The Royal Academy of Arts Shows Albert Irwin's Vibrant Abstract Prints

Written by Nicholas Botham Thursday, 19 April 2012 22:13

London.- The Royal Academy of Arts is presenting a selection of Albert Irvin’s vibrant abstract screen prints dating from the late 1980s to present. "Albert Irvin: From Hollyrood to Stratford" will include many works which have not previously been displayed at the Royal Academy of Arts and works on show will be a mix of editions and monoprints. The exhibition title evokes a wide geographical spread, which in turn is evident in the broad range of work which will be exhibited. ‘Holyrood’ is a street in SE1, London and ‘Stratford’ is a road in a small town outside Boston, USA. Irvin’s titles always have a connection with a cartographical reference. The exhibition remains on view until September 25th.

Born in London in 1922, Albert Irvin studied at Northampton School of Art from 1940-41 and later at Goldsmiths College. He went on to teach at Goldsmiths as well as other art schools across the UK.  At first Irvin’s works were figurative, but gradually the figure disappeared from his paintings and a new abstract language emerged. Many of his works are autobiographical in nature. His first solo exhibition took place in 1960 at Edinburgh’s 57 Gallery, since then Irvin’s paintings and prints have been exhibited and collected across the world.  He first collaborated with Advance Graphics London (the studio that produces the majority of his silkscreens) in 1980.  In 1990 the Serpentine Gallery staged a major retrospective of Irvin’s work from the period 1960-1989. He was elected Royal Academician in 1998 and regularly submits pieces to the annual Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition. All works in the exhibition will be available for sale.

The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and appreciation of the visual arts through exhibitions, education and debate. The Academy was founded by George III in 1768. The 34 founding Members were a group of prominent artists and architects including Sir Joshua Reynolds and Sir William Chambers who were determined to achieve professional standing for British art and architecture. They also wanted to provide a venue for exhibitions that would be open to the public; and to establish a school of art through which their skills and knowledge could be passed to future generations of practitioners. The Academy today continues to aspire, in the words of its eighteenth-century founders, ‘to promote the arts of design’, that is: to present a broad range of visual art to the widest possible audience; to stimulate debate, understanding and creation through education; and to provide a focus for the interests of artists and art-lovers. The Academy now enjoys an unrivalled reputation as a venue for exhibitions of international importance. One of the founding principles of the RA was to 'mount an annual exhibition open to all artists of distinguished merit' to finance the training of young artists in the RA Schools. Now known as the Summer Exhibition and held every year without interruption since 1769, the exhibition attracts around 10,000 works, the selection being carried out by Academicians chaired by the President.


The RA continues to fulfil its founders’ aims by mounting a continuous programme of internationally-acclaimed loan exhibitions, supported by extensive education programmes, seminars and debates. The Main Galleries and The Sackler Wing of Galleries host a variety of major exhibitions from all periods and art forms. Recent exhibitions have been Turks: A Journey of a Thousand Years, 600 - 1600; Monet in the 20th Century; Citizens and Kings: Portraits in the Age of Revolution, 1760-1830; China: The Three Emperors, 1662-1795; From Russia: French and Russian Master Paintings 1870-1925 from Moscow and St Petersburg; Byzantium 330-1453 and The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters. The RA owns a major collection of works by Royal Academicians past and present together with the oldest and one of the best fine-art libraries in Britain. The Collection has received outstanding bequests such as the Michelangelo Tondo on display in the Sackler Wing of Galleries. Highlights from the Collection can be seen on free guided tours of the John Madejski Fine Rooms. The Academy's art school (it is known as 'The Schools' because each 'School' originally corresponded to a different element in the training of the artists that had to be mastered in a particular order) is the oldest in Britain. Past students include many famous British artists such as William Blake, JMW Turner, Edwin Landseer, JE Millais and, more recently, John Hoyland, Sir Anthony Caro and Sandra Blow. Today, 60 students study drawing, painting and printmaking on a three-year postgraduate course - the only such course currently available in Britain. Visit the academy's website at ... http://www.royalacademy.org.uk

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