Turner Contemporary’s unique coastal location is the inspiration for a new display of three works from the Arts Council Collection. From 27 November 2012 to 2 June 2013 visitors to the gallery can see paintings from the mid part of the twentieth century by Jeffery Camp RA (b1923), Ivon Hitchins (1893-1975) and Thelma Hulbert (1913-1995).
Jeffery Camp’s panoramic Blue Sea (1959) depicts the waters off the East Anglian coast where he lived from the mid-1940s. One of Camp’s ongoing preoccupations was the horizon line, where land meets sky. Landscape and still life were the principal subjects of Ivon Hitchens and Thelma Hulbert, both painters experimenting with abstraction to different degrees. Rocks Under Water (1962-65) is likely to have been painted on the Cornish coast, where Hulbert spent time, while Hitchens’ Garden Cove (1948-50) is evocative of the light and colour of the English countryside – a recurring theme in his work.
This new display is part of Turner Contemporary’s ongoing programme of temporary exhibitions that connect historical and contemporary art. The display can be seen alongside exhibitions by contemporary artists Alex Katz and Maria Nepomuceno, and in February 2013, alongside Carl Andre and Rosa Barba.
‘The Arts Council has a fantastic collection and we are delighted to be able to work with them to bring this group of paintings to Turner Contemporary this autumn. We hope audiences will enjoy the different approaches to land and seascape in the work of these twentieth century British painters.’
Victoria Pomery, Director