Matisse, Picasso and Hockney come to the Burton

The Printed Line – An Arts Council Collection Touring exhibition

The Printed Line opened at Burton at Bideford on January 11, showcasing work by artists including David Hockney, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Bridget Riley, Patrick Caulfield and Frank Stella.

The
Printed Lineshowcases the work of
nearly 60 artists who
have used a variety of
printmaking techniques to exploit the potential of the printed line, from the
thick velvety line of drypoint and the heavy cross-hatching of etching to
delicate wood engraving and boldly coloured screenprints. The use of colour
will be explored in screenprints by Bridget Riley and Kenneth Martin, as well
as Simon Patterson's witty lithograph, which reworks the lines of the London
tube map.

The exhibition features a number of celebrated
artists, spanning the 20th
century to the present day, including: Walter Sickert's masterly cross-hatched
etching The Old Middlesex (c.1910), Ben Nicholson's rich drypoint Halse Town
1949 (1949), a bold etching by Eduardo Chillida and David Hockney's pared-down
linear etchings.

Included in this exhibition is Henri Matisse's Le
Grand Bois, the largest and most important of four woodcuts which he made
in 1906-07 and was one of the three Fauve woodcuts shown at Matisse's second
solo exhibition in 1906. The Vollard
Suite one of Pablo Picasso'smost important series of prints. It
comprises 100 works produced between 1930 and 1937 at a critical time in
Picasso's career, and also when he was involved in a passionate affair with his
muse and model Marie-Thérèse Walter, whose classical features are a recurrent
presence in the series. Included in this exhibition is the drypoint Two Women Resting; the classical
linearity and repose in this work alternate with the darker, more violent
prints in the series.

All the prints in this exhibition are
from the Arts Council Collection, which is the largest loan collection of
modern and contemporary British art and includes fine examples of work by all
of this country's most prominent artists.

Jill Constantine, Director of the Arts Council Collection said: "The Arts Council Collection has an outstanding collection of prints which encompasses work by a number of international artists. Sometimes seen as a 'lesser' art form, this exhibition shows how wrong that assumption is and what an important part of many artist's practice printmaking remains."

Ian Danby, Director or the Burton at Bideford said: "We are excited to be showing The Printed Line – the Arts Council Collection it is an exciting collection featuring internationally renowned artists, many working in print. This will be the first time such a show has come to North Devon (Bideford / The Burton) with artists such as Picasso, Matisse and David Hockney. Alongside this we have put together a range of workshops allowing you to become hands on with a range of opportunities to get creative for the New Year"

The exhibition will be on display
until March 1, 2020.