Coup for Flowerfield Arts Centre as it presents Georgia O’Keeffe touring exhibition
Thu, March 31, 2022
Drawings by internationally renowned artist coming to Portstewart from London’s Hayward Gallery.
Flowerfield Arts Centre is delighted to be the first venue on the island of Ireland to present an exciting new touring exhibition from the Hayward Gallery at the Southbank Centre, London.
A remarkable collection of work from the pioneering American artist Georgia O'Keeffe will run from April 2nd – 30th, showcasing 21 photogravures of drawings produced by the artist between 1915-1963, reflecting the period in which she established herself as a major figure in American Modernism.
Although best known as a painter, drawing was central to O’Keeffe’s practice. It was her pivotal charcoal abstractions which secured her inaugural exhibitions in 1916-17, organised by the prominent photographer and gallerist Alfred Stieglitz, who later became her husband.
She used drawing as a language to evoke important moments and emotions – the curve of a flower petal, a desert horizon, the wave of one's hair, or the flow of a winding road.
The works in this display demonstrate O’Keeffe’s distinctive style and chart the key trajectories and motifs in her practice.
Welcoming the exhibition, the Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council Councillor Richard Holmes said: “We are delighted that some of Georgia O’Keeffe’s most significant works are coming to Portstewart as part of this touring exhibition, which is a great endorsement for Flowerfield Arts Centre. Please come along to appreciate this exhibition during its stay in our Borough, and get involved with the creative opportunities which will run alongside it.”
Photogravure is a printmaking process that produces etchings with the tone and detail of a photograph through exposure onto a copper plate. The exhibition includes nine prints of her earliest charcoal abstracts alongside works originally rendered in pencil and watercolour, capturing subjects ranging from the artist’s early morning excursions with her sister, to surreal still life works of seashells, banana flowers and animal horns. Together, these important documents reflect a formative collection that O’Keeffe produced with her agent and long-term friend Doris Bry.
Displayed alongside her drawings, exhibition texts will also recall the artist’s own commentary – sourced from a fragmentary but often poetic text she published alongside the collection – about why she made these drawings.
To complement the exhibition, Flowerfield Arts Centre has developed some fantastic creative learning activities including glassmaking, floristry, plein air drawing, ceramics and silk painting workshops for adults inspired by the artist’s work, as well as workshops for kids. The venue’s small gallery will be transformed into a creative learning zone with activities for children and reference books on the artist.
Visit www.flowerfield.org for more information about how you can get involved or follow Flowerfield on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest news.
Georgia O’Keeffe, Goat’s Horns II © Georgia O’Keeffe Museum/DACS 2022. A remarkable collection of work from the pioneering American artist will run from April 2nd – 30th at Flowerfield Arts Centre in Portstewart.