In Focus: Ed Burkes talks to Janine Derbyshire about life as an artist during ‘lockdown’.

Ed in his Banks Mill Studio © Ed Burkes

Ed shares his creative influences in art and music, his forthcoming solo exhibition at the Museum & Art Gallery and the exciting journey that lies ahead.

Since graduating from Falmouth University in 2016 with a BA in Fine Art, Burkes’ work has been selected for a number of group exhibitions, including Saatchi Invest in Art and FBA Futures 2017, shortlisted for Bloomberg New Contemporaries and exhibited at London Art Fair with Arusha Gallery.

 In 2016, he won the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Travel to Italy Award and in 2019 he became the winner of the eighth Jonathan Vickers Fine Art Award. This biennial award, established by Foundation Derbyshire in 1998, has seen Ed take up a nine-month residency in Derbyshire where he has produced work inspired by the county’s landscape, heritage and people, under the broad theme “Sense of Place”. 

His show Dandelion opens in September 2020 and will showcase paintings and sculpture created during a very unusual residency. With added challenges such as a pandemic and weeks of lockdown, Ed discusses how this experience has actually enriched his creative thought and how he has adapted his practice to produce a truly vibrant body of work.

Dandelion opens to the public on Friday 11 September - Sunday 21 February 2021

You can listen to the conversation here or download to your device (25mb). A transcript of the conversation can be downloaded here (word document).

In Focus with Janine Derbyshire and artist Ed Burkes_August 2020

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To find out more about the artists who have inspired Ed, see more about Mary Tillman Smith here, and Rose Wylie here.

To read more about the Derbyshire well dressings tradition Ed mentions in the interview, click here.

'Bulldog' 120x180cm oil on canvas. © Ed Burkes

A3 work on paper collage. © Ed Burkes

In Focus: Sculptor Robert Erskine discusses the life and work of Ronald Pope, with Lucy Bamford

Robert Erskine ©Robert Erskine

Robert Erskine is an English sculptor, designer and broadcaster, known for his monumental public works. Robert was mentored by Ronald Pope through his early career and they enjoyed a life-long friendship. In this fascinating conversation with curator Lucy Bamford, Robert shares memories of first meeting Ronald, understanding his practice, and the influence he still has on Robert today.

Robert Erskine currently lives and works in Suffolk, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Sculptors, and a recipient of the Otto Beit Award (OBA) for outstanding public sculpture.

Having created a number of landmark sculptures for commercial, public and regeneration schemes, Erskine's sculptures have been awarded the status of 'permanent public monuments' by The Public Monuments Sculpture Association and The Courtauld Institute, for contributing to the heritage and culture of the nation. 

Visit www.roberterskine.com to find out more about Robert’s work.

You can listen to the conversation here or download to your device (66mb). A transcript of the conversation can be downloaded here (word document).

In Focus: Sculptor Robert Erskine discusses the life and work of Ronald Pope, with Lucy Bamford

Derby Museums

To take a virtual tour of the Process and Progress: The Work of Ronald Pope 2020 exhibition, or to view some of the works of Ronald Pope in Derby Museums’ collection, click here.

The Work of Ronald Pope - Photographs

The following selection of Pope’s work is drawn from a larger exhibition devoted to the artist, currently on display at the Museum and Art Gallery in Derby. The photographs, taken by David Edge, reveal the hidden beauty of Pope’s sculpture-making process.

To see more of Ronald Pope’s works, please visit: www.ronaldpopesculptor.co.uk

All images: Copyright Artist's Estate / Derby Museums

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Composition (detail)

Carved wood, mounted on a wood base, about 1952

Between 1943 and 1958 Pope and his wife Joan lived at Knowle Hills, near Ticknall, in South Derbyshire. The house had no mains services and daily life was often hard. Nevertheless, Pope found comfort in its secluded location and natural surroundings, and began carving pieces of fallen wood gathered from nearby woodland. This small, carved wood sculpture is one such example and shows how Pope would allow himself to be guided by the material he was working with. The resulting sculpture has an organic feel. At the same time, its upright form and simple detailing, following the grain and individual characteristics of the wood, are suggestive of a human figure.

