Nicholas Pope to show at Richard Saltoun Gallery

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Richard Saltoun Gallery will be holding a solo exhibition of British artist Nicholas Pope, the first in London since 2003, from 30 May to 4 July.

A student at the Bath Academy of Art (1970–73), Pope had early success in his career. Norman Reid, Director of the Tate Gallery at the time, purchased works from his first solo exhibition in 1976. Four years later he represented Britain at the Venice Biennale. His career was cut short in 1985 with the diagnosis of a debilitating illness during a visit to the Makonda tribe to study wood carving. After a ten-year struggle to recover his health, Pope regained his abilities and his important post-recovery sculpture installation, The Apostles Speaking in Tongues, was shown to much accolade by the Tate in its 'Art Now' programme in 1996.

The exhibition at Richard Saltoun Gallery will feature sculpture in all the materials the artist has used; chalk, marble, wood, fabric and porcelain. Amongst the highlights will be Seven Odd Chalks, 1978, a major sculpture of the decade, the Piss Urinals of the 90s and a new cloth sculpture, Mr and Mrs Pope Knitted, Shrunk and Hung, 2012, a portrait of he and his wife Janet made of knitted felt mohair.

Also included will be a selection of the artist’s drawings, including Black Balls of 1981, over five metres in length, and, exhibited for the first time, Red Eight Holes, 1981.

The exhibition at Richard Saltoun Gallery will be held at the same time as the installation of terracotta figures, The Apostles speaking in Tongues lit by their own Lamps, 1993–6, at Salisbury Cathedral. Drawing upon the New Testament's account of the Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles, the work will be on display for Pentecost (8 June) through to 3 August.

Nicholas Pope (b. 1949, Sydney, Australia) represented Britain at the 1980 Venice Biennale and his work is included in numerous collections including Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Portugal; Bonnefanten Museum, the Netherlands; The National Galleries of Scotland, Scotland; Stedelijk Museum 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands; and the Tate, UK. Selected exhibitions include the Guggenheim, NYC, USA (1980); Tate, UK (1996/1997); Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich, UK and Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, the Netherlands (2002); Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Enschede, the Netherlands (2008); Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, UK (2011); Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, the Netherlands (2014). A major monograph, including essays by Tate Britain director Penelope Curtis, was published in 2013 by Ridinghouse, UK.

Richard Saltoun Gallery
111 Great Titchfield Street
London W1W 6RY
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7637 1225

Gallery hours: Monday to Friday 10.00a.m.–6.00p.m. or by appointment

Nearest tube: Oxford Circus or Great Portland Street.