The exhibition ‘Artists in the Frame: Self Portraits by Van Dyck and Others’ is now open to the public at Manchester Art Gallery. This wonderful show features my self-portrait ‘Pleating Time’, which I created for the BP Portrait Award 2014 exhibition, as well as lots of other amazing portraits, spanning no less than 300 years of art history.
Artists in the Frame: Self Portrait by Van Dyck and Others, Manchester Art Gallery, 2015
Sophie Ploeg, Pleating Time, Oil
My ‘Pleating Time’ in the centre, on the right is Nathaniel Bacon’s Self Portrait from 1625
The director of Manchester Art Gallery, Dr Maria Balshaw opens the show, followed by a speech by the new director of the National Portrait Gallery London (from where the Van Dyck is on loan) Dr Nicholas Cullinan.
Karrie Fransman’s ‘Selves'
Karrie Fransman, a graphic novelist and comic creator, was commissioned especially to create a self portrait for this exhibition. Her work is inspired by Van Dyck’s oval and elaborate frame and is a wonderful exploration of the self.
Grayson Perry’s ‘Map of Days’ features next to her work. There are other self portraits by Sarah Lucas, Brian Griffin, Julian Opie and historical ones from the likes of Angelica Kauffman and William Hogarth. Nathaniel Bacon ’s self-portrait from 1625 is on loan from Montacute House in Somerset (who have an extensive collection of Tudor and Jacobean portraiture from the National Portrait Gallery) and hangs next to mine.
Sarah Lucas, Brian Griffin
Grayson Perry’s ‘A Map of Days'
The show is a wonderful celebration of self-portraiture and really shows how divers one can interpret oneself.
I went to the private view on Wednesday and can share some pictures with you here. The exhibition is open until 31 August so I hope you will get a chance to see it!
Some links to press articles about the exhibition:
Wall Street International
Live Manchester
About Van Dyck and his tour of the UK
Artists in the Frame: Self Portraits by Van Dyck and Others
Manchester Art Gallery
21 May – 31 August 2015