Artwork from former Wolverhampton Polytechnic to be showcased at city art gallery
An exhibition featuring works from a former Wolverhampton Polytechnic student is set to go on display.
Prints from Irish artist Tim Mara will go on display at Wolverhampton Art Gallery next month.
A total of 26 framed prints and a sketch book will be showcased from the artist, who studied at the polytechnic between 1970 to 1973.
A book of screen prints, co-produced with Chris Plowman, will be on show along with a small digitally-printed ceramic piece by his daughter Alice Mara.
Alice and Emily Mara, daughters of Tim Mara, said in a statement: “We are delighted and very proud that Wolverhampton Art Gallery has chosen to exhibit a selection of our father’s work in their newly refurbished space.
“Dad's days at Wolverhampton were at the start of his journey into art. His experiences here built the foundation for his future success.
“A precise, contemporary and beautifully crafted body of work that is a portrait of the place and the people in his life at that time.
“His legacy continues through the Tim and Belinda Mara Trust, awarding prizes to printmaking degree students, and through shows such as this. We hope that visitors to this great gallery are inspired by his work and moved by the creative process in which he took so much pride.”
Tim Mara, who was head of printmaking at the Royal College of Art in London, died aged 48 in 1997.
His prints are included in collections at the Tate London, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Irish Museum of Modern Art, as well as many other galleries and private collections worldwide.
Councillor Harman Banger, Wolverhampton Council’s cabinet member for city economy, said: “It is always great to see a local connection to our exhibitions and to have the city’s art collection out on display.
“The pieces in this exhibition are bright and bold, and it is great to know that five of them were completed while the artist was studying in Wolverhampton, and formed part of his degree show, while another was based on the interior of a house in Lea Road, Wolverhampton."
The exhibition opens on September 21 and will continue until March 29 next year.
Admission is free and the gallery is open between Monday and Saturday from 10.30am to 4.30pm, and on Sunday from 11am to 4pm.
Several of the prints on display will be available for sale, with proceeds going to the Tim and Belinda Mara Trust, which supports excellence and innovation in printmaking through awards to undergraduate and postgraduate students.
A launch will be held at the art gallery on September 2 from 4.30pm, with a talk and tour of the exhibition.
For more information, please email art.gallery@wolverhampton.gov.uk or call 01902 550535
