Sun 21 Mar, 2021
We would like to invite our alumni to two events: a cultural evening at the V&A entitled ‘Ribeiro: A Celebration of Life, Love and Passion’ on 16 March 2017 and a private tour of the Burgh House Retracing Ribeiro exhibition on 19 March 2017 with the artist’s daughter, Marsha Ribeiro.
The Retracing Ribeiro project explores the artistic and cultural heritage of the prolific Indian modern artist, Lancelot Ribeiro through an exploration of his art and poignant archive. In association with the British Museum, Burgh House Museum, Camden Archives, Central Saint Martins and the V&A, this project forms part of the 2017 UK-India Year of Culture.
The Talk at the V&A will be on Tuesday 19 March. To book call 020 7942 200 and quote RIBEIRO 241 to receive the offer for Courtauld alumni.
The Tour at Burgh House will be on Sunday 19 March. Tickets are £5 (guests welcome). Please RSVP to alumni@courtauld.ac.uk.
About Lancelot Ribeiro
Ribeiro (1933-2010) was one of the most original of the Indian artists who settled in Britain in the post-war period. He first arrived in a bomb-damaged Britain in 1950 staying with his brother (the artist FN Souza), to study accountancy but soon abandoned this for life drawing at St Martins School of Art before his artistic development was interrupted with conscription into the RAF. On his return to India, he began writing poetry and painting and soon a string of successes followed his first sell-out exhibition in Bombay in 1961, gaining him considerable attention and the support of several notable patrons.
Settling permanently in Britain in 1962, he established his studio in NW3 and his work was soon showing in some of London’s leading art galleries. He was a passionate advocate for artists from the subcontinent, establishing such groups as the Indian Painters Collective (1963) and Indian Artists UK (1978) and in 1980 sought to bring the ‘Arts of India’ to Burgh House. A skilled painter in oils, Ribeiro’s 1960s paintings depict spires, domes and townscapes painted in a bold and expressionist style. However, soon finding traditional oils inadequate to cope with a natural inventiveness, Ribeiro sought new effects with oils and polyvinyl acetate mixes – the forerunner of acrylics now on the palette of artists worldwide. Over the next 50 years, a restless imagination prompted works which included flying and tangled townscapes under explosive skies, brilliantly-coloured surreal scenes, playful wood sculptures and ceramics.