At the Laing's stores
As we prepare for the opening of our exhibition we want to document and share the process as it happens.
On Thursday the 9th of February Rob Airey, the Hatton’s Keeper of Art, kindly familiarised us with the gallery’s collection kept in the Laing Art Gallery stores. The collection is temporarily being stored at the Laing while a £3.8 million redevelopment of the Hatton is underway with the gallery due to open in autumn 2017. The Hatton’s large collection ranges from 14th century painting to modernist works including pieces by Francis Bacon, Kurt Schwitters and Patrick Heron.
Prior to our visit to the Laing we were provided with a long-list of artworks available to include in our exhibition. Rob gave us a tour of the store before encouraging us to look at pieces included in the long-list up close.
Artworks in the store are hung in rows of two or three crammed onto wire walls facing each other across small passageways and were left for us to explore. Further works were looked out by Rob and lined up on blocks on the floor. In close proximity to the emotional 15th century painting The Lamentation after Hugo van der Goes we found Heron’s exploration of colour and space in The Red Table (1954). A number of Antoni Tapies graphic lithographs smeared with handprints, red splashes of colour and frantic line were found dotted around the store mixed in with French Baroque painting and Portuguese and Italian prints. Seeing the works in relation to each other in this impromptu way later helped us draw up ideas and hopes for the exhibition.
This was also an opportunity for us to spend time together in the Exhibition Gallery at the Laing where the exhibition will be displayed.
The exhibition will be open to the public from the 11th of March. Watch this space.
Social media accounts coming soon!
Keep up to date with the Hatton’s redevelopment: Hatton Gallery Twitter