Galleries - August 2020

Markéta Luska č ová By the Sea 11 July – 6 September 2020 Kestle Barton Manaccan Helston Cornwall TR12 6HU 01326 231 811 info@kestlebarton.co.uk www.kestlebarton.co.uk Image : Markéta Luska č ová, Whitley Bay, 1978 © Markéta Luska č ová For its tenth anniversary year Kestle Barton reopens its exhibition programme with By the Sea: Photographs from the North East, 1976-1980 , a solo exhibition by the acclaimed Czech, British based photographer Markéta Luska č ová (b.1944, Prague). By the Sea is a tender portrait of the British seaside and is presented in collaboration with the Martin Parr Foundation, Bristol. A series of black and white photographs taken on the North East coast of England in the late 1970s, Luska č ová records the many varied visitors, young and old often dressed in their Sunday best, enjoying a trip to the seaside, despite the frequently harsh weather conditions. To Luska č ová this was a fascinating insight into English lives and one she returned to repeatedly with her camera. I was very touched by it all: the families with children, old women in their best hats, elderly couples with grandchildren, teenagers courting shyly or boisterously, the ponies and donkeys walking patiently to and fro on the beach. The dogs and children were everywhere, dogs enjoying themselves as much as the children did. The fairground and the omnipresent tents, fortresses against the wind and rain, the seaside cafes selling sandwiches, apple pies, custard pies, ice creams and teas, of course. But they also sold boiling water to women who brought with them from their homes their teapots and teabags, because to buy teas for the whole family would be too expensive. (Markéta Luska č ová) In 1978 she was invited, along with fellow photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson, Martine Franck, and Paul Caponigro, by Amber, a Newcastle based film and photography collective who recorded working-class life in North East England, to photograph the area. Given the freedom to choose her subject, it was these beloved seaside stretches that she documented. Luska č ová is recognised as one of the best social photographers working today and has published and exhibited her work internationally. In 2019 a solo exhibition of her work was presented at Tate Britain. 2020 marks ten years since Kestle Barton completed its transformation from old farm buildings into an award winning gallery space presenting and commissioning international art works both within its gallery and outside in its sprawling gardens. Kestle Barton is open 10.30am–4pm Tuesday–Sunday, also Bank Holiday Mondays. Gardens are open until 5pm.