Ikon presents There is no masterpiece, the first exhibition at the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Studio at HMP Grendon, Buckinghamshire (26 January – 16 March 2023).
The exhibition features work by four artists – Simon Faithfull, Fae Kilburn, Aidan Moesby and John Yeadon – selected in response to Ikon’s recent exhibition Edward Lear: Moment to Moment. Each artist also delivers a practical workshop for the prisoners at HMP Grendon, exploring Lear’s legacy in the field of visual art, while introducing the prison community to techniques of collagraphy, printmaking and drawing. A selection of artworks produced by the prisoners will be added to the exhibition.
The prisoners previously met Matthew Bevis, Professor in English Literature at University of Oxford, who introduced Lear’s landscape drawings in relation to his poetic practice, observing:
“The pictured moment, for Lear, is not an epiphany. It does not offer revelation, and it shies away from eventfulness. If anything, it seems to exist in a kind of “meanwhile”, resting alongside other moments or apprehending itself as part of a series.”
The Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust has funded Art at HMP Grendon for twelve years. With a focus on the development of the prisoners’ artistic practice, Ikon has opened the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Studio at HMP Grendon – a dedicated space for workshops, in printing and painting, and a changing programme of exhibitions, art historical and contemporary. This space was made possible with the support of the Trust and the senior team at HMP Grendon.
Future exhibitions include presentations of work by Australian painter Sidney Nolan (1917 – 1992) and Austrian artist Marie-Louise von Motesiczky (1906 – 1996) and Dean Kelland (artist in residence at HMP Grendon 2019 – 2023). The residency runs alongside a public programme of research symposia and events at Ikon, allowing a platform for public discourse on the role of art in criminal justice.
Please note HMP Grendon is a Category B prison and is not accessible to the public. For more information please contact James Latunji-Cockbill j.cockbill@ikon-gallery.org
