Chance for Londoners to see Manchester’s important Cornelia Parker show

Associated media

A trip to Manchester is being organized by the UK Friends of the National Museum of Women in the Arts

Cornelia Parker at the Whitworth, Manchester

Tuesday 12 May 2015

9a.m. departure from Euston to return at 5.30p.m.

The Whitworth Gallery in Manchester is celebrating its glittering renovation and re-opening with a major solo exhibition by one of Britain’s most acclaimed contemporary artists, Cornelia Parker. The extensive exhibition features a wide range of the works made over Parker’s long career, including Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View (1991) (pictured above).  In addition, Parker is showing new works alongside two important new commissions. 

For the Whitworth commissions, Parker has expanded her exploration of the intersection of art and science.  She worked closely with Kostya Novoselov, who with Andre Greim was awarded the Nobel Prize for the discovery of the world’s thinnest and strongest material, graphene.  Collaborating with Parker and the Whitworth staff, Novoselov took microscopic samples of graphite from the Whitworth’s collection of Blake, Turner, Constable and Picasso—as well as a pencil-written letter by the man who first split the atom, Sir Earnest Rutherford—and made graphene samples from these works. The Parker exhibition and the Whitworth renovation have received enthusiastic reviews. 

After the guided tour of the Parker exhibit, participants in the NMWA trip will have lunch at the Whitworth’s restaurant and then take the opportunity to visit displays by other UK women artists. This will include a current exhibition by Sarah Lucas,  one of the ‘young British artists’  of the early 1990s and this year’s UK representative to the Venice Biennale. Additionally, there are exhibits by Mary Kelly – recent Guggenheim Fellowship winner, Tracey Emin, and Rachel Whiteread, among others, demonstrating the Whitworth’s commitment to UK women artists.   

The private tour of Cornelia Parker takes place at 11:30. The organizers suggest taking the 9a.m. train from London Euston station for a two-hour journey, and returning from Manchester after 3p.m. The suggested schedule takes advantage of off-peak fares, but has limited availability and requires you to book soon.

Cost apart from travel: Patrons of NMWA £10; Friends of NMWA £15; Guests £25.  If you would like to attend, RSVP to [email protected] and post a cheque to Box 539, 28 Old Brompton Road, SW7 3SS.

The Whitworth Gallery
The University of Manchester campus
Oxford Road
Manchester
Lancashire
M15 6ER

Follow this link to take out a free subscription to read all the articles and reviews in Cassone – over 1000 in our archive!