Adopt a large relief!

I've been grabbing the odd hour or two to go to over to the studio and clear and tidy in readiness for the Open Studio weekend - on the 12th and 13th of June we're opening up Studio 54 between 11.00am and 4.30pm as part of Reveal: Rossendale Open Studios. 

There's been a lot of tidying away, and I had also hoped to deal with one of our persistent problems - the Asylum! Dave created two pieces in the early 1970s based on Van Gogh's paintings of the Asylum at St. Remy. They were large and very heavy reliefs, both over 8' x 6' (2.4m x 1.8m). They were exhibited at the Hayward on the South Bank but since then they have both been stored at Dave's Haslingden studio. The largest Asylum piece is thankfully displayed at the Boo - the theatrespace and venue belonging to Horse + Bamboo Theatre - but I had hoped to hang the smaller of the two pieces in the entrance hall of the studio.

Yesterday I gave up. There's only one place it would fit, but an examination (and a test bore-hole) showed that the wall there simply isn't strong enough for it. In the exhibition room it totally dominates everything else, and it's far too big to move elsewhere in the building. So - what to do? Asylum 2 is pictured below...

We may simply have to record it very thoroughly, and then break it up; destroy it. We don't want to do this but there now doesn't seem like any other solution. Unless we find a lovely home for it. Anyone out there interested. If so - please, please get in touch.

Getting sorted for Reveal

On the weekend of the 12th and 13th of June we're opening up Studio 54 between 11.00am and 4.30pm as part of Reveal: Rossendale Open Studios. 

But the place is still chaotic from the move of the big paintings in April, and the two 'gallery' spaces, that should be the areas where we can exhibit some of Dave's work with a measure of order, are still full of paintings left on the floor or in boxes. Both Margaret and myself are very, very busy with work and it's becoming a big problem working out how we'll make things presentable for the open weekend. 

Yesterday I grabbed a few hours and made some headway on the top floor - repairing a plan chest, and rationalising some of the shelving. If I can find the equivalent of a day between now and the 12th there's a fighting chance I'll be able to put up a few more racks and make up some shelving for the note-books. If I can do this things will be fine, even if not brilliantly arranged. The single biggest problem is I'll need at least another 2 strong people to rehang Asylum 2 - one of Dave's largest pieces, which otherwise dominates the downstairs exhibition room.

Further interesting developments

Last week I met with Julian and Jackie from the See gallery to sort out sales from the recent exhibition, plus their own purchases and we discussed some ideas for how the relationship between the gallery and the Trust might develop in future. They have been truly considerate and engaged partners in this project and we are keen to continue this constructive relationship. 

There have continued to be a few sales and interest in viewing the studio. This I'm squeezing into a busy work schedule, and Margaret too is entering a busy period. It's this kind of situation where a partnership with the See could be very useful. 

I'm also help to plan the Reveal Open Studios weekend (12th and 13th June) when the local artists studios throw open their doors to visitors. Dave's old studio in Haslingden will take part in this and there are a number of jobs we need to get sorted in order to have the studio ready as it's still in a mess from the recent move.

Publicity of the Trust and Dave's work continues. Yesterday we were visited by Emma, a reporter, and Claire, a photographer, from Lancashire Life. They spent a long time with Margaret and myself; not rushing but asking serious and sensible questions about the work and our relationship with Dave. It was a relief after the cursory and rushed visits by some of the national press. We are seriously considering commissioning a film documentary to capitalise on and expand the interest that has grown from the recent interest in Dave and his work.

A wonderful discovery...

An unexpected email from the grandson of the painter Mckenzie Moss has delivered us a real surprise. 

The portrait of Dave Pearson above was made by Mckenzie in 1962 when Dave lodged with Mckenzie and David Bates in Preston. Mckenzie and David were both ex-students of the Royal College of Arts and lecturers at Preston. Dave had recently joined the staff at Preston and at this date presumably travelled up to Preston from London on a weekly basis.

My thanks to Ben Holland for alerting us to this, and to Mckenzie for her permission to show the painting here.

Slowing down and considering the next step

The local paper, the Rossendale Free Press, had a decent two page feature piece in about Dave and the Trust (rather better written than the tabloid pieces of a few weeks ago). With this the immediate flurry of interest has slowed right down - and we're very grateful for the breather. Now the Trust can start thinking about the next phase - organising things from the move; planning;  looking afresh at our roles; and doing this without the pressure of paying a high monthly storage bill.

The Peoples History Museum in Manchester had no space for taking the 'Jarrow March' triptych on permanent loan, but they would like it for 6 months as the centre-piece of an upcoming exhibition on Unemployment. In the meantime Horse + Bamboo Theatre in Waterfoot have installed two of Dave's larger pieces in the Boo (their theatre-space) and are considering the Jarrow piece. At least these will now be seen rather than stored.

News reports, sales, and putting work aside

Things continue to develop. I got to watch recordings of both the BBC and Granada TV news reports on the move; and both were good. Radio 4 continues to show interest in Dave and his work; and this weekend we sold another 12 or so pieces of work to a serious collector, as well as meeting other collectors who were buying from the See gallery exhibition. 

The exhibition at the See has now finished, and this evening I brought back the remaining pieces of work. Far fewer than I took over two months ago. Again, we're very grateful to Julian and Jackie for their support and hard work in helping with Dave's legacy. 

Margaret and I also got to put aside a number of pieces to retain, for now at any case, for the Trust, especially prints. Dave did hundreds of wonderful etchings, drypoints, and monoprints in his lifetime but, typically, never produced series - so nearly all are one-offs, and we're concerned that we don't sell them all at this point. 

Things have been really busy lately with the Estate. We've every reason to be delighted at our progress as a Trust. But it has meant a lot of hard work, and probably more than we expected. Margaret will now take over our liaison with the press; while I'll continue to oversee the studio. 

The next stage

The interest in Dave's work continues to grow. We've done a lot of heart-searching as a result of the ultimately trivial (and at worst downright misleading) publicity that grew out of moving Dave's large paintings back into the studio. The fact remains that it has engendered another wave of visitors wanting to see and even buy pieces of work. All of these enquiries are genuine, and show that people are wiser than the press appear to think.

Tomorrow we (Margaret and I) will be at the studio, rehanging pieces, clearing up after the move, and meeting some of these interested people. We'll also start the process of deciding which pictures to set aside for the Trust, rather than sell.