John Piper at the Towner

If you find yourself visiting Eastbourne in the coming weeks make sure you make a visit to a stunning exhibition of works at the Towner gallery on until 25th September. Around 100 works make up the exhibition, many having been lent to the gallery from Private Collections and being seen in public for the first time. Included are paintings, photography, sketchbooks, printing and designs for stage sets and costumes for Glyndebourne. John Piper spent much of his time being inspired by the landscape in Sussex and Kent and made regular visits. His explorations in landscape and painting going into and out of abstraction can be seen here and included are some wonderful collages using gouache, ink, cut paper and newsprint. My favourites from this period in the 1930s are here include works inspired by Seaford Head and Newhaven. 

 

Piper made ends meet by being a journalist and some of these works include articles written in The Listener and The New Statesman.  The articles included in the collages refer to the political and economic situation at the time and it has been suggested by Matthew Gale that anxiety in Britain regarding the actions of the new Chancellor in Germany appointed in 1933 and the potential threat of an invasion may have inspired Piper to use these articles in his works where the coastline may have appeared vulnerable. 

Simultaneously at the Towner is an exhibition of contemporary sculpture, Compulsive, Obsessive, Repetitive until 18th September. Included is a specially commissioned sculpture made out of sugar cubes by Brendan Jamison, the largest work of this kind in the world! It is stunning and you can almost taste the sweetness as you look on. Other sculptures include Jill Townsley's till rolls and a stunning wall of salmon fish scales on metal plates by Elpida Hadzi-Vasileva. Maybe one of these artists will be invited to fill the Turbine Hall at the Tate one of these days. Thank you Towner!