LAYERS
RETROSPECTIVE: JOHN MOORES PAINTING PRIZE SHOW

6 AUGUST - 14 OCTOBER 2010
Opening Reception | 6th of August | Friday | 5pm | 2010


SEONGNAM ARTS CENTRE CUBE GALLERY




Opening Hour | Tuesday to Sunday | 10: 30am to 7:30 pm

British art has been constantly updated with fresh trends in art while the existing ones continue. London has been one of the important European hubs in modern history for a long time although it has never been the mainstay in art until recent years. This position has enabled the city to have an influx of diverse and multi-cultural impulses unremittingly. Naturally, the resistance against new forces has collided and newly arrived issues, only strong ones, would find their way to exist. However, a tradition doesn’t simply disappear: it is not replaced; a history continues and another starts to flow on top and other new ones arrive and try timely. The constant updates form thick layers; a layer represents each phenomenon in art. These layers might be a figurative expression for the structure of British art, which could be effectively illustrated by the oldest and most persistent award in British art over more than 50 years, John Moores painting prize.

John Moores painting prize is an honour in painting, sponsored by John Moores, who was the founder of a well known British company called Littlewoods, based in Liverpool. The Walker Gallery in Liverpool museum endorses the prize with a grant of 25,000 pounds every two years. The grand exhibition is followed as a major program of the museum. It has also been a part of the Liverpool Biennale since 1999. The past fifty four years has created a number of the landmarks of British art history. The curators and juries, as well as the artists, have helped to create an international reputation. People outside of the UK often talk about the YBAs, the Turner prize, or the British pavilion at the Venice Biennale in the context of British art; But the John Moores painting prize denotes all of these artists and movements in the history of British painting.

Painting, a traditional or orthodox form in art, has been a major subject in British art. Undoubtedly, the old and conventional medium has a destiny to endure the criticism and moments of disregard when new media emerge and prevail. Paintings are easy to treat as the remains of the past. Frequently, it is difficult to be associated with the hot topics in the international art scene; ambitious artists tend not to pursue them. However, it has a good reference in British art although many artists still confessed how difficult to work through due to the lack of attention from media and audience. They also talked about how the John Moores prize has encouraged this mood and the artists through the whole time. The survival and resilience of traditional styles of painting in the aftermath of powerful emergent phenomena such as the YBAs, is exemplary. The excitement of the day the new winner has announced for the John Moores has been kept in each artist’s life story and episodes. Layers makes reference to the constant application of brush strokes and the ceaseless courage to pursue work on canvas through the layers of time.

The survival of the painting in Britain has been aided by an interaction with the development of art schools. Art schools in Britain have individual characteristics and directions for the education of young artists. They would not instruct to follow the major trends as many of them insist their direction is rather critical and theoretical. Certainly, some schools have seemed more popular judging by successful graduates at a time, but it didn’t mean the other school’s instructions should be ignored or renounced. Schools have established their stable positions with their own patrons. The famous and traditional painting schools like Royal Academy (RA) have steady supporters and patrons who support exhibitions and scholarships as well as be the major channels for the sales of work. The fifty years of the John Moores’ tradition shows the constant change and revolution of the painting in close relation to the art schools developing to the international level.

Art in Britain is currently international. Dynamic fresh attention was called for: Chinese, Indian and Russian art. Artists experienced the richly diverse cultures and the audience became leisurely experts on contemporary art and enthusiastically tried to anticipate which new art will be the next hot topic. This may be a place for an attempt for anything: not only new, but also strictly traditional. People are encouraged to be interested in art in general and ready to have a look in relatively extensive way. British art in thick layers might be less anxious about the idea that only one or two powerful styles would survive and thrive. In fact, it could be more probable to survive and be successful when there is a situation of abundance of diversity in art: appreciation with a richer point of view. The internationalism in British art does not only stand for the artists and work, but also for the audience, approaching the work from various experiences.

This exhibition is the first Korean introduction of British painting and the John Moores painting prize, the compact history of British painting. The most representative twenty six artists are selected by periods and styles. It is hoped to contribute to the forming of another layer in Korean art and the audience’s experiences, whose experience of British art has perhaps been focused on the phenomenon of the YBAs. It is perhaps nice to dream for us to be a reference for audiences to anticipate what kind of art will be the next rising one in this busy international art world.

Participating artists


LANDSCAPE ART
Martin Greenland
Graham Crowley
Christopher Le Brun
Bruce Mclean
Masakatsu Kondo
Neal Jones


ABSTRACT ART
John Hoyland
Terry Setch
Matthew Burrows
Howard Hodgkins
Vincent Hawkins
Gillian Ayres
Alexis Harding


POP/OP ART
Simon Callery
Ian Davenport
Tess Jaray
Bridget Riley
Gary Hume
Richard Hamilton
David Leapman
Paul Morrison


NARRATIVE ART
David Hockney
Lisa Milroy
Dougal McKenzie
Geraint Evans
Sarah Pickstone
Stephen Farthing