Major art exhibition comes to Brighton

Watercolours by the late Ian Potts have been added to public collections including the V&A in London and the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford University, and have been the subject of exhibitions at galleries in Britain, France and Italy, the most recent in London, shortly before his death in 2014.

The Brighton exhibition is being hosted by the University of Brighton’s College of Arts and Humanities – formerly Brighton College of Art where Potts for many years was a tutor in painting.

The exhibition will be held at the university’s gallery in Grand Parade, Brighton, from 30 July to 21 August, 2016, and will be open to the public. Many pieces of work, all signed by the artist, will be available to buy for prices ranging from £80-£2,000.

Ian Potts

The West Pier by Ian Potts

Commenting on what is the first retrospective exhibition of Potts’ work, Christopher Le Brun, President of the Royal Academy of Arts, said: “I am sure the exhibition will be a revelation to those who do not know of Ian's work and a welcome reminder and deepening of experience for those who do."

Professor Anne Boddington, Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, said: “This inspiring and beautiful exhibition is a retrospective celebration of Ian’s life as an artist and the development of his painting. It is hosted by the University of Brighton in honour of his achievements during the 40 years he taught here."

Works being shown at the exhibition are of land and seascapes from Brighton, Hastings, Bath, Windsor, the Lake District and of scenes in France, Italy, Spain, Egypt, Yugoslavia and Greece. The one oil landscape is a large, early work depicting Brighton’s lost West Pier.

William Packer, former art critic for the Financial Times, described Potts as a “serious painter, whose work with watercolour is as ambitious as painting ever need be."

Potts lived in Lewes for many years and was an innovative force at Brighton College of Art, subsequently the University of Brighton College of Arts and Humanities, from the 1950s until 1995. As Head of Painting and Deputy Head of Fine Art, he assembled a team which included Antony Gormley, Dennis Creffield, Madeleine Strindberg and Brendan Neiland, all of whom have had considerable influence on the development of British painting.

The exhibition has been organised in collaboration with the initiators and curators of the show, Helen Potts, the late artist's wife, and daughter Clare Pott. Entrance is free and there will be a private view on 29 July from 4pm.

Venice by Ian Potts