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Exhibition 2008 - 2009Searching for a Bigger SubjectPaintings from Everest and the Grand CanyonFive year's work by Tony FosterPlease click on smaller image for enlargement (and vice-versa) |
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Exhibition
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The Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro
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Exhibition
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Venues
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Truro is the first of six cities where Foster has exhibited, the full list being:
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Venues
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Rationale
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Full details of the Exhibition Venues and of the Rationale underpinning it are shown separately lower down this page. |
Rationale
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[Events]
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Tony will be giving several related slide lectures during 2008 - see the [Events] poster which is in PDF format opening in a separate window. |
[Events]
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Installation
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Installation PhotographsThis general view of the Treffry Gallery at The Royal Cornwall Museum does not quite convey the sheer size of the larger exhibits. Thirty-five works, numbered BS1 to BS35, relate to the Bigger Subject theme depicting the Grand Canyon and Everest. In addition there are a dozen supplementary (unnumbered) exhibits that might be regarded as "off topic", but which are interesting in their own right. See also the list of [Exhibits] which is in PDF format opening in a separate window.
The two dark, cylindrical objects are chairs. A large map lies under perspex on the floor. These installation photographs give a general idea of the exhibition. The Grand Canyon
Mount EverestTony Foster undertook three expeditions to Everest. A 15 minute DVD running on a continuous loop tells the story of his second journey and is well worth seeing. The Exhibition shows the results of Tony's labours and a sample of the exhibits is shown below.
Supplementary Exhibits
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Installation
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Venues |
Exhibition VenuesRoyal Cornwall Museum, A list of Tony Foster's past and prospective solo exhibitions is to be found on Tony's CV. Slide LecturesTony will be giving several slide lectures during 2008: Royal Cornwall Museum: Public Lecture, 28 February |
Venues |
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Rationale |
A Bigger SubjectSearching for the SublimeSublime: adjective - inspiring awe or wonder, high, great, imposing, magnificent. The focus for my new series will be to contrast two of the world’s most powerful subjects - Mt. Everest and The Grand Canyon. It is my thesis that despite a world overloaded with imagery, certain places still retain the power to inspire awe and wonder. In choosing to work in such iconic places my intention is to promote the concept of the primacy of the subject. This may seem like an 18th century concept, but as an artist operating in the 21st century I am in favour of a contemporary engagement with my subject - by thorough research; by living and working on location for long periods; by involvement with its community; by arguing for the protection of wild places - the work addresses current concerns. Although based on a concept, my work is inclusive rather than reductive; explanatory rather than obfuscatory. The resulting paintings are rooted in specific time and place and often contain personal diaries, narratives, symbolic souvenirs, clues and references to its biology, geology, history and culture. They are a record, not only of the form of the land, but also of time spent studying and experiencing it. They are intended to be simultaneously personal and universal. It is rare to find the perfect combination of elements required to make a large-scale painting. Simply arriving at an iconic place is not sufficient - it often takes many days, or weeks, of intense exploration in remote places to find a site that “works”. The events of the search are of considerable importance in the making of the final painting, and this element forms a part of the conceptual basis for my work. So far I have completed two 6ft x 3ft paintings and nine smaller works of the Grand Canyon. Each of the larger paintings took a month working on site before it was sufficiently resolved to finish in the studio. One of these “From Point Sublime looking ESE” has already been purchased by the Phoenix Art Museum for their permanent collection. They are prepared to loan the work for the exhibition. I shall be returning to the Grand Canyon once more to complete this group. I have also done two journeys to paint Everest, and returned with two 6ft x 3ft paintings and ten smaller pieces. I intend to return to Everest next season to paint from the Rongbuk glacier in Tibet. I will then have painted Everest from all possible vantage points. The resulting exhibition “Searching for a Bigger Subject” will be complete in 2008 and comprise approximately 30 small and 6-8 large paintings plus related material. It will open in Britain before touring to art museums and galleries in the USA. In his introduction to my retrospective exhibition “WorldViews” (Frye Art Museum, Seattle, 2000) the curator Duncan Robinson (formerly Director of Yale Center for British Art, currently Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum and Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, UK) wrote “… I find it difficult to identify any other contemporary artist whose commitment to his subject has been sustained with such painstaking effort and such loving care…”. This exhibition will be the ultimate expression of that commitment. The challenge of making big paintings on site in some of the world’s most inhospitable terrain is undoubtedly a demanding one. Nonetheless, after 20 years working in wilderness areas I feel I have honed my skills sufficiently to produce a compelling and thought-provoking series of works about these extraordinary subjects. Tony Foster Cornwall 2006 |
Rationale |
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