There is just time to visit the exhibition, Ann Desmet: Urban Evolution. This is one of a series of regular shows by leading contemporary British printmakers at Gainsborough's House in Sudbury.
The exhibition finishes on 4th July. Don’t forget that entrance to the museum is free on Tuesday afternoons (though a donation, however small, is always welcome!)
The name of the exhibition reflects the artist’s enduring concern with the built environment and cities, the multi-layered and complex nature of which have inspired her since a period spent on a scholarship in Rome in 1989/90. Almost half of the works on show is a series of images , created between 2004 and 2007, based on the deterioration and regeneration of Manchester Victoria Baths the winner of the first series BBC 2’s Restoration programme. Another recurring image is that of the Tower of Babel, and the exhibition includes a series of large collages based on this theme which were featured in the recent Babylon exhibition at the British Museum.
Ann Desmet concentrates on wood engraving, linocuts and collage. Her work, which pushes the boundaries of printmaking, is often complex and multi-dimensional, exhibiting her close attention to detail and repaying the close attention of viewers.
Born in Liverpool, Anne Desmet has exhibited widely and her work is represented in several major collections including the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the collection of Her Majesty the Queen. Desmet has received over 20 national and international prizes for her work and since 1990 she has exhibited at the Royal Academy almost every year. She is the editor of Printmaking Today and has written a number of publications on the art of printmaking.
The Exhibition was organised by the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester, where it attracted over 33, 000 visitors. It is presented in association with Hart Gallery, London.
