St. Helens hatte bisher keinen besonderen Ruf als „Stadt der Schönen Künste”, und die Einwohner waren unauffällig und zurückhaltend. Neben seiner Glasindustrie und den jetzt geschlossenen Kohleberg-werken, die früher ein bedeutender Industriezweig waren, war St. Helens hauptsächlich bekannt als Zentrum exzellenten Rugbyspiels. Dieses Team gewann oft die Rugby-meisterschaften, aber ich vermute, daß dies auf kein großes Interesse in Deutschland stoßen wird. Von größerem Interesse für Musik-liebhaber in Deutschland, die auf eine große musikalische Vergangenheit zurückblicken können, ist der berühmteste, international gefeierte Sproß von St. Helens: der Dirigent Sir Thomas Beecham, der gewiß nicht unauffällig und zurückhaltend war. Wir, die die Bildenden Künste lieben, bedauern sein geringes Interesse oder Wissen über die darstellende Kunst im Vergleich zu seinen umfassenden musikalischen Fähigkeiten. St. Helens hatte ein paar bekannte Kunstsammler, von denen meines Wissens keiner übermäßig an moderner Kunst interessiert war und deshalb junge und talentierte Künstler finanziell unterstützten. Die Künstler von St. Helens waren deshalb auf sich selbst und ihre Mäzene gestellt, aber da gab es einen berühmten Sammler, der ihnen sehr große Ermutigung und finanzielle Unterstützung gab. Dies änderte sich vor vier Jahren, als eine Gruppe von einheimischen Künstlern und ihren Freunden mit der Unterstützung einer ebenfalls einheimischen Wohltätigkeits-organisation, dem Rainford Trust, die St. Helens Open Art Ausstellung gründete. Diese Ausstellung steht offen für jeden, der im Nordwesten Englands lebt, wobei der Künstler aber die Zustimmung von einer kompetenten Jury erhalten muß. Seit dem kurzen Bestehen - bisher drei Ausstellungen im Jahr - erregte die Ausstellung viel Aufsehen, und die Anzahl und Qualität der Anmeldungen können mit der finanziell besser gestellten und länger bestehenden John Moores Ausstellung in der Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, die jetzt ihrer 21sten halbjährlichen Ausstellung entgegensieht, verglichen werden. Dies war ein wichtiger Beitrag für das Kunstleben in Großbritannien seit der Gründung im Jahr 1957. Der nationale Erfolg der St. Helens Open Art Ausstellung in solch kurzer Zeit zeigt die Fülle von Talenten, die in St. Helens sind, da die Mehrzahl der Aussteller aus der Stadt und der näheren Umgebung kommt. Die Ausstellung in Stuttgart bestätigt nun den wachsenden künstlerischen Ruf dieses Gebiets.
Die acht Künstler dieser Ausstellung haben noch keinen internationalen Ruhm erlangt, obwohl mehrere von ihnen Ausstellungen außerhalb Großbritanniens hatten und nun auf dem Weg sind, sich fern ihrer Heimat einen größeren Bekanntheitsgrad zu verschaffen. Alle stehen noch in Verbindung mit der Kunstakademie von St. Helens oder leben noch hier. Der Vorstand dieser Gruppe, Harold Critchley, war früher Fachbereichsleiter der Kunstakademie und unterrichtete mehrere Mitgleider der Gruppe.		 As part of the on-going 50th anniversary celebrations of the twinning of the English Town of St. Helens and the German city of Stuttgart, Stuttgart City Council and the municipal gallery, Galerie Unterm Turm, are presenting an exhibition of paintings by a group of eight professional artists who come from, or are connected with, St. Helens.

St. Helens has not previously had a reputation as an Art town and its inhabitants have been modest and self-effacing. Apart from its glass industry and its now defunct, though once numerous, coal mines, it has been chiefly famous as a centre of excellence for Rugby League players. Indeed its team has frequently been League champions although I suspect that this is not of much interest in Germany. Of more interest to such a music loving people with long memories will be its most famous son the celebrated international conductor Sir Thomas Beecham, who was certainly not modest or self-effacing. Unfortunately for us who love the visual arts, he had little interest or knowledge in this field comparable to his vast musical abilities.

St. Helens has had few well known collectors of art of any kind and certainly to my knowledge no one who collected modern art on a large scale and thus offered encouragement of a financial kind to up and coming talents. St. Helens artists have thus had to live on their own, each with their band of personal supporters, but there was no famous collector to give them big encouragement. This changed four years ago when a local group of artists and their friends, with the support of a charitable foundation, The Rainford Trust, also local, founded the St. Helens Open Art Exhibition. This is open to anyone resident in the Northwest of England, but subject to selection by a very competent jury. Even in its short life, three annual exhibitions so far, this has created quite a stir and the quality of the entries have been compared to the much more amply funded and longer running biannual John Moores exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, now approaching its 21st. bi-annual event. It has been an important feature in Britain’s art life since its foundation in 1957. For the St. Helens Open Art Exhibition to achieve a national success in such a short time demonstrates the wealth of talent which exists in St. Helens, for the majority of exhibitors come from the town and its immediate area. Now this Stuttgart exhibition strongly reinforces the growing reputation of the area.

The eight artists in the show have not yet achieved international fame, although several have had exhibitions outside the United Kingdom, and they are all well and truly on their way to greater fame, having established themselves firmly both within and outside their local area. They are all connected with St. Helens College of Art or live within the town. The senior member of the group, Harold Critchley, is a former head of the College of Art and indeed the teacher of several of the others.

The artists taking part are:

Harold Critchley, ex-Principal of St. Helens College of Art and Design, paints landscape with economy and facility, qualities developed during his long and varied artistic career.

Paul Critchley, Harold's son, uses irregular shaped canvases to enhance his use of perspective giving his work added realism and an extra dimension.

Michael Downs work has been represented in exhibitions world wide, including the Venice Biennale and in The Pompidou Centre in Paris.

Steve Easby's hyper-realistic paintings are filled with minutely painted details which are inspired by his lifelong passion for nature.

Wayne Robinson deals with themes of family relationships in his paintings and woodcuts in a figurative expressionist manner.

Nalini Shanthi Cook, the warm colour combinations and symbolic references in her work arise from both her Sri Lankan background and her wide travel experiences.

David Stanley, an abstract painter whose rich layers and subtle use of colour give rise to beautiful, lyrical canvases.

Anne Sudworth, the "Gothic Fantasy" of this artist, who works in pastels, is often motivated by the effects of moonlight, which give the paintings an eerie and magical feel.

The exhibition therefore provides a selection of the wide variety of artistic talent that emanates from the town of St.Helens, a town previously known more for its industry and for its successful Rugby Team, than for its artistic life.

The Pilkington family, via Pilkington Glass, provided much of the impetus in establishing links with Stuttgart fifty years ago and, Mr. Godfrey Pilkington, director of London´s Piccadilly Gallery, has played a key role in the planning of this exhibition. The exhibition has been sponsored by The Rainford Trust and the Sir Alastair Pilkington Charitable Trust.

The official opening of the exhibition will take place on Monday 7th September, with the exhibition opening to the general public the following day. The gallery 'GALERIE UNTERM TURM' is situated in Eberhard Strasse, 61A, in Stuttgart's city centre.

For further information please contact :

Ksenija Petek
Internationale Beziehungen
Bürgermeisteramt, Stuttgart
Tel. (Int. code-49) 0711 216 6114
Fax. 0711 216 6116
kpetek@stuttgart.de