Alan Rankle
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Alan Rankle | |
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| Born | Alan Rankle 1952 Oldham, United Kingdom |
| Education | Rochdale School of Art, Goldsmiths, University of London |
| Known for | Painting |
Alan Rankle (born 1952 in
Background
Rankle was born in
From 1973 feeling that his work, while well informed by
His first exhibition, held at the
Rankle takes as his main subject the development of landscape art as a concept related to changes in attitude to the environment. In some works he treats the entire history of
Examples of his paintings are in the collections of several Lancashire museums and Hastings Museum and Art Gallery.[1]
Environmental concerns
Following a group exhibition at LYC Gallery in Cumbria, with Andy Goldsworthy and Michael Jepson; Rankle's work in landscape art became starkly politicised. In the summer of 1982 on his first trip to Finland he became aware of the effects of acid rain on the lakes and forests of Scandinavia, and the patently inadequate response of the establishment. A series of landmark installation/performance pieces followed intended to draw attention to environmental issues (often as fund raising events for Arts for the Earth, the art 'wing' of Friends of the Earth). These included a 30 metre long scroll painting produced on the top of Beachy Head in Sussex with his collaborator Jan Stephens, and several notable pieces with the left-field artists group Order out of Chaos; one of which 'Discarded Sculptures' (1986) was the first project to bring his work to the attention of a wider public.
Earthscape
A period of activism in which he attempted to work within the existing mores of the conventional art world culminated in 'Earthscape' (1991), a large scale performance/installation created in the form of an International Competition on a theme of 'Environmental Solutions' where artists such as Andrew Bick and Luke Elwes were invited to submit works implying a positive response to the burgeoning environmental crisis. Curated with Christine Goldschmidt for the Hastings Trust, this project involved a wide range of collaborators including Mike von Joel, Laetitia Yhap, Andrew Graham-Dixon (who were the judges of the competition), Art in Ruins, Lynne Green, Nick Wates and the book and exhibition designer Jeremy Brook.
Recent work
Since his 1993 exhibition 'Riverfall & Other Works' at Southampton Art Gallery, Rankle has concentrated on painting, with notable exhibitions at Maidstone Museum; Radicev Museum, Saratov, 1996; Danielle Arnaud/Clink Wharf Gallery, 1998; Folkestone Museum, 1999; as well as numerous gallery shows in Europe, Scandinavia and the USA.
A first retrospective exhibition, 'Landscapes for the Turning Earth', was held at Gallery Oldham 2006-07.
A second retrospective, "Selected Works 1993–2009", at Fondazione Stelline, in Milan during February and March 2010, also featured a major collaborative work with the installation artist Kirsten Reynolds entitled "On the Edge of Wrong".
Sources
- Anthony Wallersteiner 'Alan Rankle:Terre Verte' Danielle Arnaud/Riverfall Press 1998
- Laurence Bristow-Smith 'Alan Rankle:Landscapes for the Turning Earth, Paintings 1986–2006' Gallery Oldham 2006
- Roger Woods 'Alan Rankle at Southampton Art Gallery' Art-Line International, Winter 1993
- Imy Antal 'Alan Rankle: Light + Meaning' Galleria Seriola, Finland, 2006
- Emanuelle Beluffi 'Alan Rankle & Kirsten Reynolds:On the Edge of Wrong' First Gallery/Italian Factory 2010
Footnotes
- ^ 5 artworks by or after Alan Rankle at the Art UK site. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
External links
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