St Barbe Museum & Art Gallery

Scene through Wood - a century of wood engraving

Starts: January 16 - 10:00am
Ends: March 13 - 4:00pm

Celebrating the art of wood engraving over the last 100 years this special exhibition marking the founding centenary of the Society of Wood Engravers ‘Scene Through Wood’ charts the history and global spread of this widely loved art form.

Including early engravers such as Albrecht Dürer, Thomas Bewick and William Blake the exhibition will begin by charting the history and development of wood engraving.

The show’s focus will be diverse engravings by notable 20th-century artists such as John and Paul Nash, Eric Gill, Eric Ravilious and Lucien Pissarro. Mid-century greats will be prominent including, Henry Moore, M.C. Escher and Gertrude Hermes.

More recent outstanding figures such as Monica Poole, Edwina Ellis, Simon Brett and Anne Desmet will also be represented, along with selected engravings from international artists across the globe including Russia, China and Japan.

‘Scene Through Wood’ will demonstrate the medium’s many and varied uses in commercial applications. From book illustration, such as those for JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series, to advertising and labelling, through to large scale public art projects the exhibition will demonstrate how wood engraving, whilst inherently a medium that rejoices in the miniature, can be scaled up impressively to mural size.

IMAGE: Monica Mary Poole - Dead Trees Sheppey