LENKIEWICZ: The Debate! — Private View + Open Forum Discussion
Tuesday 23 June, 6.30 – 9.00pm
Plymouth City Museum
PRESS RELEASE 18/04/2009
“Lenkiewicz: The Legacy, Works from The Lenkiewicz Foundation Collection” is an exhibition at Plymouth City Museum of the works of art bequeathed by the late artist Robert Lenkiewicz to the charity which bears his name, The Lenkiewicz Foundation. Since the artist’s death in 2002, aged sixty, the artist’s paintings and other works have been under lock and key pending the resolution of his Estate. But at long last the legacy is now being passed to the charity and the current exhibition is the first chance Lenkiewicz’s many admirers have had to see the works of art which The Lenkiewicz Foundation has inherited.
However, the exhibition at Plymouth City Museum is not a complete showing of available work. Of thirty works on paper in the legacy, concerns were raised by the Museum over the content of approximately one third of the pictures. “Lenkiewicz’s ‘aesthetic notes’ explore his ideas about human relationships and frequently touch on aspects of sexual desire, jealousy and obsessive behaviour,” explained TLF spokesperson Anna Navas. “It was this challenging imagery, and sometimes specific words used in the handwritten notes, that the Museum felt did not sit well with their ‘family-friendly’ exhibition policy.”
The Lenkiewicz Foundation argued strongly for the inclusion of all available work. “We felt that suitable signage about parental guidance outside the separate gallery where the work is being shown and invigilation by the Museum guides would allow the Museum’s visitors to make an informed choice about whether to view the work or not.” However, the Museum was anxious that Easter break visitors with young families looking around the Charles Darwin celebration occupying the majority of the Museum’s spaces might slip unwittingly into the gallery and find the content uncomfortable viewing.
The Museum’s suggestion for a closed-off section of the show in which all the blacklisted works could be sequestered and where access could be carefully controlled was rejected by The Foundation. “We simply felt that this would strongly prejudice visitors in advance against the material and tend to stigmatise those brave enough to express a desire to view it!” explained Ms Navas. “The Foundation can never willingly condone censorship of Lenkiewicz’s work,” its spokesperson said. “However, we were impressed throughout by the Museum’s enthusiasm and good will towards this show and felt sure we could find a mutually agreeable compromise.”
In the end, an imaginative and democratic solution was found. The excluded works will be displayed on free-standing panels with the other works for one day only during the exhibition to give visitors a chance to assess the material for themselves. But there will also be a chance for the general public to say whether they think the Museum or TLF had the right idea.
The event will start at 6.30pm with a Private View of the current exhibition plus the additional works. A Presentation will then take place from 7.45pm where representatives from Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery and The Lenkiewicz Foundation will explain their approach and put forward their points of view. A moderated open forum Discussion will then take place from 8.15pm, enabling members of the audience to also express their opinions. The event will finish at 9pm. (Tickets for the discussion must be booked in advance on 01752 304774. The viewing is open to all).
The Foundation is hoping to open its own public gallery later this year and is aware that some of the work within the legacy may fall outside of general tastes. TLF therefore sees the open forum as a valuable learning experience and a chance to hear from a fairly representative audience of gallery-goers what their views are.
“Robert’s natural audience was the ordinary person in the street, but so was his subject matter,” says TLF. “He never presumed to pre-judge what they might or might not find acceptable — he just assumed that since his work was about the feelings and emotions that we all experience, that they would be genuinely interested in seeing themselves reflected in the work.”
In fact, only one of the artist’s many Projects exhibited at his studios on The Barbican was deemed beyond the pale — that on the theme of Sexual Behaviour in 1983. The City Council and the Police asked him to display a warning sign outside his exhibition rooms. Robert reluctantly agreed rather than see the show closed down entirely. The sign read ‘The Local Authority regard this project as unsuitable for those under eighteen; this is not the painter’s opinion.’ The Foundation added, “It’s a formula that worked for the artist for more than 30 years. Why would we change it?”
For enquiries or to request illustrations please call Francis Mallett on 01752 221450 or e-mail
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Note added 2 June 2009: Please note that 2/3 of the available places have already been booked. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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