Faery Art Exhibition, June 2009

[vermillion303]

For all you faery folk and changelings out there, there is a Faery Art Exhibition at Southampton Art Gallery, Commercial Road, Southampton (Old Town) starting from 22nd June and running until the 13th September. Called (appropriately enough for its starting date) From Midsummer Night's Dream to Lord of the Rings, it features the work of Brian Froud (responsible for designing the goblins in films like Labyrinth, amongst thousands of other famous projects), his wife Wendy Froud (who designed the fairies in Labyrinth and Yoda from Star Wars), plus many other Pre-Raphaelite paintings of fairies, including many famous ones. It's only 23 miles / one hour / £7 train fare away, so we MUST go. If no-one's gonna give me a lift, I shall go by train / taxi, whatever the cost!

Here's a link to find out more:
www.southampton.gov.uk/leisure/arts/sotonartgallery/futureexhibitions.asp

[vermillion303]

From the site:

The Truth About Faeries:
From Midsummers Night's Dream to Lord of the Rings
22 June - 13 September, 2009

Since the 1970s the revival of interest in Victorian and Edwardian fairy painting and illustration has undoubtedly been a catalyst for contemporary artists. The exhibition to bring the the faeries' story up to date, with contemporary fairy and fantasy painters and illustrators. The works of Brian Froud, who was born in nearby Winchester, his wife Wendy Froud, Alan Lee, and Patrick Woodroffe, who now all live in ‘fairytale’ Cornwall, will form the core of the modern section.

Brian Froud is best known for a series of illustrated fairy books, which have been adapted into several successful motion pictures including The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. Alan Lee was awarded an Oscar for his work on Lord of the Rings. The Art of Faery (2003) by David Riche and mentored by Froud, contributed to the careers of twenty fairy artists of this revival movement, including Amy Brown, Myrea Pettit, Jasmine Becket-Griffith, James Browne, and Jessica Galbreth, many of whom went on to author individual art books. Depictions of fairies have made their way into the popular culture in other ways as well, including clothing designs, ceramics, figurines, needlecraft, figurative art, and quilting, many marketed to a global market online. Fairs and science fiction conventionas have also developed modern fairy art as a collectable genre.


Victorian and Edwardian illustrators, especially Doyle, Rackham and Dulac, have clearly inspired Froud and Lee. But rather than attempting a chronological or artist driven display, this exhibition will take a thematic approach, looking at the ways in which artists have responded to Shakespeare’s faeries (A Midsummer’s Night Dream, The Tempest); Spencer’s Faire Queen; Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market and J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. The Flower Fairies of Cicely Mary Barker and Margaret Tarrant form a theme in their own right. There will be bad faeries (goblins), as well as good faeries and even fake fairies (the Cottingley Fairies and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle). This exhibition hopes to chart a living tradition, taking as its starting point the ‘golden age’ of illustration, from the 1860s to the 1930s, culminating with the revival of fairy art in the 1970s, which will bring the story up to the present day. Southampton City Art Gallery hopes to draw on public (V&A, Heath Robinson Trust and Cecil Higgins Art Gallery) and private collections to create an exhibition that will appeal to a wide audience. Wendy Froud’s work is largely sculptural, adding a new dynamic to the show; it is also hoped to include costumes.

[vermillion303]

Here's the Visitor info - it all looks groovy for wheelchairs:

Charges:
Free entrance to the gallery

Contact Details:
Address: Southampton City Art Gallery, Civic Centre, Commercial Road, Southampton, Hampshire,
Postcode: SO14 7LP
Telephone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Fax: [phone]


Details of service:
How to find us:

By foot: The gallery is housed within the Civic Centre, on Commercial Road. There is a large round fountain on the forecourt and the entrance faces Watts Park. Please go up the steps in front of you and you'll be inside the entrance foyer. The flight of stairs directly opposite leads up to the Art Gallery.

By car: Follow signs to the City Centre from the M3/ A33 from the north, A3024 and A33 from the west, and M27/ A335 from the east. The nearest multi-storey car parks are West Park, Grosvenor Square, the Marlands and West Quay.

SUMMER OPENING TIMES:

Mon - Fri: 10am - 6pm
Sat - Sun: 11am - 6pm

Access: Wheelchair access throughout the gallery. There are ramps at all entrances, accessible toilets and a lift. Guide dogs are welcome. There are regular British sign language (BSL) interpreted tours of the gallery and also 'touch tours' for visually impaired vistors; contact the gallery for more information on [e-mail] or telephone [phone].

Shop: The Gallery shop stocks a wide range of greetings cards, stationery, and contemporary crafts. Open Mon - Sat 10am - 5pm ans Sundays 1-4pm. Tel [phone]

Cafe: The Fountains Cafe, serving a wide range of high quality food and drink is open Mon - Fri 8am - 6pm and Sat 9pm - 5pm. Tele 023 8023 4905 for more details.

Parking: The nearest multi-storey car parks are West Park, Grosvenor Square and The Marlands. In addition, there is street parking directly in front of the gallery.

Public transport: The gallery is close to city centre bus stops (two minutes on foot). By train, the gallery is only 5 minutes walk from Southampton Centre Station. Turn right out of the Platform 1 main exit and follow West Park Road up the hill to the traffic lights. The Civic Centre is opposite and the gallery entrance faces the park. There are 3 trains an hour from Waterloo. For more information see Southampton City Council's Public Transport web page.

Toilets: Toilets, including disabled facilities, are situated on the ground floor in the gallery foyer.
Baby changing facilities are also sited within the ground floor gallery foyer.

[PurpleAbsinthe]

Thanks for finding this V. Id be up for going we shall plan a plan to go down there

[vermillion303]

As soon as I'm back from WOMAD and finances have recovered I shall be going. Entrance is free so I don't mind going on the train if you don't wanna drive, PA.

[Opalline]

Jul 17, 2009 15:15:36 GMT vermillion303 said:

As soon as I'm back from WOMAD and finances have recovered I shall be going. Entrance is free so I don't mind going on the train if you don't wanna drive, PA.

How was WOMAD? Awesome, I hope