Press Release Embargo: 12pm, 16 May 2018 2019 EXHIBITION PROGRAMME
Dulwich Picture Gallery today announces details of its 2019 exhibition programme, a revelatory year which will introduce the Norwegian artist, Harald Sohlberg, to the UK, shine a spotlight on the inspirational printmaking of The Grosvenor School of Modern Art and - in a dramatic twist - present a new way of looking at Rembrandt and his mastery of light. The year will also see the return of the Dulwich Pavilion, which will be constructed in the spring and open to the public throughout the summer.
HARALD SOHLBERG: PAINTING NORWAY Dates: 13 February - 2 June 2019 Press View: 12 February 2019 Curated by Kathleen Soriano, Freelance Art Historian Supported by The Savings Bank Foundation DNB. In Partnership with National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo and Museum Wiesbaden
The Gallery’s first show of 2019 will showcase the highly original landscapes ofthe Norwegian neo-romantic artist, Harald Sohlberg (1869 – 1935), arguably the greatest master of landscape painting in the history of Norwegian art. Timed to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Sohlberg’s birth it will be the first major show of his work outside of Norway, bringing together around 100 works with a large selection never-before exhibited.
Like Edvard Munch, Sohlberg strongly denied the influence of other contemporary artists, disassociating himself from discussions about where he belonged in the history of art. Instead he relegated the origins of his artistic awakening to his own psyche and to the intense stories and mythologies of the Norwegian land. Consequently Sohlberg’s paintings depict the wilderness of the Nordic landscape, the soft beauty of the flower fields and the harsh cold of the winter.
This major retrospective will show the breadth and ambiguity of Sohlberg’s art whilst revealing its relevance beyond Norway’s borders. It will trace Sohlberg’s entire artistic career, from his earliest production as a twenty-year-old in 1889 through to the last year of his life and reveal influences such as Norwegian Naturalism and Symbolism, which he was exposed to during his training in Copenhagen and Christiania. Particular focus will be given to his depictions of the mining town Rørosin in central Norway where Sohlberg lived between 1902-05, including Street in Roros. The exhibition will also include Sohlberg’s iconic landscape, Winter Night in the Mountains, regarded as the ‘National Painting of Norway’.
This exhibition will also feature a new installation by Mariele Neudecker, made in response to the paintings of Harald Sohlberg.
CUTTING EDGE Dates: 19 June 2019 - 8 September 2019 Press View: 18 June 2019 Curated by Gordon Samuel, Modern British Specialist
Dulwich Picture Gallery’s spring show will shine a spotlight on a brief but intense period of inspirational printmaking during the interwar period, with the first major show of work by artists from the Grosvenor School of Modern Art, including the teacher and artist Claude Flight and his students Sybil Andrews, Cyril Power, Lill Tschudi, William Greengrass and Leonard Beaumont. Press Release
The school, which was founded in Pimlico in 1925, played a key role in the story of modern art and quickly became a leading force in the production of modern printmaking, in particular, linocuts. The students became renowned for their iconic, vibrant prints that championed the energy of contemporary life in the inter-war years. Whilst considering the radical expressions of the avant-garde values of Futurism, Vorticism and Cubism, the Grosvenor School brought their own unique interpretation of the contemporary world, incorporating elements of art deco, a punchy geometric style and a vivid palette which went on to define the medium of linocut.
Arranged thematically, this show will feature over 100 prints, focusing on the key components which made up the School’s dynamic and rhythmic visual imagery including speed and movement, industry and labour, war, sport and leisure, while also looking at materials and technique. It will feature original tools, lino blocks and studies showing how the School revolutionised the process which involved layering up vivid inks in order to produce their distinctive and colourful ‘pop’ version of modernism.
Highlights will include Flight’s seminal image of movement, Brooklands, which shows a racing car thundering around the Brooklands track in Surrey and several works depicting London transport including Power’s The Tube Station.
As part of the exhibition, Japanese paper cut artist, Nahoko Kojima will create a unique sculpture for the Gallery’s 200 year old Mausoleum. This installation will respond to the power of narrative and movement that is represented through the work of The Grosvenor School artist’s linocuts.
REMBRANDT’S LIGHT Dates: 2 October 2019 - 2 February 2020 Press View: 1 October 2019 Curated by Jennifer Scott, The Sackler Director, Dulwich Picture Gallery and Helen Hillyard, Assistant Curator, Dulwich Picture Gallery
2019 is The Year of Rembrandt with celebrations taking place throughout Europe to mark 350 years since the artist’s death (1669). Dulwich Picture Gallery will stage London’s Rembrandt moment with an innovative exhibition that aims to refresh the way that we look at works by this incomparable Dutch Master. Along with many firsts, this show will bring the captivating painting Philemon and Baucis (National Gallery of Art, Washington) to the UK for the first time.
‘Rembrandt’s Light’ will bring together 35 carefully selected international loans that focus on Rembrandt’s mastery of light and visual storytelling, concentrating on his greatest years from 1639-1658, when he lived in his ideal house at Breestraat in the heart of Amsterdam (today the Museum Het Rembrandthuis). Its striking, light-infused studio was the site for the creation of Rembrandt’s most exceptional paintings, prints and drawings including The Denial of St Peter and The Artist’s Studio.
