COLLECTION SPOTLIGHT: BLACKPOOL

14 Jan-25 Mar 2023

The Sun Lounge, 1982. Credit: Copyright the artist, Courtesy Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool Council

Overview

Continuing our winter season focus on Blackpool and the Fylde Coast, two works that are linked by their connection to the area are on display.

In Keith McGinn’s, The Sun Lounge (1982), Blackpool’s promenade takes centre stage in this atmospheric painting that draws our eye out to the wild grey winter sea beyond. Shy Girl, Beside the Seaside, Campground (2021) by Fylde Coast born and Blackpool based artist, Garth Gratrix, also makes use of the signs and symbols of the seaside in a work that investigates the coast from their perspective as a Queer artist.

Bringing artworks into the collection that explore Blackpool and the wider Fylde Coast is central to Grundy’s collecting policy. Through these artworks, existing stories about the area can be presented, challenged and seen from new perspectives and new stories about the place can be generated and told.