25 February 2013
'Dear Lynda...' pays tribute to champion of contemporary art
Image: Lynda Morris at Canterbury College of Art, 1967. Courtesy Lynda Morris.
An international touring exhibition celebrating the maverick British curator, writer, art historian and patron Lynda Morris will open at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD) next week.
'Dear Lynda...' will open with a Preview Evening on Friday, 8th March. Lynda Morris herself will be visiting Dundee for the exhibition's installation at Cooper Gallery and will take part in a series of events from 4-8th March.
Marking Morris' contribution to contemporary art since the 1960s, 'Dear Lynda...' consists of artworks, artefacts, catalogues, posters, correspondences and other ephemera drawn from Morris' personal archive and collections.
The exhibition records her encounters and collaborations with a remarkable group of artists including Gilbert & George, Richard Hamilton, André Cadere and many others. This unique body of material stems directly from her work with artists and the social, political and cultural context animating her activities.
Lynda Morris is respected as 'the artists' curator' who has given many artists their first exhibitions. In 1991 acting on a desire to break open the boundaries of a London-centric art scene, she established EASTinternational, an open submission exhibition in Norwich. EAST went on to launch the careers of many artists, and turned Norwich into a recognised international hub for contemporary art.
Sophia Hao, Curator at Cooper Gallery, said, "We are delighted to be welcoming Lynda Morris and to be hosting this exhibition celebrating her contribution and influence on contemporary art. It will be very exciting to see in the exhibition works by celebrated artists including Gilbert & George and Jeremy Deller presented in a unique and meaningful context.
"Reverberating throughout Morris' career is an interest in conceptual art and socio-political issues, evidenced in her Picasso exhibition Peace and Freedom at Tate Liverpool in 2010, which looked at Picasso's ties with politics and the influences they had on his art.
"In a similar tone, Morris' current exhibition Documenting Cadere, 1972 - 1978 at Modern Art Oxford, depicts the ongoing relevance of André Cadere's position on 'space and politics'. The exhibition at the Cooper Gallery is accompanied by an autobiographical 'zine. Opening with the Rolling Stones, the 'zine illustrates Morris' beguiling adventure in the art world which she says has never been a job but rather the perfect way of life."
'Dear Lynda...', which originated at White Columns in New York, was shown at Chelsea Space, London last year and will also visit Norwich University of the Arts and BQ Gallery in Berlin.
As part of the exhibition programme, a week-long 'Salon with Lynda...' will take place with Lynda Morris and invited speakers. This will open with a talk by Morris at Cooper Gallery entitled 'Drinking with Gilbert & George 1972 - 76' on Monday, 4th March at 4.30pm. It will continue with In Conversation events in the gallery featuring Morris and Graham Fagen, Sandy Moffat and Simon Groom at 4.30pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday nights of that week respectively.
A Preview Evening will take place on Friday, 8th March at 6pm, and is open to anyone to attend. The exhibition will remain open until 5th April. The Gallery opening times are Monday - Saturday 11am to 4pm (except Saturday 30 March when the gallery will be closed)
More information is available by visiting www.dundee.ac.uk/djcad/exhibitions/exhibitions/dear-lynda/.
For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277 |
