Museums join forces for prestigious art commission

Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery has become part of a consortium with museums in Bristol, Cardiff and Liverpool to commission a brand new work by leading British ceramic artist Paul Scott.

The partnership is part of the Contemporary Art Society’s ‘New Story of Craft’ scheme, which encourages museums to work collaboratively so they can acquire large-scale craft pieces for their collections – especially those that would normally be beyond the scope of an individual institution.

Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery, Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, National Museums Wales and National Museums Liverpool were selected because they are each based in port cities that were famed for their 18th century porcelain factories.

Through their partnership they have commissioned a new work of art by Paul Scott, a Cumbrian-based artist well-known for his blue and white ceramics which are found in public collections across the world.

The work, which Scott describes as a ‘narrative collage’, references the ceramic and print collections in each of the museums and highlights their similarities and individual characters.

It features sliced antique tableware, tiles, pipes, pots, labels and digital prints all housed in wooden print trays.

The artwork works as a whole, but also splits into four individual pieces which will eventually become part of the collections at each museum.

From September 2014 the work will tour to the partner museums. Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery is the first stop on the tour. Visitors will be able to view the commission on display in the Atrium Gallery until late December.

“Working with Paul, the Contemporary Art Society and our partner museums in Bristol, Cardiff and Liverpool is a hugely exciting opportunity for Plymouth,” said Alison Cooper, curator of decorative art. “Our ceramic collections are substantial, with close to 5,000 pieces and we hold the largest public collection of Plymouth porcelain. Through this project we are able to highlight yet another aspect of Plymouth’s history that is of national significance – as well as acquire a new contemporary piece of work by an artist who has truly established himself in his field.”

Thanks to the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Paul Scott will give a talk at Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery from 1.10pm on Thursday 13 November. He will tell the story of his travels within the archives at Plymouth, Bristol, Cardiff and Liverpool and discuss the journey he has undertaken to realise this complex and intriguing commission. Admission to the talk is free although advance booking is advised via the Museum Welcome Desk or by calling 01752 304774.