|
|
STAR
PORTRAITS WITH ROLF HARRIS
Exhibition launches at County Hall Gallery, London
27 May 2005 – 3 July 2005 – PRIVATE VIEWING
25 MAY 2005
The BBC, Hotbed Media Ltd, producers of the BBC1 series ‘Star
Portraits with Rolf Harris’ and County Hall Gallery are delighted
to announce the launch of a special Touring Exhibition of celebrity
portraits from the first two series.
'Star Portraits with Rolf Harris', which first screened January
2004, features well known faces painted by professional portrait
artists. Last year a similar exhibition at the New Art Gallery in
Walsall attracted 84,000 visitors.
Showcasing all 24 portraits created for the series including Cilla
Black, Michael Parkinson, Mo Mowlam, Charlie Dimmock, David Dickinson,
Richard Wilson, Adrian Edmondson and Meera Syal – this
exhibition premieres at County Hall Gallery, London, on 25 May before
touring the UK.
BBC's Adam Kemp, Commissioning Editor, Arts, Music and Religion,
said: “The first series regularly engaged over five million
viewers in the art of portraiture – a significant achievement
and testament to both the programme’s inventive format and
the enduring appeal of Rolf Harris. One of the key functions of
the BBC is to raise awareness, foster debate and create a new forum
in which the public can interact with art. This exhibition vividly
illustrates this role”.
Presenter, Rolf Harris said:"This is a wonderful series
which I think has turned people’s perception of portraiture
on its head. We’ve encouraged people who are not usually brave
enough, to come into an art gallery. We’ve helped people realise
that art isn’t for somebody else, it’s for everyone…”
The works on display provide an insight into the private and public
persona of these celebrities:
“I’d
be interested to see what they make of my eyes. I’m most often
described as ‘baggy-eyed Mike Parkinson’. I would be
interested to see what they make of that." MICHAEL PARKINSON
CBE
"I
would really like the artists to capture my smile. I don’t
want to see too much teeth but that is virtually impossible isn’t
it?" CILLA BLACK OBE
"I’d
never presume to censor an artist, I think that’s the joy
of this. They’ll paint what they see and that’s going
to be fascinating actually." MEERA SYAL
Other venues for the exhibition include the New Walk Museum and
Gallery, Leicester and the Naughton Gallery at Queen's University
of Belfast.The second series of Star Portraits with Rolf Harris
can be seen on BBC One at the beginning of June 2005.
PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE SERIES ARE AVAILABLE
– Contact:
www.bbcpictures.com
CONTACT
DETAILS FOR FURTHER INFO
Alison
Grade, Exhibition Producer, Hotbed Media, 0121 248 3900 alison.grade@hotbedmedia.co.uk
Nnenna
Oleforo, County Hall Gallery, 020 7450 7619 press@countyhallgallery.com
Rolf
Harris PR – Pat Lake-Smith – 020 7836 1020 lakesmithgriffin@aol.com
------NOTES
TO EDITORS-----
Exhibition
tour dates:County Hall GalleryPRIVATE VIEWING 25 MAY 200527 May
2005 – 3 July 2005
Address: : White SpaceCounty Hall GalleryCounty HallRiverside BuildingSouth
BankLondonSE1 7PB Tube:Bus: Waterloo: Bakerloo, Northern, Jubilee,
Waterloo & City lines Westminster (across Westminster Bridge):
Jubilee, Circle and District lines11, 12, 24, 53, 76, 77, 159, 211,
341, 381 and most London sightseeing tour bus routes
Opening: Friday – Monday10am – 5.30pm (last entry) Web:
www.countyhallgallery.com
New
Walk Museum and Gallery, LeicesterPRIVATE VIEWING 8 JULY 20059 July
2005 – 7 August 2005-05-05Naughton Gallery, Queen’s
University of BelfastPRIVATE VIEWING 10 AUGUST 200511 August 2005
– 3 September 2005-05-05
Artists featured in the exhibition: Morgan Penn, Nick Archer, Bill
Mundy, Richard Brazier, Charlie Wells, Clare Shenstone, Aine Divine,
Rob Beckett, Robbie Stuart, Fergus Mayhew, Belinda Eaton, Peregrine
Heathcote, Maggie Milne, John Raynes, Kim Beer, Binny Matthews,
Rebecca Driffield, Andy James, Martyn Baldwin, Wei Li Zhu, Alfred
Daniels, Sherree Valentine-Daines, Amanda Danicic and Robin Elvin.County
Hall Gallery, Home of Dalí UniverseNestling between the London
Aquarium and the magnificent BA London Eye, County Hall Gallery,
London’s premier arts and exhibition venue, makes its home
inside historic County Hall, the former GLC building, just a Thames-width
away from the Houses of Parliament and a short stroll from Waterloo.Hotbed
Media LtdHotbed Media is an award-winning television production
company occupying a four storey Grade II listed building in Birmingham’s
historic Jewellery Quarter.Hotbed Media specialises in factual entertainment
programmes and formats with credits including Date My Daughter and
Everything Must Go! for ITV1; 100 Worst Britons and 100 Worst Pop
Records for Channel 4; Pete Waterman & The Coventry Choir and
The Gospel Entertainment Music Awards 2004 for BBC1 and self-financed
art-historical documentary The Man Who Wouldn’t Paint Hitler
for international distribution, and developed as a feature film.
Hotbed's major BBC1 series Star Portraits with Rolf Harris was devised
in August 2001 and piloted in May 2002. The first series was broadcast
in January 2004 and the second series in June 2005.
The
organisers would also like to thank for their support of the private
viewing:
www.raspberryice.co.uk
www.ejgallo.com
In
association with BBC and Hotbed Media
|
