Michael Fliri
Ryan Hays
Giovanni Piranesi
Francisco Goya
Gayle Meikle
Ellen Wilkinson
Antoni Tapies
Richard Hamilton
James McBey
Victor Pasmore
Hans Burgkmair
Running alongside the AV Festival and exploring the theme of energy as it's creative inspiration, this mixed media exhibition presents artists from a variety of disciplines including photography, performance, video installations, prints, etchings, oils on canvas and sculpture, spanning over 500 years of practice, from the 16th century to the present day. Artists include Gayle Meikle, an award winning video artist from Dundee; internationally exhibited Italian video and performance artist Michael Fliri; Ryan Hays, a Berlin-based mixed media artist, and recent graduate Ellen Wilkinson.
MA Art Museum and Gallery Studies students from Newcastle University are pleased to announce
the opening of Irresistible Forces, an exhibition which displays contemporary artists alongside
artworks loaned from the Hatton Gallery collection.
Running alongside the AV Festival and exploring the theme of energy as it’s creative inspiration,
Irresistible Forces examines the many forms energy takes from multiple, and new perspectives,
presenting artists whose practice is driven by investigation into universal themes which concern us
all. This mixed media exhibition presents artists from a variety of disciplines including photography,
performance, video installations, prints, etchings, oils on canvas and sculpture, spanning over 500
years of practice, from the 16th century to the present day.
Forces and energies are explored in all
their many forms; dynamism, movement and the potential of the human form are displayed through
classical themes, juxtaposed with the powerful force of machine and industry. Inspiration is found in
the untamed forces and destructive potential of the natural landscape; issues of conflict, both
physical and psychological are brought to the fore as artists express the energy of artistic creation
through dynamic forms and brushstrokes on canvas, and three dimensional forms built from modern
materials such as glass and Perspex. Finally, the point of exhaustion is reached where energy has
been expelled and all that remains is inertia and decay.
About the artists
From the Hatton Collection, works will include etchings by 18th Century artists Giovanni Piranesi and
Francisco Goya; 20th century painter James McBey; pioneering British abstractionist Victor Pasmore;
English collage pop artist Richard Hamilton, and the politicised work of Catalan abstract
expressionist Antoni Tapies – just a small number of the internationally acclaimed artists which will
be featured in this exhibition.
New works by contemporary artists from across the UK and Europe were chosen through open
submissions and we are proud to be the first to display some of these works within the UK. Artists
include Gayle Meikle, an award winning video artist from Dundee; internationally exhibited Italian
video and performance artist Michael Fliri; Ryan Hays, a Berlin-based mixed media artist, and recent
graduate Ellen Wilkinson.
The curators believe the unique juxtaposition of new works with established practitioners will create
refreshing and dynamic comparisons, collaborations and contrasts, at once revealing similarities in
form and practice as well as the spectrum of responses which are presented through the exploration
of a single theme.
This is a unique opportunity to view important artworks and artists which are not on permanent
display, and to view new works by contemporary artists working in the field today alongside them.
A series of educational events and workshops will complement this exhibition.
Image: Michael Fliri, Let Love Be Eternal While it Lasts
For more information contact Chloe Reith chloe.reith@newcastle.ac.uk
Please join us at the private view on Friday the 5th of March from 6 – 8 pm.
Refreshments will be provided.
GNM: Hancock
Barras Bridge - Newcastle upon Tyne
Mon-Sat 10am – 5pm, Sun 2-5pm
Free admission