One of the great printmakers and storytellers of our time, Paula Rego drew inspiration from a vast range of sources – from traditional folklore and fairy tales, to literary classics and nursery rhymes.
Paula Rego: Visions of English Literature will present three of the artist’s most ambitious and profound series of works in printmaking: Nursery Rhymes, Peter Pan and Jane Eyre, made across a decade of the artist’s life. Each series will be accompanied by a variety of personal items from the artist, many of which have never been publicly displayed before.
Unseen preparatory sketches, etching plates and Rego’s very own childhood copy of Peter Pan will offer audiences an intimate portrayal of the artist’s lifelong fascination with literature and insight into how the artist transformed this material into startlingly original and unexpected pictures.
From menacing oversized creatures etched into life from children’s nursery rhymes such as Little Miss Muffet and Three Blind Mice, to the almost hallucinatory depictions of Neverland from Peter Pan and the tumultuous relationships based on power read about in Jane Eyre, Rego’s work tells stories that combine fantasy and imagination, innocence and cruelty, in order to explore the complexities of life and the experience of women in particular, in all its strangeness and mystery.
Paula Rego: Visions of English Literature aims to spark new ways of seeing the world from audiences in relation to these seemingly familiar, age-old stories.
Hayward Gallery Touring is the UK’s largest contemporary art organisation producing exhibitions that tour Britain. As part of the Southbank Centre, an engine of creativity for the nation’s artists and audiences, Hayward Gallery Touring is passionate about the important role that cultural institutions play in providing access to the arts.
Paula Rego: Visions of English Literature will bring a unique cultural experience to new audiences up and down the UK, providing an opportunity to step into the world and mind of one of the most important figurative artists of her generation.
Brian Cass, Senior Curator, Hayward Gallery Touring, says: “Throughout her life, Paula Rego used print-making as a central tool of her art. Taking inspiration from literature, she connected with stories in very personal ways, using them to articulate the conditions of her own life and draw her desires, dreams, fears, and traumas into sequences of remarkable pictures.
“Hayward Gallery Touring had the honour of working with Paula Rego on a small travelling show in the 1990s. We are absolutely delighted to continue this relationship 35 years later, and by collaborating with a range of exhibition patterns, celebrate her unique art and vision with audiences across the UK.”
Geraldine Green, Visual Arts Development Officer, East Ayrshire Leisure, says: “We are honoured to present Paula Rego: Visions of English Literature at the Dick Institute. Rego’s work resonates deeply with audiences through its powerful storytelling and emotional intensity.
“This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to explore her printmaking in depth, revealing the creative processes behind some of her most iconic series.”
Paula Rego’s Estate, says: “Life with Paula was filled with stories, humour and mischief and she always seemed to have her own, surprising twist on the books she read. She often said that she had the most fun making the prints for these series because the stories were already laid out for her, but there’s no question that she made them her own.
“We’d like to thank Hayward Gallery Touring for mounting this exhibition.”
Paula Rego: Visions of English Literature will be a long-standing touring exhibition, taking residency at further locations following its presentation at Lakeside Arts. These locations will be announced at a later date.
Paula Rego: Visions of English Literature is a Hayward Gallery Touring exhibition. It has been developed with the support of Paula Rego’s Estate. For more details, click here