Exhibitions
It All Began In Yeovil, The Amazing Career of Artist Brian Rice
An exhibition of one of the UK’s most respected abstract painters, Brian Rice whose 70 year career began with his days at Yeovil School of Art.
An exhibition tells the story of one of the UK's most respected abstract painters, Brian Rice, whose 70-year career began during his time at Yeovil School of Art.
“I am so pleased finally to showcase this work from my days as a student at Yeovil School of Art, having never before found a suitable venue to do so. I view this as a celebration of the excellent training that Yeovil School of Art provided to several generations of aspiring artists.”
Born in Yeovil, Brian began his art training at Yeovil School of Art at the age of 17, where he studied Illustration, Textile Printing, and Oil Painting as part of the NDD course.
Now 88, his work is included in over 70 international collections, such as the Tate Gallery and The Victoria and Albert Museum, among many other esteemed collections both nationally and internationally. Upon moving to London in the early 1960s, he was filmed by American television as part of the ‘Swinging London’ scene. He met The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and many actors and pop musicians, and he was friends with Peter Blake, Jo Tilson, Alan Jones, and fellow Yeovil School of Art student Derek Boshier, mixing with fashion designers, photographers, models, and television personalities.
The exhibition features an extensive collection of over 40 pieces of early works crafted by Brian in the 1950s, including his first wood engraving, ‘Rare Breed’. Art education in the 1950s was rigorous; "The skills I learned then still inform my work today,” says Brian.
His art school portfolio includes figurative drawings and landscapes, which may surprise many who are more accustomed to his bold, colourful abstract paintings. An early portrait drawing titled 'Lady with a Hat’ is featured in the exhibition publicity. Also included is his personal archive of photographs, such as those from The Christmas Ball at Yeovil School of Art in 1952. The early figurative and landscape works on display depict many local scenes, including several views of Yeovil town centre as it was, as well as Montacute House and vistas from Ham Hill.
The exhibition also presents a selection of his later work that reflects his enduring interest in archaeology and ancient landscapes in South West England, and some of the more recent abstract work will be shown to the public for the first time.
In Conversation with Brian Rice: Saturday 22 March 2.30-4 pm. FREE Booking Essential: https://brianrice.eventbrite.co.uk
“I am so pleased finally to showcase this work from my days as a student at Yeovil School of Art, having never before found a suitable venue to do so. I view this as a celebration of the excellent training that Yeovil School of Art provided to several generations of aspiring artists.”
Born in Yeovil, Brian began his art training at Yeovil School of Art at the age of 17, where he studied Illustration, Textile Printing, and Oil Painting as part of the NDD course.
Now 88, his work is included in over 70 international collections, such as the Tate Gallery and The Victoria and Albert Museum, among many other esteemed collections both nationally and internationally. Upon moving to London in the early 1960s, he was filmed by American television as part of the ‘Swinging London’ scene. He met The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and many actors and pop musicians, and he was friends with Peter Blake, Jo Tilson, Alan Jones, and fellow Yeovil School of Art student Derek Boshier, mixing with fashion designers, photographers, models, and television personalities.
The exhibition features an extensive collection of over 40 pieces of early works crafted by Brian in the 1950s, including his first wood engraving, ‘Rare Breed’. Art education in the 1950s was rigorous; "The skills I learned then still inform my work today,” says Brian.
His art school portfolio includes figurative drawings and landscapes, which may surprise many who are more accustomed to his bold, colourful abstract paintings. An early portrait drawing titled 'Lady with a Hat’ is featured in the exhibition publicity. Also included is his personal archive of photographs, such as those from The Christmas Ball at Yeovil School of Art in 1952. The early figurative and landscape works on display depict many local scenes, including several views of Yeovil town centre as it was, as well as Montacute House and vistas from Ham Hill.
The exhibition also presents a selection of his later work that reflects his enduring interest in archaeology and ancient landscapes in South West England, and some of the more recent abstract work will be shown to the public for the first time.
In Conversation with Brian Rice: Saturday 22 March 2.30-4 pm. FREE Booking Essential: https://brianrice.eventbrite.co.uk
CREDIT
