The Great Bassetlaw Flower Show exhibition at Bassetlaw Museum and Art Gallery in Retford will run from 15th September to 27th October and will include work by Ted Hamlyn, Janet Buckle, Neil McGregor, Ann Everitt, Hilary Cartmel, Kate Houghton, Polly Warren, Maggy Milner, Rosemary Firth, Chris Campbell, Carol Eason, Julian Grainger, Kate van Millingen and Michael Johnson.
The artists are living and working within striking distance of Retford, who have worked with flowers as a subject, often over many years. They are a mixed group and include graduates from the Royal College of Art, The Slade, St Martins and the Trent Poly (Nottingham) Fine Art degree course.
This exhibition seeks to visually explore why in these super high tech times does this subject matter, often perceived as soft and genteel still hold relevance to artists working today.
In the UK we spend over £1billion every year on these most fragile and beautiful objects in order to have the real things in our homes, to place on the graves of loved ones, to give as gifts of thanks, celebration or apology. They bring joy and are something that almost all of us share a passion for in some way.
For many artists, flowers are an absorbing and demanding subject. Flowers are short-lived, so lack of time is an additional pressure for the artist to solve the problem of colour and form and expression. The show will include a range of paintings, collages, drawings and printmaking approaches with several works by each artist. To find out more see www.bassetlawmuseum.org.uk.