A special Preview Evening took place on 23rd November to celebrate the opening of Tennants’ loan exhibition Light and Shadow.
The exhibition brings together a diverse collection of paintings and sculptures from 50BC to the 21st century, all notable for their arresting use of light and shadow. The contrasting interplay between dark and light in art has produced some of the defining images of the history of Western visual culture; this exhibition will explore how artists over a span of more than 2,000 years have employed this device to remarkable effect.
The preview was attended by over one hundred guests who were allowed the first look at a remarkable collection of paintings and sculpture, all kindly loaned by public galleries and private collectors, by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Joseph Wright of Derby, George de la Tour, Edward Burne-Jones and Dame Laura Knight.
Amongst the guests was Dr Mark Westgarth, Associate Professor of Art History and Museum Studies and Director of the Centre for the Study of the Art & Antiques Market and the University of Leeds. Dr Westgarth kindly wrote the preface to the exhibition catalogue, in which he said: ‘The pioneering, innovative public exhibition programme being developed by Tennants reveal just how crucial the art market has become in cultivating and disseminating knowledge of art history, and how fruitful and productive the synergies between the art market and the public art museum can be’.
The exhibition continues until 30th November.
