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Ben Nicholson: Distant Planes 1955-1979

Past exhibition
15 October 2020 - 16 April 2021 Piano Nobile
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Summary
Ben Nicholson, Distant Planes 1955-1979
Ben Nicholson was one of the great British modernists of the twentieth century. This exhibition, curated with Dr Lee Beard, explores Nicholson’s years in Switzerland: a period of creative outpouring which has not received a dedicated display since the show held at Kettle’s Yard in 2003. It presents work made between 1955 and 1979, including several important loans from the British Council, Southampton City Art Gallery and Pallant House Gallery.

 

In March 1958, Nicholson left his home in St Ives and made for Switzerland. Already regarded as one of Britain’s leading modernists, he settled near Lake Maggiore and quickly established himself as an artist of international acclaim. This exhibition focuses on the carved reliefs and landscape drawings which he made in the second half of his career. Despite their different visual qualities, both grew from Nicholson’s engagement with specific places and landscapes. Though his work was not always representational, it was often shaped by an intense response to his surroundings: the striking landscapes and historical sites which he encountered around his home in the Canton of Ticino, as well as those he discovered on travels to Italy, Greece, Portugal and France.

 

This period of Nicholson’s career was also marked by new levels of fluency and self-confidence. Where the drawings are distinguished by his signature draughtsmanship of continuous flowing lines, the reliefs are constructed around subtle contrasts of recession and surface texture; in both cases, the degree of artistic control is considerable. In addition to this supreme technical surety, the impetus of new places and climes enhanced the work of Nicholson’s later years and propelled it to greater heights of poetry and prestige.


An accompanying publication will provide a succinct and informative introduction to this period of Ben Nicholson's work, with contributions from some of the leading specialists in the field. It will include original essays by Dr Lee Beard, Peter Khoroche and Chris Stephens, as well as previously unpublished material relating to Nicholson and his Swiss period.

 

EXHIBITION VIEWING ROOMS

 

PRESS

  • Country Life
  • The Guardian
  • Antiques Trade Gazette
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Works
  • Ben Nicholson, November 1959 (Mycenae 3 - brown and blue), 1959
    Ben Nicholson, November 1959 (Mycenae 3 - brown and blue), 1959
  • Ben Nicholson, August 1964 (Racciano), 1964
    Ben Nicholson, August 1964 (Racciano), 1964
  • Ben Nicholson, 1966 (greystone), 1966
    Ben Nicholson, 1966 (greystone), 1966
  • Ben Nicholson, 1971 (two squares and very green), 1971
    Ben Nicholson, 1971 (two squares and very green), 1971
  • Ben Nicholson, 1972 (Olympia), 1972
    Ben Nicholson, 1972 (Olympia), 1972
  • Ben Nicholson, July 1977 (vertical landscape), 1977
    Ben Nicholson, July 1977 (vertical landscape), 1977
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Media
Publications
  • Ben Nicholson

    Ben Nicholson

    Distant Planes Lee Beard, Peter Khoroche and Chris Stephens, 2020 Hardback 90 pages
    Publisher: Piano Nobile Publications
    ISBN: 978-1-901192-56-8
    Dimensions: 28.8 x 24.8 x 3 cm
    Read more
Installation Views
  • 008A3250 2
  • 008A3430 2
  • 008A3412 2
  • 008A3292
  • 008A3497
  • 008A3460
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Press
  • Museum Belvédère's Living the Landscape exhibition to include Piano Nobile loans

    Museum Belvédère's Living the Landscape exhibition to include Piano Nobile loans

    Oranjewoud, Holland Read more
  • The Late Show: Ben Nicholson

    The Late Show: Ben Nicholson

    Antiques Trade Gazette | Frances Allitt Read more

Related artists

  • Barbara Hepworth

    Barbara Hepworth

  • Ben Nicholson

    Ben Nicholson

  • William Nicholson

    William Nicholson

  • Christopher Wood

    Christopher Wood

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