The Anonymous Rose

10 November 2009
A New Installation at York Art Gallery
A contemporary art installation inspired by an anonymous 19th century portrait is being officially unveiled by its creator this week.

The Anonymous Rose is the captivating new installation by renowned artist Simon Periton. The work made of glass, which is more than 2m² in size, makes a striking impression in York Gallery’s stairwell.

Simon is coming to York from London to talk about the piece at the launch of SAASY, a new student group linked to the Friends of York Art Gallery on Thursday evening at 6.30pm.

The Anonymous Rose was specifically commissioned by York Art Gallery for this space and is initially on loan for one year. It is made of sprayed enamel and mirror on glass, in 18 framed parts. The commission of this work was made possible with funding from Arts Council England.

As a starting point for this work, Simon looked through York’s collections and was particularly drawn to those works hidden away in the stores. Two paintings in particular caught his eye, ‘Portrait of an Unknown Woman Holding a Rose’, by an anonymous artist and a 17th century portrait of Lady Francis Fairfax. Periton used the lace in the portrait of Lady Fairfax as inspiration for the patterns in his work. He blew up a copy of the portrait and then used the lace pattern as a stencil pattern for his work. The colours for the piece were also inspired by looking at the glazes on the gallery’s ceramics collection.

York Art Gallery opens from 10am-5pm daily and admission is free.
Tel 01904 687687 or visit www.yorkartgallery.org.uk

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