Art / rwa
Anthony Whishaw at 92 exhibition launches at RWA
A free exhibition of paintings by artist Anthony Whishaw has opened at the RWA’s brand new Kenny Gallery, on the first floor of the newly refurbished £4.5m RWA building.
Entitled Anthony Whishaw at 92: A Force of Nature, the retrospective will encompass six decades of work, from the 1960s to today.
It will run throughout the summer, alongside Earth: Digging Deep in British Art 1781-2022 – “a deep exploration of our environment across four centuries, inviting audiences to consider our planet in all its abundance, precarity and preciousness” through a collection of modern, historical and contemporary artworks.
is needed now More than ever
Anthony Whishaw RA RWA (b.1930) Turbulence, 2001-6, acrylic on canvas, 173 x 414 cm
Courtesy and © the artist – photo: Douglas Atfield
Throughout his artistic life, Whishaw’s fascination with the environment and the natural world has endured. Rather than accurate representation, his style is to capture a feeling.
“Creation is not a reproduction of observed fact,” he says. “The aim of art is the fusion of ideas and experiences with the qualities of the art medium so the artist creates a new reality.
“The medium becomes the work of art. The work of art is a world in itself at the same time as of the world.”
Anthony Whishaw RA RWA (b.1930 Collapsing Tree, acrylic on canvas, 213 x 152 cm
Courtesy and © the artist – photo: Douglas Atfield
Whishaw paints experiences, memories and visions; energetic and sensory portrayals of landscapes and forces of nature – from murmuration of birds to floods, storms and seasonal changes.
The works on show at the RWA range from large scale canvases to much smaller, whimiscal pieces, and represent “a surge of ideas, texture and energy”.
Anthony Whishaw – photo: courtesy of the artist
Anthony Whishaw: Force of Nature is at the RWA’s Kenny Gallery from July 9-September 11 from 10am-5pm Tuesday-Sunday, with late opening on Wednesday. The exhibition is free to attend. For more information, visit www.rwa.org.uk.
Main photo: Reece Straw
Read more: Local artist among those included in RWA’s latest exhibition
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