Jock McFadyen Goes to The Lowry: A Retrospective

About

Jock McFadyen Goes to The Lowry: A Retrospective will run from Sat 16 October 2021 until Sun 27 February 2022 and is the first major exhibition since the arts centre re-opened following lockdown. It is one of a series of exhibitions across the UK and a monograph, published by the RA, planned to mark the artist’s 70th birthday.

McFadyen was born in Paisley in 1950 and attended Saturday classes at the Glasgow School of Art. Aged 15, he moved to London and attended Chelsea School of Art. His work from the 1980s is mostly associated with figurative painting, often featuring the  marginalised figures of society in large cities. However, since the 1990s his paintings have largely focused on man-made landscapes including abandoned industrial sites, buildings and deserted streets.

Whatever the subject, McFadyen’s obsession is always with the qualities of the painted surface, as is the case with LS Lowry. In homage, McFadyen has also placed a number of works from The Lowry Collection next to his own pictures, prompting surprising visual connections and placing Lowry alongside contemporary urban landscapes.

Julia Fawcett OBE, chief executive of The Lowry, said: “LS Lowry always made it very clear to anyone that asked that he painted what he saw - and he hated sentiment. McFadyen knows Lowry’s work intimately, and like Lowry, he has been fascinated by the people and streets often ignored by other artists. His work also captures the emotional force of monumentally empty landscapes – which makes this show a powerful experience.”

Jock McFadyen said: “I paint places and people – as did Lowry. To have the opportunity to exhibit my pictures alongside his in a gallery dedicated to his work is the thrill of my career.”

The Lowry’s galleries are open: Tuesday-Friday (11am-5pm) and Saturday-Sunday (10am-5pm). Admittance is free, donations are welcome.

Jock McFadyen has had over 60 solo exhibitions and his work is held in 40 public museum collections including Tate Gallery, The National Gallery, The V&A and The British Museum. He was elected to The Royal Academy in 2012 and in 2019 he was chief curator of that year’s Summer Exhibition. McFadyen lives and works in London, Edinburgh and France.

The exhibition is followed by Jock McFadyen RA: Tourist without a Guidebook at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, which opens on 5 February – 10 April 2022. Jock McFadyen by Rowan Moore, was published by RA publishing in 2019, and is the definitive guide to the work of Jock McFadyen and combines stories from the artist’s life with analysis of his art.

The Lowry galleries are named The Andrew and Zoe Law Galleries in recognition of the couple’s £1m donation to the arts centre, which is a registered charity.