RICHARD LONG

March 4 - April 21, 1999

Richard Long was born in Bristol, England, in 1945. He studied at the West of England College of Art, Bristol and at St. Martin's School of Art, London. He lives and works in Bristol.

Spending most of his time walking around the world, Richard Long creates in the likeness of nature, from it's materials and using it's scales of movement and time. Part of his work is created by walking and during the course of walks, and part brings the materials of nature to a more domestic or sheltered environment: museums, galleries, houses, the occasional garden.

Rather than shifting great quantities of earth or making permanent monumental works, Richard Long chooses to remain influenced by nature and not, contrary to other Land Artists, to manipulate it. The landscape functions primarily as a wide open arena for his ideas; ideas which are as simple as the primal, geometric, 'natural' forms he uses as containers of his images. His works, based on natural substances such as water, stones, sticks and mud, become the traces of his passing, with which the viewer is invited to identify.

As one of the founding members of the Land Art movement during the 1960's, Richard Long has vigorously participated, not only with his work but with his lifestyle too, in the wider direction the language and ambition contemporary art has taken today.

The exhibition will last until April 21, 1999. The gallery will remain open Tue-Fri, 10.00 - 20.00 and on Saturday, 12:00 - 16:00.