Lowry Hotel is The 'Natural' Home for Art Exhibition
Jane Fairhurst showcases her new works - “Un-Natural Selection” at The Lowry Hotel
28th February – 8th April 2008
PREVIEW EVENING: Thursday 28th February 2008
The Lowry Hotel, 50 Dearmans Place, Chapel Wharf Salford, M3 5LH
The Lowry Hotel, part of the Rocco Forte Collection, welcomes Comme Ca Art’s new exhibition by Wigan based artist Jane Fairhurst to its innovative 24hr gallery.
Jane Fairhurst’s unique approach engages in society’s political and environmental issues by using references from current affairs, contemporary and traditional art and popular culture in her works. Unusually, Jane uses toys as a subject matter for 2D, 3D and mixed media work, with the toy acting as a metaphor for mass consumerism.
The new collection to be exhibited at The Lowry Hotel is set to showcase something completely different from her 3D material and will draw on Jane’s preferred medium – painting, where she focuses heavily on creating mood and emotion.
The use of mass produced toys led Jane to engage in strategies of appropriation and this, combined with the desire to recycle existing imagery, resulted in a series of paintings based on woodblock prints by 19th century Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai.
At this time, Jane was researching the concept of ‘Superflatness’ in contemporary, Westernised, Japanese art and its links with traditional Chinese and Japanese painting – particularly in relation to flower painting.
The “Un-Natural Selection” collection experiments with a fusion of elements from European botanical illustrations, contemporary Japanese graphics and Chinese and Japanese traditions of simplicity and rhythm.
Fairhurst comments:
“I am fascinated by the different perceptions, interpretations and approaches to flower painting. I wanted to combine the styles to come up with a collection of works that celebrate flora and colour and combine elements that might not normally be put together.”
While the paintings do celebrate colour, Jane’s use of monumentality of the oversized flowers and the falling ‘vanitas’ figures hint at a disturbance in the natural order of things. It is an exhibition that must be experienced.
The first floor gallery area at Rocco Forte’s The Lowry Hotel is enjoyed by hundreds of people every week who are either staying at the hotel or visiting the renowned River Bar and Restaurant or spa facilities. It is also the first twenty-four hour gallery space in the North West, so you can visit at any time, whether it’s early morning over breakfast, midnight over cocktails or even the middle of the night!
- ENDS -
For more information please contact:
Helen Hipkiss, PR and Marketing Manager, The Lowry Hotel, 50 Dearmans Place,
Chapel Wharf, Salford, Manchester, M3 5LH
T: 00 44 (0) 161 827 4012 F: 00 44 (0) 161 827 4001
E: hhipkiss@roccofortecollection.com
For further information on Jane Fairhurst and for more images please contact:
Claire Turner @ Comme Ca
T: 0161 839 7187 E: claire@commecaart.com
NOTES FOR EDITORS
The Rocco Forte Collection was established in 1996 to create a group of luxury hotels in Europe. The hotels have individual styles, with each hotel reflecting its nationality and location. The properties are linked together under The Rocco Forte Collection, which guarantees attention to detail, quality and service delivery.
The Rocco Forte Collection includes:
- Hotel de Russie, Rome
- Hotel Savoy, Florence
- The Balmoral, Edinburgh
- The Lowry Hotel, Manchester
- Hotel Astoria, St Petersburg
- Hotel Amigo, Brussels
- Brown’s Hotel, London
- Villa Kennedy, Frankfurt
- Hotel de Rome, Berlin
- Le Richemond, Geneva
- The Charles Hotel, Munich
Future openings:
Prague - 2008
Verdura Golf & Spa Resort, Sicily – 2009
Marrakech - 2009
For further information and online reservations, please visit The Rocco Forte Collection website: www.roccofortecollection.com.
Angleterre Hotel, St Petersburg, is a deluxe four-star sister to Hotel Astoria. For information and reservations, please visit www.angleterrehotel.com
