Road Trip: Manchester – Cornelia Parker, Sarah Lucas, Mary Kelly at Whitworth

The Whitworth Gallery in Manchester is celebrating its glittering renovation and re-opening with a major solo exhibition by one of Britain’s most acclaimed contemporary artists Cornelia Parker.  The extensive Exhibition features a wide range of the works made over Parker’s long career, including the famous Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View (1991) (pictured above).  In addition, Parker is showing new works alongside two important new commissions.
For the Whitworth commissions, Parker has expanded her exploration of the intersection of art and science.  She worked closely with Kostya Novoselov, who with Andre Greim was awarded the Nobel Prize for their discovery of the world’s thinnest and strongest material graphine.  Collaborating with Parker and the Whitworth staff, Novoselov took microscopic samples of graphite from the Whitworth’s collection of Blake, Turner, Constable and Picasso—as well as a pencil-written letter by the man who first split the atom, Sir Earnest Rutherford—and made graphene samples from these works.The Parker exhibition and the Whitworth renovation have received rave reviews.
After our guided tour of the Parker exhibit, we will have lunch at the Whitworth’s restaurant and then take the opportunity to visit displays by other UK women artists. This will include a current exhibition by Sarah Lucas, part of the Young British Artists Group and this year’s UK representative to the Venice Biennale. Additionally, there are exhibits by Mary Kelly—recent Guggenheim Fellowship winner, Tracy Emin, Rachel Whitread, among others demonstrating the Whitworth’s commitment to UK women artists.
The private tour of Cornelia Parker takes place at 11:30. We suggest taking the 9:00 train from London/Euston station for a 2 hour journey, and returning from Manchester after 15:00. The suggested schedule takes advantage of off-peak fares, but has limited availability and requires you to book soon.
Cost: Patrons- £10; Friends £15; Guests £25.  RSVP to rsvp@UKFriendsofNMWA.org and post cheque to Box 539, 28 Old Brompton Road, SW7 3SS