Major New Gallery To Host Jerwood Art Collection

Jerwood Foundation

New gallery opening in March 2012 will bring Jerwood Foundation’s collection of Modern and Contemporary art to public view for very first time

The Jerwood Foundation is getting ready to throw open the doors to its brand new gallery in March 2012. Located in Hastings, and designed by young architectural practice HAT Projects, the Gallery will house the Foundation’s collection of 20th and 21st century paintings, enabling them to be on public display for the very first time. These include works by well known artists such as Sir Stanley Spencer RA, Lawrence Stephen Lowry RA, and Augustus John OM, RA, alongside works from winners of the Jerwood Painting Prize, Craigie Aitchison RA, Maggi Hambling OBE, Patrick Caulfield and Prunella Clough. It will also host the exhibitions for the Jerwood Visual Arts Programme – including the Jerwood Drawing Prize, Jerwood Contemporary Makers, and the Jerwood Contemporary Painters – widely recognised as a place to discover ‘rising stars’ in contemporary arts.

Alan Grieve, Chairman of the Jerwood Foundation said:

‘This is the culmination of the initiative to make a new home for Jerwood’s collection of 20th and 21st century art and place it in the public domain for the first time. Hastings is linked with a number of artists featured in the collection. With its rich history and strong, ever-expanding artistic community we felt that Hastings was the perfect location for the Gallery.’

The new gallery complements the £9 million redevelopment of the Stade – a historic area in Hasting’s Old Town, and home to Europe’s largest beach-launched fishing fleet –, with the £4million building being funded entirely by the Jerwood Foundation, and hoped to be an important catalyst in the cultural and economic regeneration of the area. It will help establish Hastings in the ‘string of pearls’ of prestigious cultural attractions along the South Coast, which includes the Turner Contemporary at Margate, the Folkestone Triennial, the Towner in Eastbourne, De la Warr Pavilion at Bexhill and Pallant House at Chichester.

The Jerwood Gallery will open with the UK’s first retrospective of the works of Kent-based artist Rose Wylie – the artist who has just been awarded the 2011 Paul Hamlyn Prize for Visual Arts. Rose is no stranger to the Jerwood Foundation, having been shortlisted for its Painting Prize in 1997 and featuring in the Jerwood Drawing Prize in 2003.

Liz Gilmore, Director of Jerwood Gallery said:

‘We are delighted to celebrate Rose Wylie’s contribution to painting through our inaugural show. Rose sets the direction for all our future exhibitions: to recognise creative talent and nurture what is most significant and important to both artists and visitors. The contemporary programme will complement Jerwood’s Collection of Modern British Art, which itself is live and growing and a source of inspiration for artists today.’

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