Shiko Munakata: Master of the Woodblock

A Southbank Centre Touring Exhibition
Sat 7 Dec 1992 - Sat 25 Jan 1993

This, the first opportunity in this country to see the full range of the work of one of Japan’s greatest twentieth century artists Shiko Munakata (1903-75), comes direct from the Hayward Gallery as part of the Japan Festival 1991.

As a young man Munakata was inspired to become an painter by a reproduction of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and, under the influence of the French Post-Impressionists, who had in their turn been inspired by Japanese prints, he turned to woodblock printmaking or ukiyo-e as it is known in Japan. He used traditional techniques in an entirely innovative way to create images from poems, legends and Buddhist subjects.

This exhibition has been developed in association with the Mingeikan (Folk Crafts Museum), Tokyo, supported by Mitsubishi Companies.

Pick of the Pics

Works Selected from the Rugby Collection by University of Warwick Staff and Students
Sat 21 Nov 1992 – Sat 16 Jan 1993

This year, staff and students have chosen their favourite pictures from this remarkable collection which includes work by Barbara Hepworth, LS Lowry and Stanley Spencer. The works will be accompanied by comments and observations by the people who chose the exhibition.

Simon Lewty: Terra Incognita

Organised and toured by the Mead Gallery to Nottingham Castle Museum
Mon 16 Nov – Sat 19 Dec 1992

The phrase ‘terra incognita’ is a metaphor for the unknown which at the same time implies a sense of discovery. It is this ambivalence which is at the heart of all Simon Lewty’s work. Profoundly autobiographical and largely confined to one small corner of the Warwickshire countryside, Lewty’s explorations in a land of dreams strike a chord in our own experience. The exhibition brings together paintings and drawings from the last three decades to show the scope and development of his work.

 Robert Doisneau: A Retrospective

Exhibition organised and toured by the Museum of Modern Art Oxford and sponsored by Janneau Armagnac
Mon 5 Oct – Sat 7 Nov 1992

Robert Doisneau’s romantic portraits of Paris life are as evocative and as popular today as they ever were. Born in 1912, he is regarded as one of the leading twentieth century photographers. This major retrospective exhibition includes his early work as an industrial photographer with the Renault motor company, fashion photography for Vogue and his celebrated images of Parisian life.

Double Take: Comparing the Art of Graphic and Photographic Portraiture

Exhibition organised and toured by the National Portrait Gallery, London
Mon 5 Oct – Sat 14 Nov 1992

What makes a good portrait? Does photography achieve a more realistic likeness and give an indication of the sitter’s character? These are questions that are raised in ‘Double Take’.

The portraits of more than twenty eminent figures, including Ellen Terry, Noel Coward and Samuel Beckett, by leading artists and photographers have been selected to highlight the similarities and differences between the two traditions. The artist’s image will hang next to the photographer’s image to aid comparison.

The Weaker Vessel: The Role of Women During the Mid 17th Century

Exhibition organised and toured by Nottingham Castle Museum
Sat 6 Jun – Sat 4 July 1992

Antonia Fraser’s book “The Weaker Vessel” lends its title to this exhibition which marks the 350th anniversary of the outbreak of the Civil War of 1642-1651. It will be held in conjunction with the exhibition ‘The Civil War, Arms and Armour from the Royal Armouries’ at Whitefriars, Coventry. There will be a number of Coventry linked events while the two exhibitions are on show.

Women from both camps, from all sections of society, played a significant role in the war. They defended home and land and some even went into battle. The exhibition will also explore the social context of women in the home and family during the period, through paintings, prints, diaries, pamphlets and personal belongings.

Michael Porter: Close to the Ground

Exhibition organised and toured by the Whitworth Art Gallery and Pomeroy Purdy Gallery
Mon 27 Apr – Sat 30 May 1992

Michael Porter lives and works in London but seeks inspiration from the countryside of Derbyshire where he was born. His large scale canvases are painted in the studio from memory, from photographs and from small gouaches painted outside in the landscape.

As the title of this exhibition implies, Porter’s work has a tightly concentrated focus that has been seen as a modern counterpart of Durer’s ‘Great Piece of Turf’. Porter’s landscapes strike a balance between abstraction and description and, in so doing, create an evocative sense of place.

Michael Porter was Artist in Residence at the National Gallery , London in 1983 and his work was included in the Mead Gallery group exhibition Singular Visions in 1989. Michael Porter will be in residence at the University of Warwick from 27-30 April 1992.

A number of paintings by Michael Porter were subsequently acquired for the University Art collection from this residency.

Texas Realism

Organised by the Southern Methodist University, Dallas Texas
Sat 15 Feb – Sat 14 Mar 1992

The isolation of Texas from the mainstream art world of America led to the development of a fascinating strand of realist painting and printmaking. It is being shown in Britain for the first time in this touring exhibition. The work of these artists, including Thomas Hart Benton, Jerry Bywaters and William Lester has an intensity of vision that comes near to Surrealism, while the German artist George Grosz, best known for his satirical drawings, is here revealed in his later career as a sensitive chronicler of life in small town America.

Toured by the John Judkyn Memorial, Bath with financial assistance from the Vero Group, Houston Texas

The Art of Ruins: Adela Breton and the Temples of Mexico

Exhibition organised by the City of Bristol Museum and Art Gallery
Sat 1 Feb – Sat 14 Mar 1992

Drawn from the Adela Breton Archive in the City of Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, the works in this exhibition celebrate the spectacular architecture of Mexican archaeology and the life and work of an extraordinary late Victorian explorer.

Adela Breton (1849-1922) whose intrepid way of life belied the stereotype of the Victorian spinster, first went to Mexico in 1893-4 at the age of 45. She devoted the rest of her life to recording the murals and reliefs of the great ancient sites of Mexico. Many of these have subsequently disappeared or lost their colours due to pollution and vandalism. Breton’s record is all the remains of the murals in the Upper Temple of the Jaguars at Chichen Itza and those at Teotihuacan and Acanceh.

Exhibition toured by the Area Museum Council for the South West and the Somerset County Museum Service with financial assistance from the Museums and Galleries Commission

The Gatherer: Garry Fabian Miller

Exhibition organised and toured by the John Hansard Gallery, University of Southampton
Sat 4 Jan – Sat 8 Feb 1992

Garry Fabian Miller’s work has been shown in group exhibitions at the Mead Gallery: Artists’ Parish Maps in 1988 and New Icons in 1989. This exhibition offers an opportunity to look at recent developments in his work in depth. The work concentrates on plants such as “Honesty”, gathered from his own garden which is his source of inspiration. Fabian Miller uses his chosen technique of the photogram in which a strong light is shone through leaf and plant forms to make a direct print on light sensitive paper to create intensified “true to nature” images.

A few years later, a number of works by Garry Fabian Miller were bought for the University Art Collection