Transferred to Derby Museums from Derby and Derbyshire School Library Service in 2018

Curbar II

Welded bronze, mounted on wood base, 1969

Curbar II was inspired by the gritstone edge at Curbar in Derbyshire. Pope felt that rhythm, uplift, and excitement, lay in the intersection of horizontal and vertical lines formed by natural fissures in the rocks. These patterns were captured on camera during walks in the landscape and formed the basis of many, later exploratory drawings as well as sculptures such as this one.

Transferred to Derby Museums from Derby and Derbyshire School Library Service in 2018

Circular Form (detail)

Ceramic, mounted on a marble base, date unknown.

Pope studied ceramics part-time at Woolwich Polytechnic alongside his training at Slade School of Fine Art between 1945 and 1948, and continued to make pottery and ceramic sculptures using a wood-fired kiln he built for himself at home. Working with clay was perhaps the most direct of all Pope’s methods of making, utilising just bare hands and simple cutting tools to shape his pots and sculptural forms.

Duo (detail)

Brass, mounted on a marble base, early 1970s

Duo is the name of a series of works that focus on relationships between couples. Pope’s first sculpture of this title was produced for Lady Paget of King’s Newton Hall in Derbyshire. But it was not until 1972 that the idea of Duo appears to have become firmly fixed in his mind. Over the next five years, Pope made numerous drawings and small-scale sculptures under this title, experimenting with a range of interlocking shapes, materials and techniques to express a sense of the ‘unity’, as well as the tension, that he felt existed between men and women.

Bequest of Mr John Daniel Stancliffe Garratt

Sculpture (detail)

Welded steel, mounted on a marble base, 1954

In 1953 Pope constructed his first metal sculpture in response to a commission for a new school in Ilkeston, Derbyshire. Pope already had some of the skills needed to work with metal thanks to his training as an engineer at Rolls Royce and now drew upon these to explore a range of new possibilities for his art.

This early example, which resembles a plant-like form, demonstrates the delicacy and control with which Pope was able to work metal.

Transferred to Derby Museums from Derby and Derbyshire School Library Service in 2018

Mask (detail)

Welded copper, mounted on a marble base, 1961

This sculpture was commissioned by Pope’s friend and patron Arnold F. Thompson. It was made using the modern technique of braising cut rods and sheets of copper together. The idea behind the sculpture was rooted in Pope’s interest in African carvings and bronzes; an interest that he shared with Thompson.

Pope admired and collected African objects, and was drawn to the work of philosophers and artists who looked to so-called ‘primitive’ forms of culture. His interest was first sparked during trips to the British Museum and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, as a student at the Slade School of Fine Art. He later established a collection of his own, focussing mainly on figure carvings. In this, he was encouraged by his friend and patron Arnold F. Thompson, himself a collector of African objects and modern sculpture. Most of the sculptures and drawings by Pope in Derby Museums’ collection were donated by Thompson alongside a small number of African carvings, which are now on display in the World Collection Gallery.

Transferred to Derby Museums from Derby and Derbyshire School Library Service in 2018

Corridor I

Welded bronze, mounted on marble, 1977

After a visit to Derby’s Eagle Shopping Centre during the mid-1970s, Pope was inspired to develop a series of sculptures based on the theme of crowds and passing figures. He made numerous drawings both on the spot and later from memory. The fluid nature of watercolour in particular was well-suited to capturing and exploring the colour, lines, and movement of the crowd. These experimental drawings had a direct influence on his finished sculptures for the series. In this sculpture, individual figures are reduced to flat planes and surfaces interspersed with strong rhythmical lines.

Purchased from Ronald Pope in 1977

Unity

Carved and limed oak, mounted on a stone base, 1970s

Unity is among the many sculptures that developed as a result of Pope’s interest in crowds and gatherings of people. The sculpture was carved to form the appearance of a tight huddle of figures, with horizontal bands that suggest embracing arms and hands clasped together.

Presented by Mrs. J. Pope

Altar to Health - by Artist Tan Draig

Laura Phillips shares the beautiful installation created by Tan Draig for the Florence Nightingale: Health in the Home Exhibition at Pickford’s House.

Florence Nightingale Bicentenary

Florence Nightingale lived in Derbyshire and her influence can be seen across many aspects of health care and statistics today. Derby Museums is marking the bicentenary of Florence’s birth in 2020 with a series of exhibitions, events and activities. Explore some of these here - scroll down to see the full choice.

