George Shaw: My Back to Nature opens in Southampton this week, on the final stop of its nationwide tour

21 Apr 2018

The critically acclaimed exhibition George Shaw: My Back to Nature from the National Gallery, opens on Friday 4 May at Southampton City Art Gallery, on the final stop of its 18-month nationwide tour.

My Back to Nature – a free exhibition of more than fifty new paintings and drawings – is the result of George Shaw’s two-and-a-half years as the National Gallery’s Rootstein Hopkins Associate Artist. Also on show is a complimentary display curated by George Shaw, from Southampton City Art Gallery’s own collection.

Based in a studio located in the heart of the National Gallery, Shaw had swift and unrestricted access to the Gallery to explore the collection out of hours at his leisure, draw from the pictures, observe the public, and find inspiration in great art for his own work. The result is predominantly woodland landscapes, ones that investigate the clash of cultures; classical stories linked with the traces of similar, timeless behaviour in the modern world; and the portrayal of religion.

National Gallery Director Dr Gabriele Finaldi, says “George Shaw’s paintings tap into popular British culture and the tradition of the great masters. The result is by turns witty, moving, and irreverent. The body of works he produced at the National Gallery offers a fresh and energising response to the paintings of Titian, Poussin, and Constable and we are delighted to share it with so many UK venues.”

Exhibition organised by the National Gallery, London

Image Credit: The Rude Screen, 2015-16, Enamel on canvas © Private Collection, Belgium, Courtesy Maruani Mercier Gallery

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