RWA opens major retrospective exhibition of work by Bristol-born abstract artist Paule Vézelay

To commence its exhibition programme for 2025, the RWA is opening Living Lines, a major retrospective of work by modernist Paule Vézelay (1892-1984), presented in conjunction with the RWA Biennial Open 2025: Paper Works.

Born in Bristol (with the given name Marjorie Watson-Williams) and widely recognised as the city’s first abstract artist, Vézelay was a pioneer of her time.

A prominent modernist who was first embraced by the abstract movement in Paris, where she settled in 1926, she went on to make an impact internationally through a career that spanned an extraordinary seven decades.

Her diversity of work encompassed paint, collage, illustration, sculpture, construction, textiles and photography, although an enduring fascination with the drawn line underpinned much of her aesthetic as an artist.

Growing Forms (1946), Paule Vézelay. Collection of Heloisa Genish; courtesy Heloisa Genish – photo: © the Estate of Paule Vézelay

Bringing together 60 pieces from both public and private collections, including some best-known paintings and sculptures alongside rarely-exhibited textiles and a touching array of personal letters and photographs, this collection is the first exhibition of Vézelay’s work in over 40 years.

Among the most well-known works on show – many of them produced during her time in Paris in the 1920s and 30s, will be the painting Strange Landscape (1933), sculptures including Garden (1935) and a 3D abstract picture series, Lines in Space.

Lines in Space no.51 (1965), Paule Vézelay – photo: © the Estate of Paule Vézelay

The exhibition represents something of a full-circle moment for the artist, as noted by RWA director Ren Renwick: “Vézelay, an internationally important pioneer of 20th century modernism, was born just a few streets away from the RWA and began her career in the school of art attached to our Gallery”.

Living Lines has been curated by Simon Grant, for whom it feels like an opportune moment to bring Vézelay’s work to a wider audience. He describes her as a “multi-talented artist who maintained a strong sense of direction and continually pushed the boundaries of her art”, and someone who “deserves to be far better known”.

Eight Curved Forms and Two Circles (1947), Paule Vézelay. Collection of James Trotman; courtesy James Trotman -photo: © the Estate Paule Vézelay

The exhibition, which will go on to the prestigious Towner Eastbourne gallery in May, will be accompanied by the first comprehensive publication on Vézelay (published by Lund Humphries, January 2025).

The book is edited by Grant and features his own writing alongside numerous other contributions – among them Gemma Brace, head of exhibitions at Arnolfini, Helen Janecek, art historian, and Sarah Wilson, curator and professor of Modern and Contemporarty Art at the Courtauld Institute.

Paule Vézelay at work – photo: © the Estate of Paule Vézelay

Complementing the exhibitions, the RWA’s substantial and inclusive community engagement programme is indicative of its commitment to fostering creativity across Bristol, both within its own gallery spaces and in venues across the city – including regular ‘scribble and sketch’ sessions at Hartcliffe City Farm, Windmill Hill City Farm and Greenway Centre Café, Southmead.

The award-winning Tuesday Teatime Tours invite people living with dementia and their companions to explore the RWA, followed by tea and conversation.

Tuesday Teatime Tours at the RWA – photo: Alice Hendy

Described exhibition tours with experienced facilitators allow blind or partially sighted adults a chance for an informative and tactile exploration of artworks, while BSL family workshops have also been introduced to the RWA programme, led by Deaf artist Emily Rose Corby, with a translator.

Finally, activities for families include the purpose-built and free-to-use family room, monthly informal baby tours – aimed at parents of infants under a year old, dedicated sessions for parents with children with SEND, drop-in craft activities and ticketed workshops during school holidays.

Baby Tour at the RWA – photo: Alice Hendy

Paule Vézelay: Living Lines opens at the RWA on January 25 and runs until April 27. The gallery is open 10am-5pm Tuesday-Sunday; closed Monday.

Tickets will also grant entry to the parallel exhibition: RWA Biennial Open 2025: Paper Works.

For more information about all upcoming exhibitions, events, talks and workshops at RWA, go to www.rwa.org.uk.

Main photo: Tate (Construction Grey Lines on Pink Ground (1938), Paule Vézelay. Tate, purchased 1973 © the Estate of Paule Vézelay)

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