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Watch or listen

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Activities

Notice Nature Feel Joy Gallery

Nestled in the heart of the Museum & Art Gallery, the ‘notice nature feel joy’ gallery profiles nearly 2,000 amazing specimens from our natural history collection. This co-produced gallery as created with visitors and volunteers, is designed to elicit the curiosity to ‘find out more’. Immerse yourself in the surprising details around the gallery and enjoy the fascinating range of mammals, rocks, fossils, birds, shells, insects and skeletons. Explore the gallery through the virtual tour and explore activities below.

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Take a Virtual Tour

Play & Learn

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Objects of Love, Hope and Fear: A World Collection

Museum and Art Gallery

Objects of Love, Hope and Fear: A World Collection, is a gallery full to bursting with ordinary and extraordinary objects from around the world. The display is built on a foundation of shared experiences that are common to people across the world and these values, emotions and actions have shaped and informed every step of the project.

The gallery is arranged into seven zones entitled Consume, Believe, Create, Conflict, Furnish, Adorn and Communicate. Each of objects you’ll experience has a history of human connection, having been crafted, used, loved, lost, stolen, collected, stored or hidden and now displayed with the greatest of respect. They connect to historic events full of horror, joy and everything in between.

From talking drums and wooden pillows, to terrible weapons designed to torture enslaved workers. Each zone offers both comfort and discomfort and we challenge you to not find something that captivates your head and heart.

Thousands of people worked closely with us to co-produce this stunning display of 1400 objects. We are indebted to everyone who offered their time, energy, skill, honesty and knowledge. The people on the streets of Derby, the co-production volunteers and new friends across the globe who have cleaned, photographed, researched, interpreted and displayed this important collection of objects. 

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Explore our Virtual Tours of the Gallery

Objects of Love, Hope and Fear - Virtual Tour

https://v21artspace.com/

Twitter/Facebook/Instagram - search for V21Artspace

Objects of Love, Hope and Fear in Progress - Virtual Tour

https://v21artspace.com/

Twitter/Facebook/Instagram - search for V21Artspace

Take a closer look at the homeopathic medicine cabinet

With Laura Phillips, Head of Interpretation and Display

Health in the Home Exhibition Preview

Florence Nightingale: Health in the Home Exhibition is at Pickford’s House throughout 2020.

Celebrate the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth through an exploration of her impact upon health in the home. Join in a conversation about how we care for ourselves and those we live with, and how we discover and communicate health information. 

Notice Nature Feel Joy - Virtual Tour

Explore the Notice Nature Feel Joy gallery, as well as the rest of the Museum and Art Gallery, using this Virtual Tour.

https://v21artspace.com/

Twitter/Facebook/Instagram - search for V21Artspace

The Mission of Mercy - A Discussion with Lucy Bamford and Anne Ishikawa

Audio Discussion between Lucy Bamford (Senior Curator) and Anne Ishikawa (Co-production Volunteer) about the famous The Mission of Mercy: Florence Nightingale receiving the Wounded at Scutari by Jerry Barrett, 1857.

Derby Museums is marking the bicentenary of Florence Nightingale’s birth this year with a number of special exhibits celebrating her life and work, including this rare portrait on loan from the National Portrait Gallery, London as part of the COMING HOME project.

COMING HOME is a project which sees the National Portrait Gallery lend 50 portraits of iconic individuals to places across the UK with which they are most closely associated. These artworks will be available for audiences to see in local museums, galleries and other venues, along with special programming available for families and communities.

The Mission of Mercy, painted by artist Jerry Barrett in 1857 – portrays Florence Nightingale attending wounded soldiers at Scutari, Turkey, during her time there as a nurse during the Crimean War. See an image and more about the painting here.

An English social reformer and statistician, Florence Nightingale is credited as a founder of modern nursing, and came from a wealthy, reformist Derbyshire family who had a home at Lea Hurst near Matlock. This is the first time the painting will be returned to Derbyshire since having been acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in 1993.

Listen to the discussion online, or download to listen on your device - or watch the video for a subtitled and illustrated version.

The MIssion of Mercy - A Discussion with Lucy Bamford and Anne Ishikawa

Derby Museums

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