STUCKISM

THE SUNDAY TIMES
Michael Wright: Biteback 15 Feb 2004

Stephen Deuchar, director of Tate Britain, says that if you want a comprehensive overview of art made in Britain, then the Tate is the place to go. Stuckism, the anticonceptualist art movement that champions new figurative painting, is now celebrating its fifth birthday, has outposts worldwide and is officially listed in Thames & Hudson’s Styles, Schools and Movements. So why isn’t it represented at the Tate? “Our budget for acquisitions is very limited,” coughs a spokesman defensively, claiming that Sir Nicholas Serota is due to visit the Liverpool Biennial in September, and so “may” at least attend the stuckists’ show at the city’s Walker Art Gallery. Charles Thomson, one of stuckism’s founders, remains doubtful. “I think Sir Nicholas tends to come when there’s some crap art on show,” he says. “He has said that art should be challenging, and that artists should not be afraid of causing offence. But, like the wrong kind of snow, we obviously mount the wrong kind of challenge.”
"Tate has a responsibility to inform its audiences"
- Gregor Muir, Tate Curator (Independent 8.9.04)
WALKER LIVERPOOL LEADS WHERE TATE BRITAIN FAILS

Stuckism was founded in London in 1999 with 12 artists.
It is now an international art movement with 90 groups
(39 in Britain) and 6 centres worldwide.
It is listed in an art encyclopedia as one of modern art's 'key styles'.
It is studied in schools, colleges and universities
(including the Royal College of Art, the Courtauld Institute and Cambridge University).
It is a grassroots movement of artists
with no institutional or commercial funding or backing.

The Stuckists have been completely ignored by the Tate Gallery
which normally prides itself on bringing new
artistic developments before the public.

The Walker national gallery in Liverpool
is doing the Tate's job for it.

As part of the Liverpool Biennial
it is presenting a major Stuckist show
in the Walker gallery, the Lady Lever Gallery
and the Liverpool Museum.

The Stuckists Punk Victorian
18 Sept 2004 -- 20 Feb 2005

For more details see
http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker/exhibitions/stuckists/index.asp

"casting aside any reputation for being traditional, next year the Walker features... The Stuckists Punk Victorian, new figurative art, which promises to be fun as well as provocative" - The Independent

"The Stuckists, the art “movement” that seeks to oppose the much-hyped conceptual art of the YBAs, have taken another step on the road to critical acceptance. In September, during the third Liverpool Biennial, their Punk Victorian show will be exhibited at the government-funded Walker Gallery. Least likely visitor: Nicholas Serota? " - The Sunday Times (18.1.04)

"In September 2004, during the third Liverpool Biennial when the eyes of the art world will be on the city, The Stuckists Punk Victorian will be on show at The Walker." - www.24hourmuseum.org.uk
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