Arranged thematically the exhibition will trace Rembrandt’s innovation: from evoking a meditative mood, to lighting people, to creating impact and drama. Highlights will include three of Rembrandt’s most famous images of women: A Woman Bathing in a Stream, A Woman in Bed and the Gallery’s inimitable Girl at a Window which will be displayed side- by-side for the first time. It will also include two works from Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, never displayed before in the UK.
This exhibition is the first to be curated by Jennifer Scott since becoming Director at the Gallery in 2017. Rooms will be designed to encourage contemplative moments, with dramatic lighting and illuminating interpretation immersing visitors in Rembrandt’s world. Press Release
DULWICH PAVILION June – September 2019 Press View: TBC Supported by the Arts Council
In collaboration with the London Festival of Architecture, Dulwich Picture Gallery will unveil its second Dulwich Pavilion in June 2019. Set against and inspired by the innovation of Sir John Soane’s architectural masterpiece, the pavilion will be built in the Gallery’s grounds, offering an exciting new temporary welcome space and food offer as well as range of cultural events for visitors and local community.
The first leg of the competition invited entries from emerging architects in early 2018, with the winning design to be chosen by a panel of industry experts including TV personality Tom Dyckhoff, journalist Oliver Wainwright and architect Mary Duggan, as well as the public, who will vote for their favourite design during a special display at the Gallery during the summer 2018. Models by six shortlisted practices will be on public display this June-July as part of this year’s London Festival of Architecture. The winning design will be constructed at Dulwich Picture Gallery to open for the London Festival of Architecture in June 2019.
The project builds on the success of the first ever ‘Dulwich Pavilion’ - ‘After Image’ by Bermondsey-based practice IF_DO - which was one of the triumphs of the London Festival of Architecture in 2017 and the Gallery’s bicentenary year. As well as helping the Gallery to address constraints for learning activities, attract new audiences and broaden its appeal to a wider demographic, the pavilion achieved critical acclaim and won multiple awards. The project was transformational for the Gallery as well as for the young architectural practice, IF_DO, giving them global exposure and leading to a series of exciting new commissions that have enabled them to triple in size.
Notes to editors
For further press information, please contact Louisa Bee, Press and Communications Manager on 020 8299 8710 or [email protected]
Tickets and Opening Hours Tickets go on sale several months before an exhibition opens. To book tickets in advance visit www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk
Friends of Dulwich Picture Gallery enjoy free entry to all exhibitions as well as exclusive private views, discounts on events and much more. For further information please visit: dpg.art/friends
Images Publicity images can be downloaded from the Gallery’s website at: dpg.art/presspics
* Please note: Exhibition titles may be subject to change
Dulwich Picture Gallery Dulwich Picture Gallery, founded in 1811, is the world’s first purpose-built public art gallery. It cares for and displays an outstanding collection of Old Master paintings within Sir John Soane’s pioneering architecture. As an independent gallery it pursues its founders’ purpose of presenting art ‘for the inspection of the publick’ while engaging as many people as possible, of all ages and backgrounds, through a creative programme. Entering the gallery space visitors discover a surprising and contemplative experience that encourages the discovery of personal connections with historic works of art – a place 2019 EXHIBITIONS: IMAGE SHEET For high-res images and credit lines please visit dpg.art/presspics
HARALD SOHLBERG 13 Feb - 2 June 2019
Harald Sohlberg, Flower Meadow in the Harald Sohlberg, Winter Night in the North, 1905, The National Museum of Mountains, 1914, The National Museum Art, Architecture and Design, Norway. of Art, Architecture and Design, Norway.
Harald Sohlberg, Street in Røros in Winter, 1903, The Harald Sohlberg, Summer Night, 1899, National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, The National Museum of Art, Architecture Norway. and Design, Norway.
CUTTING EDGE 19 June - 8 September 2019
Claude Flight, Speed, c1922, Sybil Andrews, Speedway, Ethel Spowers, Wet Afternoon, © The Estate of Claude Flight 1934, © The Estate of Sybil 1929-30 Andrews, Glenbow, Calgary, Canada
Cyril Power, The Tube Station, 1932, ©The Estate of Cyril Power 2019 EXHIBITIONS: IMAGE SHEET For high-res images and credit lines please visit dpg.art/presspics
REMBRANDT’S LIGHT 2 October 2019 - 2 February 2020
Rembrandt van Rijn, The Denial of St Peter, 1660. Rembrandt van Rijn, The Artist's Studio, c. © The Rijksmuseum 1658. © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Rembrandt van Rijn, Self Portrait, Royal Rembrandt van Rijn, Philemon and Baucis, 1658, oil on panel Collection Trust/© Her Majesty Queen transferred to panel, © National Gallery of Art, Washington. Elizabeth II 2018
DULWICH PAVILION June - September 2018
Aerial view of Dulwich Picture Gallery, designed by Sir IF_DO’s winning design ‘After Image’ - the 2017 John Soane Dulwich Pavilion