Good news for people in the Norwich area, an exhibition of 50 paintings by Francis Bacon is being held at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia, writes Lorna Marsh on the Eastern Daily Press site.

The exhibition, which include some pictures never seen before, is entitled Francis Bacon: Paintings from the 1950s and is guest curated by Michael Peppiatt, Bacon’s biographer and on site by Sara Cooper.

Apparently this is a first for Bacon’s paintings and eventually the exhibition will be going to America. I loved the quote from Cooper when she says, “It is very exciting to be unwrapping these major works of art, it is like Christmas with butterflies in your stomach as you open them.”

Runs from 26th September to 10th December 2006.

Article here

Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts website here

This week sees the opening of an outdoor exhibition of modern sculpture in Chatsworth Park in Derbyshire - Richard Dorment writes an excellent piece in the Telegraph.

Mounted by Sotheby’s, “Beyond Limits” is a selling exhibition that runs until October 17 and includes works by Hirst, Dali, Moore and Kapoor with all but one piece, Duane Hanson’s sunbather, displayed in the magnificent grounds of Chatsworth House.

Dorment is a delight to read, his enthusiasm is infectious and echos the feeling I get whenever I go to a good sculpture park. I do however, take exception to Dorment’s comment “The placement of Hanson’s suntanned babe in a gallery full of cold, white marbles is an excellent joke…” - to describe the “Veiled Lady” as cold makes me wonder whether he has actually seen it. It is a personal favourite of mine and cold it is not, it is serene, it is beautiful, it is stunning - if I had to choose which sculpture I could take home from Chatsworth, Hirst, Dali, Moore, Hanson, et al wouldn’t stand a chance.

Read Dorment’s report here

Pictures here

Chatsworth website here

Good news today on the artdaily.com website, the Hayward Gallery is to present “How to Improve the World: 60 years of British Art” a collection of 150 works of art from 100 British artists including, Francis Bacon, Patrick Caulfield, Jeremy Deller, Lucian Freud, Gilbert & George, Liam Gillick, Mona Hatoum, Barbara Hepworth, Susan Hiller, Damien Hirst, David Hockney, Anish Kapoor, Richard Long, Sarah Lucas, Henry Moore, Chris Ofili, Bridget Riley, Mark Titchner and Cerith Wyn Evans.

The art is taken from the Arts Council collection and features the highlights of 60 years of modern and contemporary art and is curated by Michael Archer and Roger Malbert. Definitely one I must see despite being rubbished by Martin Gayford on the Bloomberg site as “…one of the most dismal installations I have ever seen.”

The exhibition runs until 19th November.

Story here

Hayward Gallery website here

Bloomberg website here