Hanging commences

Margaret Mytton is now in London and, helped by Taidgh and Darren, is now starting the hang of the show. Edward Lucie Smith will be along today and final positioning of the work will be agreed before the paintings start being mounted on the walls. 

Margaret tells me that she already feels sure that additional lighting will be required so this now has to be negotiated with Mick Bateman  of Crisis. Fortunately we bought and took down several halogen lamps down with us (from Lidl!), and these apparently do the job perfectly. 

I'm working on final graphics for the exhibition, and will be sending these to London with Julian on Sunday so the local print-shop can prepare the boards for the opening next week. 

The pack...

I visited the studio in Haslingden an hour or so ago where Julian and Jackie, helped by Andre and Mariana, our Portuguese theatre students here on placement, were busy wrapping everything in sight in bubble-wrap. Tomorrow Julian and Chris Pearson load the truck and then Julian drives down to Bermondsey with the exhibition.  

Mick Bateman has emailed to say that everything is in place at the Project to receive the work, and when Margaret arrives on the 10th the hang will begin. Meantime, I'm off for a short break in Cascais (where Andre and Mariana are at theatre school). Mick has also listed the publicity that Crisis have been undertaking, in addition to my own efforts. This is all very encouraging and the fact that the Bermondsey Project is also expecting to launch its own website in a few days time is also a boost to our effort to publicise the show.

Not especially related to anything current are the three very tiny oil paintings of Mummers done by Dave in the 1970s when he was researching English calendar customs. I really like these little paintings, and they show a very different side to Dave's work than the pieces we'll be showing in Bermondsey. 

Margaret and Julian tell me that their visit to London yesterday, to measure the Bermondsey Project Space in Willow Walk and discuss plans for the April exhibition with Mick Bateman of Crisis, was extremely useful. 

The planning of the exhibition is now well under way. I'm looking at the design and print for a catalogue; Julian is planning the logistics,  and Margaret is working with Edward Lucie-Smith to select, curate and hang the show. Throughout Mick Bateman will act as the main link within the gallery itself, both creatively and practically. 

All this, of course, will be expensive, and over the next week or so we'll have to plan and manage the costs of the exhibition; listing the potential expenses and selecting our priorities because our funds are, inevitably, limited. Throughout the main consideration will always be what will serve the purposes of the Trust best - namely in the enhancement of Dave Pearson's reputation as a painter.

Planning for the Spring exhibition

A gouache from the late 1960s, on the Van Gogh theme

I met with Margaret Mytton, Julian Williams and Jackie Taylor yesterday to plan and allocate our workloads in order to have things ready for the Spring exhibition of Dave's work in Bermondsey, London.

Margaret had prepared an agenda and list of jobs, which we went through, discussed and decided who would undertake each of them. Of course everything needs to be tightly co-ordinated. For example the appropriate paintings need to be identified and selected, then moved into position for measuring and (where necessary) photographing, in order that the designer has the details and images to undertake the design and then have the job be at the printer in time for the catalogue to arrive at the gallery well in advance of the exhibition opening. Meanwhile a designer and printer need to be found, and the gallery space needs to be measured and a plan for the exhibition drawn up so we can be certain that there's enough space for the selected pieces and, of course, that they make aesthetic and logical sense being hung together. The main issue is the lack of space at Dave's old studio, which means moving large and heavy canvases around is a time-consuming and difficult operation, with the constant danger of damaging them.

Margaret and Julian have the major part of the work to undertake. Margaret is planning and curating with Edward Lucie-Smith and Mick Bateman, as well as photographing and collating information about the works. Julian is largely moving, organising and transporting the pieces, as well as looking into publicising the event. Because of my own heavy workload at the theatre during this period I've slightly less to do, but I have agreed to oversee the design and production of the catalogue, and help with the press releases. 

The exhibition, at Bermondsey Project Space, is scheduled to open on Thursday 19th April, and run until 13th May.