Fully Awake 5.6 is an exhibition that explores new ways to understand the development and variety of contemporary British painting. It offers an accessible but critically rigorous platform for audiences to better understand the impact that different generations of artists have upon one another. The exhibition embraces an intergenerational approach to celebrating the practice and teaching of painting, by including artists from a broad range of backgrounds and styles.
In total 72 artists who teach painting in the UK will have been invited to select one artist they had taught and one who had taught them to exhibit alongside each other. By taking this perspective the public has the opportunity to view a lineage of influence among artists that is not normally seen.
Vincent Lavell, Re-animated Postcard (Two Boys), 2016. Image: Courtesy of Vincent Lavell.
The iteration at Freelands Foundation is the fifth in the cycle. The project’s approach to curating is distinct in that it offers audiences an unorthodox way to encounter the development of contemporary British painting by exposing the deeper levels of connection between generations of artists. The Fully Awake exhibitions are bringing together artists from different stages in their careers, affording younger artists the opportunity to have their work shown alongside established artists with international reputations, such as Sonia Boyce, Andrew Grassie, John Stezaker, Dan Hays, Vanessa Jackson, Estelle Thompson, Terry Frost, Basil Beattie and Alexis Harding.
Fully Awake is curated by Sean Kaye (British Higher School of Art and Design, Moscow) and Ian Hartshorne (Head of Painting at Manchester School of Art) with support from independent artist curator Harry Meadley. The curators bring extensive experience to the project and have developed the exhibition emerging from the activities of the national organisation Teaching Painting, of which Hartshorne and Kaye are founder members, with Magnus Quaife. The organisation has realised a variety of high-quality projects including conferences at the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester and at the Royal Academy in London, as well as producing the publication Teaching Painting: How Can Painting Be Taught in Art Schools? and a symposium series at Manchester School of Art, which featured speakers including art critic Barry Schwabsky and artist Amy Sillman.
Kaye, Hartshorne and Quaife are lecturers with strong academic reputations and are all practising artists with track records of exhibiting and have a commitment to developing artists both in and out of art schools. Fully Awake 5.6 brings together a group of artists and their relative practices to explore the many levels of engagement and influence between different generations.
Exhibition images © Damian Griffiths.
Installation view of Fully Awake 5.6 at Freelands Foundation, 2019. Image: Courtesy of Damian Griffiths.
Artists include:
Brendan Fletcher with Tim Allen and Sarah Hardacre
June Forster with Carolyn Wallace and Tom Voyce
Martin Fowler with Kevin Phillips and Hessian Sachs
Robert Holyhead with Sharon Hall and Michael Irwin
Celia Johnson with David Ferry and Natalie Ramus
Vincent Lavell with Mike Knowles and Jay Chesterman
Rebecca Sitar with Mali Morris and Susan Laughton
Mia Taylor with Tim Stoner and Grace Payne
Sally Taylor with Gerry Davies and Kirsty Boutle
Freya Wright with Nelson Diplexcito and Helen Sayer
Banner Image: Installation view of Fully Awake 5.6 at Freelands Foundation, 2019. Image: Courtesy of Damian Griffiths.
