George Shaw, “Ash Wednesday: 7.00am” (2004–5), Humbrol enamel on board, Private Collection (image courtesy of the artist and the Anthony Wilkinson Gallery, London, © George Shaw 2018)
On view at the Yale Center for British Art is the first US solo exhibition of Turner Prize nominee George Shaw, one of Britain’s leading contemporary painters. Spanning three decades of Shaw’s prolific artistic practice, George Shaw: A Corner of a Foreign Field features nearly seventy paintings, more than sixty drawings, numerous prints, and a range of sketchbook and notebook materials, including several new works.
Shaw’s work focuses on the Midlands, an area in the United Kingdom anchored by the cities of Birmingham, Derby, and Coventry. His paintings depict scenes from the postwar Tile Hill council estate, where he was raised, and the woods surrounding it. Steeped in modern and historic fine art traditions, Shaw’s work alludes equally to twentieth-century painting and photography, and the legacy of European masters.
A series of short films commissioned from three British filmmakers will explore different aspects of Shaw’s life and creative output. They will be screened at the Center throughout the exhibition’s run, offering visitors a dynamic introduction to the artist’s ideas and work, and their continued resonance.
George Shaw: A Corner of a Foreign Field is on view at the Yale Center for British Art through December 30, 2018. For information, visit britishart.yale.edu/exhibitions.
