Modern Fabulists bring legendary art to Bristol

April 19th, 2011 — by Richard Scarry & Chippy Coates in Richard and Chippy's Blog, Shows

April 22 – May 29, 2011

A major new international art exhibition opens at View Art Gallery in Bristol UK in April 2011, cementing the city’s status as a centre of contemporary art.

Modern Fabulists is a groundbreaking exhibition featuring America and Europe’s most extraordinary contemporary artists. The exhibition is the first curated by Coates and Scarry and in collaboration with Bristol’s premier View Art Gallery.

Owner of View Art Gallery Nick Waugh says “We are seeing a real resurgence in Bristol’s contemporary art scene and this innovative exhibition, which brings so much new talent to the area, will be a key event in the City’s cultural calendar.”

The artists featured in the show are all creating new pieces around the theme of “modern fabulists – a composer of fables, a teller of tales, a liar… an artist”. The exhibition is a celebration of the enduring relevance of folklore, craft, and storytelling. The artists bring their own very original and modern responses to the theme.

Pagan imagery, human and animal mixed manifestations, the shocking juxtaposed with the sublime, all come together to represent what are ultimately beautiful and spiritual renderings and interpretations of folklore and tales.

Artists in the show include Dan Baldwin, Jacob Arden McClure, Dee Dee Cheriel, Karen Akester, Anne Faith Nicholls, David Stein, Derek Weisberg, Hayley Murphy, Kirsty Whiten, Lauren Bergman, Bristol based Angela Lizon and Scott G Brooks.

Modern Fabulists will also be the first show in the UK for Corine Perier, Marco Mazzoni and Scott G Brooks and the first time outside of London for Lori Field and Pepa Prieto.

One half of Coates and Scarry is Richard Scarry, who is also Director of the renowned Corey Helford Gallery in Los Angeles, responsible for the infamous Art from the New World exhibition at Bristol’s City Museum in 2010.

Chippy Coates, Creative Director of Coates and Scarry says of the exhibition “Modern Fabulists showcases these most talented artists, individuals with strong styles and voices, artists who can recreate their truly unique imaginations in their exceptional art.”