Sean Scully: 1970
Internationally acclaimed artist returns to Newcastle roots in a major retrospective exhibition
Renowned globally as the master of post-minimalist abstraction, a major exhibition of works by Sean Scully is to be presented across the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne, and the Hatton Gallery, Newcastle University from 10 February – 28 May 2018. In this retrospective exhibition, Scully revisits two seminal sites in his career: Newcastle and Liverpool.
Born in Dublin, Ireland in 1945, Scully moved to Newcastle upon Tyne in 1968 to study Fine Art at Newcastle University. During this time, he began to develop his iconic style of technically flawless paintings, consisting of a complicated grid system of intersecting bands and lines. Following his studies in Newcastle, Scully was awarded the runner-up prize in the John Moore’s Painting Prize in Liverpool in 1972 and 1974.
Sean Scully: 1970 will, for the first time, present a major exhibition of Scully’s early works. Collectively, they demonstrate remarkable confidence at this earliest stage of his career and reveal the genesis of his continued fascination with stripes and the spaces in between.
The exhibition is presented across the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne, and the Hatton Gallery, Newcastle University, where Scully studied in its Fine Art department from 1968-71. In addition to his paintings, the exhibition will present a large selection of Scully’s sketches from 1967-1969, which still provide the artist with inspiration to this day.
Now in his seventies, Scully lives and works in New York, USA, and Bavaria, Germany. He has been twice shortlisted for the Turner Prize and his work is in the collection of virtually every major museum around the world.
To mark the opening of the exhibition, Newcastle University and Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums are to host a public talk by Sean Scully on Friday 9 February (3pm-4pm). Tickets are now sold out.
Sean Scully: 1970 is on display at the Laing Art Gallery and the Hatton Gallery from 10 February – 28 May, before touring to the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the John Moore’s Painting Prize.
Sean Scully, artist, said: "Newcastle is a wonderful town with a great history. Half my family lived in Durham, as they were coal miners. So while I was at Newcastle University, I was emotionally connected. And the Fine Art Department is maybe the best in England. So in a way, I'm bringing everything back home. Closing a perfect circle, and showing my thanks and appreciation, for what I was given."
Julie Milne, Chief Curator of Art Galleries at Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, said: “We are delighted to host an exhibition of works by Sean Scully, one of the most significant and prolific artists working today. Scully has a strong connection with the city having studied at Newcastle University in the seventies and this exhibition provides an opportunity for visitors to see how Scully was influenced by Newcastle’s architectural landscape. Simultaneously on display at the Laing and Hatton Gallery, this is a welcome return of Scully’s vibrant and compelling paintings to the North East.”
Professor Eric Cross, Dean of Cultural Affairs at Newcastle University, said: “We are thrilled to host an exhibition by one of the world’s greatest artists at the place where it all began, Newcastle University. Sean developed and honed his signature style while he was studying Fine Art here and it will be fascinating to see his early works and sketches – many of which were made while he was student here.”
Media information:
For more information, press images or to arrange interviews, please contact Samantha Brimer, Communications Officer, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums.
OPENING HOURS:
Hatton Gallery:
Monday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm
hattongallery.org.uk/whats-on/sean-scully-1970
Laing Art Gallery:
Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm
Sunday 2pm – 5pm
laingartgallery.org.uk/whats-on/sean-scully-1970
About the Hatton Gallery
Hatton Gallery has been at the heart of cultural life in the North East since the early 20th century. The gallery has a dynamic and illustrious history, unique in its relationship to the Fine Art department at Newcastle University. The Hatton’s collection includes works from the 14th century to the present day, and the gallery’s only permanent display, Kurt Schwitters’ Merz Barn Wall, was brought to the gallery in 1965 and incorporated into the fabric of the building.
In 2017, the Hatton underwent a £3.8million redevelopment supported by National Lottery Players through the Heritage Lottery Fund. The redevelopment allowed the Hatton to upgrade exhibition spaces, restore architectural features, conserve Schwitters’ Merz Barn Wall, as well as improve visitor facilities. The Hatton Gallery is managed by Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums on behalf of Newcastle University.
Hatton Gallery, King’s Road,
Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 7RU
Telephone: (0191) 277 8877
About the Laing Art Gallery
The Laing Art Gallery is home to an internationally important collection of art, focusing on British oil paintings, watercolours, ceramics, silver and glassware.
The Laing Art Gallery holds regularly changing exhibitions of historic, modern and contemporary art, and events including artist and curator talks and family activities.
The Laing Art Gallery is managed by Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums on behalf of Newcastle City Council and is supported by Arts Council England and the Friends of the Laing Art Gallery.
Laing Art Gallery, New Bridge Street
Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8AG
Telephone: (0191) 278 1611
About Sean Scully
Scully lives and works in New York, USA, and Bavaria, Germany. He has been twice shortlisted for the Turner Prize and his work is in the collection of virtually every major museum around the world. In 2014, he became the only Western artist to have had a career-length retrospective exhibition in China (Follow the Heart: The Art of Sean Scully 1964 - 2014 included over 100 paintings and traveled from Shanghai to Beijing). It was an unprecedented success, selected as the Exhibition of the Year by the Beijing News and the Global Times referred to it as ‘a Sean Scully hurricane…blowing through China’. This led to a second wave of exhibitions across major museums and cities in China through 2016-17, and Scully was presented with the International Artist of the Year Award for his outstanding contribution to contemporary art.
In 2018, Scully has major solo exhibitions around the world, including the Multimedia Art Museum of Moscow, the State Museum of St Petersburg, Russia, the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Germany, the De Pont Museum of Contemporary Art in Tilburg, Netherlands, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington DC, USA, among others.
Sean Scully is represented by the Kerlin Gallery, Dublin, Ireland; Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland; Kewenig Galerie, Berlin, Germany; Blain|Southern London, London, UK and Cheim & Read, New York, USA.
