2019

Preview Thursday 3rd October  5-9pm All Welcome

Exhibition Dates:

3rd – 12th October 2019 (Weds/Thurs/Fri/Sat) 2-6pm

Workshop: Make your own lino print date:

Thursday 10th October 4:30-6:30pm (please contact to book, places limited)

The Horsfall, 87 Great Ancoats Street, Manchester, M4 5AG

The poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827) lived his life in poverty and received very little recognition during his own lifetime. He was considered at best an eccentric and at worst a madman by the critics of the time. However, a few dedicated followers preserved much his prolific work and he is now considered one of the most important British artists of all time, influencing art, literature and music from the Pre-Raphaelites to Patti Smith. 

For this exhibition at Horsfall, Pool Arts researched the life, work and influence of William Blake and wondered what relevance he might have to our own experiences. Certainly we live in a time of political change and upheaval. Blake saw visions throughout his life that influenced his art but he was also an Enlightenment radical who contemplated the American and French revolutions; questioned religions and challenged dominant ideologies that he felt stifled imagination and the human spirit.

In this exhibition, our artists have looked at Blake’s biography, his art and poetry and from there created new work. What is Truth? Blake searched for a spiritual truth and found it rooted in imagination. Then as now, the fight between different Truths shaped the world. The exhibition features thoughtful responses from the Pool Arts artists, including; Alan S’s large scale painted installations, Paul Richards’ sensitive works of visionary mythologies and Roger Howard’s work exploring current political concerns. Becky Mary’s print “Quotation” perhaps sums up how difficult it has been to really understand the work of William Blake, deciphering a history through second and thirdhand research, viewing one of the Fathers of the modern age in art, from the perspective of a Post-Truth age.

Contributing Artists include: Another Adele, Akinyemi Oludele, Annette Ebanks

Becky Mary, Alison Kershaw, Alan S, Simon Mawdsley, I. Baron, Lee Hadfield, David Speers, Ruqia Artiste, Roger Howard, Eddie Price, Tess Lomas.