A new exhibition by Jonathan Yeo, the artist who painted the first official portrait of former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and recreated the image of George Bush using cuttings from adult magazines begins this weekend at Salford’s Lowry Museum.
From Blair to Bonham-Carter brings together some of his most famous subjects have been brought together. From Kevin Spacey, acting as Richard III; Damien Hirst, dressed incongruously in chemical protection suit; to Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Parkinson, Grayson Perry and Idris Elba.
The exhibition includes additional paintings, drawings and preparatory materials especially for The Lowry.
His controversy-courting collage of George Bush, produced in protest when the former President reneged on a scheduled sitting with the artist, will also feature.
The Lowry will be the first gallery to show the celebrated 2007 portrait of Tony Blair wearing a red memorial poppy, since it was first commissioned by Lincoln’s Inn where Blair trained as a barrister.
A self-taught artist and son of Tory MP Tim Yeo, he began drawing and painting while undergoing treatment for Hodgkin’s disease in his early-20s.
A commission from the House of Commons in 2001, a triptych of the three party leaders campaigning in that year’s general election, Tony Blair, William Hague and Charles Kennedy, first brought the artist to prominence.
Jonathan Yeo said: “I’m especially excited to exhibit at The Lowry because of the strong affiliations the city and region have with some of the most innovative and influential British artists, performers, and writers, which is something I consistently return to in my work. Also Lowry, as an artist, has been an influence on my own practice, since as far back as childhood. I hugely admire his vision and depiction of quotidian scenes.
“I always feel it’s important to exhibit in new places. It’s fascinating to see the responses of different audiences to the work: from Nottingham, to LA, to Berlin, to Salford. Faces often signify different things in different cultures and the personalities in these paintings provoke widely varying reactions around the world.
Jonathan Yeo Portraits is organised by the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Jonathan Yeo Portraits
Sat 15 March – Sun 29 June 2014
The Lowry, Salford Quays
FREE
