Celebrated British painter David Remfry MBE will return to Yorkshire where his career began with a retrospective exhibition at the Beverley Art Gallery this March.
Known for his creativity, his grand-scale watercolours of dancers and nightclubs, as well as pictures of friends and visitors to his studio in the Chelsea Hotel, New York City, Remfry’s distinguished career includes over 60 solo shows across Europe and the USA.
Now, a retrospective exhibition featuring over 60 works of Remfry’s paintings and drawings, some which have never been exhibited before, will be shown at the Beverley Art Gallery between Saturday 29th March and Saturday 21st June.
It is a fitting place for visitors to take in Remfry’s long and varied career as it is where the artist spent his childhood, and where some of his earliest works were produced as a student of Hull College of Art, under the tutelage of artist Gerald Harding. A number of Remfry’s student drawings will be on display for the first time ever, showing the skill and technique that would make him a sought-after artist in the decades that followed.
A focal point of the exhibition will be the paintings that Remfry created after seeing the famous girlgroup, The Ronettes, on British Television. In 1963, while still at art college, Remfry created hundreds of paintings of the trio, capturing the colours, shapes, and rhythms of the group and the generation they represented.
When Remfry left Yorkshire for London the next year, these paintings would influence his huge watercolours of various dancers, becoming one of his most famous themes and leading to a subsequent international touring show.
Remfry’s career also took him to New York City and during this time he created a series of drawings and paintings of his neighbours and visitors to his studio. These feature colourful residents such as Quentin Crisp, actors Susan Sarandon, Alan Cumming and Ethan Hawke, and philanthropist Agnes Gund. A selection of these works will feature in the upcoming exhibition.
Now, in his 81st year, David Remfry will return to the East Riding with his work for the first time in 20 years. From portraits to still life, small scale drawings to large scale paintings, and a mastery of the watercolour medium and more recently returning to oils, visitors will be able to trace the artist’s remarkable career from Yorkshire origins to London, New York and beyond.
In the final week of the exhibition, there will be a special event featuring Remfry ‘In Conversation’ with Sarah Victoria Turner, director of the Paul Mellon Centre for Research in British Art. More details will be made available soon for this ticketed event on the East Riding Museums’ 'What’s On' page.
David Remfry said: “I’ve always thought of Yorkshire as ‘where I’m from’ and I’m grateful to Hannah Willetts, the curator of the Beverley Art Gallery, for supporting this in-depth review of my work to date. I’m excited to see it all brought together in this way for the first time.”
Nial Adams, museums and archives manager at East Riding of Yorkshire Council said: ‘’Celebrated artist David Remfry has strong Yorkshire roots so its absolutely wonderful to be showcasing his work at our very own Beverley Art Gallery.
‘’I’m sure visitors will be fascinated by the upcoming exhibition and enjoy exploring the liftetime of subjects and influences, some of which are very local to ourselves, that have shaped and inspired Remfry’s work.’’
This is a free exhibition, Beverley Art Gallery can be found inside the Champney Treasure House, Beverley, for more information and opening times visit: Beverley Art Gallery
Picture captions: The exhibition will feature a variety of Remfry’s work including a number of his student drawings will be on display for the first time ever.
