Childish Things: Fantasy and Ferocity in Recent Art
20 November 2010 – 23 January 2011
The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh
Louise Bourgeois, Helen Chadwick, Robert Gober, Susan Hiller. Mike Kelley, Jeff Koons, Paul McCarthy
Curated by David Hopkins
This exhibition focuses on a very specific moment in the post-dada/surrealist take-up of toys and early childhood as themes in art. Centred on the work of certain British and American artists who came to prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s, the show sets in dialogue a number of seminal works on the theme of toys, childhood, child development and the cultural conditioning of children.
Impressionist Gardens
Jardines impresionistas
16 November 2010 – 14 February 2011
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza and Caja Madrid, Madrid
Dr. Willsdon gave a major public lecture on 17 November at the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in association with the opening, and there is a video introduction and ‘virtual tour’ of the exhibition, together with information about associated events, on the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza’s website.
31 July - 17 October 2010
National Gallery Complex, EdinburghExhibition organised by the National Galleries of Scotland and Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid in association with Dr Clare Willsdon. Part of the Edinburgh Art Festival.
The highlight of the 2010 summer season at the National Gallery Complex will be a ground-breaking exhibition on the subject of paintings of Impressionist Gardens. This major international exhibition of around 100 works is sponsored by BNY Mellon and is the first ever to be devoted to this fascinating subject, with spectacular loans from collections around the world. The famous names of Impressionism will be well represented, with fine examples by Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Manet and Sisley. In addition, the exhibition will examine the continued significance of the Impressionist garden to the generation of artists working immediately after the Impressionists, such as Cézanne and Pierre Bonnard.
For more information:
Impressionist Gardens Information
Impressionist Gardens News
Exhibition reviews:
Mapping Materials and Makers: Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951
12 November 2010 - 15 May 2011
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
This is the first comprehensive study of sculptors, related businesses and trades investigated in the context of creative collaborations, art infrastructures, professional networks and cultural geographies. This project will take an innovative approach to the research that moves beyond the conventional image of the sculptor as the sole creator of handcrafted works and reveals the collaborative nature of sculpture.
Associated staff: Prof. Alison Yarrington
Research project: Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951: Project Page: Mapping Sculpture
The Practice and Profession of Sculpture: Objects from the Leeds Collection
Until October 2011
Leeds Art Gallery - Lower Sculpture Galleries
The Practice and Profession of Sculpture: Objects from the Leeds Collection
Associated staff: Prof. Alison Yarrington
This display has been organised to coincide with the launch of 'Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, 1851-1951', a new online database of charting one hundred years of sculptural practice. Between 1851 and 1951, the practice of sculpture expanded significantly in the United Kingdom. There was a growth in the number of museums, exhibiting societies, art association and teaching institutions, as well as an increase in the number of arts and crafts trades and sculpture-related businesses. The sculptor in this period was not just the sole creator, but one of a number of specialists and skilled workers who played crucial roles in sculpture's making. Sculpture thus leads a complex life in these years, inhabiting many places and spaces in this country: from the quarry and the stonemasons, to the foundry and ceramics workshops
Research project: Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951 Project page: