An Arts Council Collection National Partners Exhibition
As part of the Arts Council Collection National Partners Programme, Liverpool-based artist Leo Fitzmaurice will create an assembly of portraits within Room 9 at the Gallery.
The artist will gather together artworks from both the Arts Council Collection and National Museums Liverpool’s own collections, with a painting from the Lady Lever Art Gallery called Psamathe (1879-80) by Frederic, Lord Leighton as a key work in the exhibition. This image shows a female nude from behind and the subject appears to be looking out to the sea in front of her. Fitzmaurice will aim to expand upon this “tone of inquisitiveness in the world beyond” through a selection of works dictated by the direction in which the sitters seem to be looking. At first glance, Room 9 may look like many other rooms in the Gallery. However, on closer inspection visitors will notice something unusual about the placement of the portraits and the direction in which the sitters appear to be looking.
More than 30 portraits by artists including Frank Auerbach, David Bomberg, Milena Dragicevic, Ken Kiff, Marie-Louise von Motesiczky and Philip Sutton will feature in the exhibition.
Leo Fitzmaurice said: “Almost always, in my work, I try to frame the everyday and the overlooked in a new light. I would think an artwork successful if the work could give the feeling of encountering something familiar for the first time.”
Walker Art Gallery's exhibition page.
