Award-winning artists showcasing works at Ryedale Folk Museum

Works by artists who regularly exhibit at some of the country’s most renowned galleries are heading for rural North Yorkshire this summer, with the launch on 23 May of a season of major – and free - exhibitions bringing the works of award-winning artists as Ralph Steadman, Barbara Rae, Norman Ackroyd, Henry Moore and Francesca Simon to Ryedale Folk Museum in Hutton-le-Hole.

Jennifer Smith, Ryedale Folk Museum’s Director explains why the small independent museum in Hutton-le-Hole has attracted such a distinguished following: “The breath-taking landscape of the North York Moors, which has itself been sculpted by people over millennia, has captivated artists, craftspeople – and tourists – for centuries.  It’s a profoundly inspiring place, ideal for exploring creatively – I think that’s why it continues to attract artists today.  Our enduring relationship with this very special place is well captured within the museum’s displays, but it’s important that the connection is living, breathing and ever-evolving.  This is what the summer art gallery season aims to achieve: to inspire conversations about the area’s sense of place – both through history and in relation to its place in the world today, to push some boundaries, to engage with different audiences, and to support the artist community.”

With so many high-calibre artists on display, the summer promises to be a masterclass of styles and media for visitors, perhaps inspiring others to reach for the easel, especially as some of the works featured have been directly influenced by the North York Moors.   

“The work of many of these artists is scattered across international galleries,” adds Jennifer, “so this is also a superb opportunity to see the best of UK contemporary art in one place.” 

For the artists, the summer exhibitions also provide an opportunity to engage with a very different type of audience than they might encounter in London or Edinburgh.  Visitors to the museum in the North York Moors are surrounded by landscape and history, rather than urban sprawl – they are sharing the journey with the artist, so their responses to the artworks may be very different.   Each artist will reveal exciting, poignant and stimulating new perspectives that we can all relate to, whether young or old, expert or browser.

Between Saturday 23 May – Sunday 19 July, renowned Edinburgh-based Gallery TEN will be showcasing forty works by pioneers, award-winners and fresh new talent in a special guest curation celebrating paintings, print-making and glass.  Artists include:

• Ralph Steadman CBE, RA, famed for his prolific Punch, Private Eye and Gonzo cartoons, and beloved illustrations for children’s and classic books
• Multi-award winning Scottish landscape painter Barbara Rae CBE, RA
• Alfons Bytautus, in demand across Europe for his pioneering printmaking techniques
• John Piper, famed English stained-glass designer and official war artist in World War II.
• Gallery TEN founder Paul Musgrove, returning after his own successful solo exhibition at the Ryedale Folk Museum last year, with works inspired by his archaeological experiences on the North York Moors
• Famous Yorkshire-men Norman Ackroyd and Henry Moore.
• Other artists include Kate Downie, John Houston, Georgina Bown, Alistair Grant, Bernard Cheese, Marie Scott, Cyril Wilson, Ann Redpath, Laura Birdsall, Jessica Crisp, P Layton, Catherine A Hiley, Alan Horsley and the artistic partnership Lindean Mill.

Between 25 July – 13 September, visitors will be able to enjoy the culmination of a unique collaboration with Francesca Simon, in her first solo exhibition outside of London.  Although based – and in heavy demand – in London art galleries, the ‘quiet moors of her beloved Yorkshire’ originally inspired her distinctive style, reflecting the area’s muted and eloquent colours, and its layered topography and archaeology.  Her exhibition of new work for the museum, “Navigations” is a tribute to a relationship with the area that has now lasted for 30 years.  ‘The work I have made for this show is an allegory on the subject of navigation,’ Francesca says, ‘through life and creativity as through the landscape and its gradual changes.  The horizon and its familiar and famous landmarks, including dry stone walls and Bronze age burial mounds; the shadows cast in relation to the time of day; the travellers on the ancient drovers’ roads – all provide tools for navigation.’

The Art Gallery and Museum, which is spread over a six acre site, is open daily until 30 September from 10.00am to 5.30pm (last entry at 4.30pm) and October to December 10.00am to 4.00pm.  Entrance to the Art Gallery is Free.  Admission prices to the museum are £7.00 for adults, £6.50 for concessions and £6.00 for children, with a family ticket (two adults and two children) for £22.50.  Ticket holders can return to the museum for unlimited visits for a full year from the date of purchase.

For more information, please visit www.ryedalefolkmuseum.co.uk or call 01751 417367

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Ryedale Folk Museum is a small, independent museum located in the village of Hutton-le-Hole, in the North York Moors National Park.  The museum was created over 40 years ago by local people with a passion for celebrating and protecting their cultural and industrial heritage, and also works with local communities to preserve traditional craft skills that are at risk of being lost to modern progress.

The area’s rich heritage, from the Iron Age to the 1960s, is brought to life in over 20 historic buildings reconstructed across the 6-acre site, with regular costumed demonstrations, craft workshops and a lively calendar of nostalgia events, including Tractor Days and Classic Car Rallies.  The Museum also hosts regular exhibitions in its Art Gallery promoting the talents of local artists or those inspired by the beauty of the North York Moors landscape.  This year’s exhibitions include works by nationally-renowned artists such as painter Francesca Simon, in her first solo exhibition outside of London, and guest curation by Edinburgh’s Gallery 10.

A wide selection of high resolution images to accompany this release are available by following the links below, or by visiting http://news.cision.com/ryedale-folk-museum

For further media information or photographs, please contact:

Nicola Bexon or Jay Commins

Pyper York Limited

Tel:         01904 500698

Email:    nicola@pyperyork.co.uk or jay@pyperyork.co.uk