Sunday 22 February 2009

Ready to go


We've been very busy the past few days. Firstly the exhibition at the See has been hung and invitations to the opening on Wednesday evening have been sent out. It looks good - about 40 pieces of work, beautifully hung by Julian.

Then the Boo (the Horse + Bamboo Theatrespace) has been prepared for the auction we're holding, again on Wednesday, to raise money for the Trust. Margaret and I worked the whole day yesterday to lay-out the 70-odd pieces of work that are being auctioned, with appropriate numbering systems so the auction goes smoothly and things don't get misplaced in any confusion. Our biggest worry now is that the turn out will be disappointing. Margaret has contacted hundreds of Dave's colleagues and friends, but getting to a mid-week afternoon event in a small Lancashire town may put many off. Ideally I hope about 50 people turn up, and less than 20 will be a disappointment.

One thing the auction and exhibition have in common is that they both contain a wide range of Dave's work from the late 1960s to the last few years. It struck me that Dave would normally exhibit only his latest work so it's an unfamiliar experience to see work from different periods hanging together. Interesting, but not unexpected, to see the variety and range, but also interesting to see continuities and formal gestures repeated. Margaret noted the odd and mysterious space in many of the pieces. It made me want to see a full and properly ordered retrospective of his output.


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