The great collection of art owned by the people of Southampton and housed in the City's magnificent Art Gallery is the subject of this latest show at Solent Showcase Gallery.

In 1974 the City Art Gallery, under the guidance of Elizabeth Goodall, began to collect work by contemporary artists, some of whom went on to become internationally famous. The next year, Les Buckingham, currently one of Solent University's Curators, started his career at Southampton City Art Gallery. For this, his final exhibition, he has made a selection of some of the stars of the Art Gallery’s collection - to celebrate the incredible quality of the art, and also to map a personal experience with that art over time.

Les Buckingham worked for Southampton City Art Gallery from 1975 to 1983, and comments that;

‘Southampton has one of the greatest collections of art in any City in the UK.
It is a great honour to be able to choose from such an amazing array of artists’

Les has chosen some classics such as some of the greatest names of UK sculpture in the 1980s, Richard Long, Tony Cragg, and Bill Woodrow but he has also chosen some unexpected works like David Redfern's Work, a great favourite of late Southampton City Councillor Eddie Read.

In what promises to be a feast of artistic talent from world renowned artists, Full Circle also explores the deep, personal relationship that we ourselves can have with art.

Southampton Solent University is very grateful to the City of Southampton for allowing Les Buckingham to make this exhibition entirely from the collection. Some of the greatest names of UK sculpture in the 1980s, when Britain led the way in sculptural innovation, have been included – Richard Long, Tony Cragg, and Bill Woodrow.

Full Circle – Selected works from the collection of Southampton City Art Gallery
26th February – 16th April
Preview: Thursday 25 February 2016, 6 – 8pm

For more information contact Les Buckingham or Kate Maple: [email protected].