The centrepiece of the trail will be a painting from the artist known as ‘Manchester’s Monet’.
The organisers of Shrewsbury’s popular arts trail are gearing up for this year’s event – with the deadline for open submissions about to close.
Artists interested in showcasing their work have until Saturday (May 16) to submit entries. The trail has brought work from some of the world’s top artists to Shrewsbury.
This year’s trail, which takes place in July and August, will be the sixth held in the town.
The trail will take the theme of ‘Impressions’, with a special exhibition at Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery (SM&AG), plus an extensive open exhibition across SM&AG, while the Parade Shops will be showcasing talented local artists from across the region.
The theme takes inspiration from the trail’s centrepiece, An Ancient Stronghold in France by Wynford Dewhurst, which has been secured on loan to Shrewsbury this summer from the Cartwright Hall Gallery in Bradford.
Shrewsbury Arts Trail founder Jess Richards explained she fell in love with the painting on a visit to a special exhibition at York Art Gallery and was determined to show it in Shrewsbury.
She said: “It had such a profound effect on me. I had gone to see Monet and I turned around and there it was. It was so beautiful, I started crying. I couldn’t get it out of my head.”
Dewhurst’s stunning oil on canvas depicts the ruined Château de Crozant in the Valley of the Creuse, in the Limousin region of France.
British abstract expressionist painter Ian Rayer-Smith is set to produce a new piece in response to the original work – with both pieces to be shown together in the special ‘Impressions’ exhibition at SM&AG.
Dewhurst (1864-1941), known as ‘Manchester’s Monet’, championed impressionism in Britain, exhibiting regularly at London galleries and at the Royal Academy of Arts.
He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was greatly influenced by the work and colour palette of his contemporary Claude Monet, who he declared a “true and inspired genius”.
Whilst Monet’s reputation has continued to grow, Dewhurst’s has waned – and there are currently only nine of his works listed with Art UK as belonging to UK gallery collections, including The Picnic and The Blue Valley at Manchester Art Gallery and several at the National Museum in Cardiff.
Shrewsbury Arts Trail returns from July 4 to August 31, with venues across the town.
A new location this year is Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings, which is set to host a major exhibition of artwork by children from the six local schools that form Severn Bridges Multi Academy Trust.
The Arts Trail Team have paused the outdoor sculpture trail this year and are instead working on plans to bring a permanent new major artwork to Shrewsbury as a legacy of Shrewsbury Arts Trail.
Organiser Phil Langstaff said: “This time of the year is always extremely busy as we pull together all the different elements of the trail and I experience a strong sense of anticipation and excitement as the submissions for the open exhibition come in and we once again get to witness the wealth of artistic talent and creativity that we have in the region.”
Submissions are currently invited for the Open Exhibitions with a deadline of May 16. There is no set theme for the Open Exhibition and people can submit work online.
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