Royal William Yard
'Human, All Too Human'

Royal William Yard (Mills Bakery building)
'Human, All Too Human'
Sun 3 June–Thurs 28 June 2012) Open daily: 10.30am -7.30pm

The Royal William Yard in Plymouth will be hosting a major exhibition of works by Robert Lenkiewicz between 3 – 28 June. The show will mark the ten-year anniversary of his death, and will explore the artist’s life-long interest in the ideas of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, whose book ‘Human, All Too Human’ gives the exhibition its title.

In recent years, growing recognition from a national audience, with increasing international interest in Europe and America, has established Lenkiewicz as a serious and increasingly relevant 20th century British painter. Sponsored by The Somerville Gallery, the exhibition will take advantage of two vacant units in the Mills Bakery building at Plymouth’s historic Royal William Yard, which is pioneering the Stonehouse and Millbay regeneration project with cultural events, and where visitors will also find a selection of thriving restaurants and cafés.

Lenkiewicz will always be remembered in Plymouth as he documented the life of the city and its people for so many years. He was a genuine outsider and radical, who cared less about the opinion of the art critic than that of the man-in-the-street. His art is generous in its ability to communicate with ordinary people, who are little interested in the more fashionable world of contemporary art; it is democratic and humane but never sentimental. His paintings of the homeless and under-privileged in particular strike a very powerful chord in today’s difficult economic times. The Foundation believes the qualities of Robert Lenkiewicz’s work will become increasingly clear to a wider audience both here and further afield. Following the success of exhibitions in recent years at Bristol’s Royal West of England Academy, London’s Ben Uri Jewish Museum of Art and Torre Abbey in Torquay, this show will be an opportunity (the first since Plymouth Museum in 2009) for the people of Plymouth to see the work locally before it moves on to the first international exhibition, planned for Berlin early next year.

A series of programmed events will accompany the show, with an introduction to the exhibition, lectures, guided tours and artists’ talks already scheduled. Dates and times will soon be available on this website or subscribe to our mailing list to receive news and updates.

Unbound folios
'The Eliza Notebook'

Deluxe boxed folio
'The Eliza Notebook'

(Shown above: Study of Eliza II, 1978, one of four works in the deluxe box set).

Much of the legacy which formed Robert Lenkiewicz's bequest to the Foundation consists of works on paper and the vast majority of these are bound into diaries, relationship journals and Project notebooks. Public display of these works is difficult due both to the format and the sensitivity of some of the material they contain. To overcome these limitations, The Lenkiewicz Archive has adopted an innovative publishing format – limited edition unbound folios. Full details of the first in a planned series of 12 volumes – 'The Eliza Notebook 1978–79' can be seen in this PDF.

Exclusive offer for Friends of TLF

The unbound folios exist in two editions – one edition of 150 copies which is being distributed nationally through Whitewall Galleries and an exclusive Friends Proof edition of just 49 proof copies.

The Friends Proofs are only available direct from The Lenkiewicz Archive priced at £350, a £100 saving on the recommended retail price of the national edition. To qualify for this offer you must have a valid paid-for personal subscription (single, dual or family) to The Friends of The Lenkiewicz Foundation. Numbers are limited and priority will be given to those with long-standing membership. Membership forms are available for download here. Call 01752 221450 for more information.

(Shown above: Study of Eliza IV, 1978, one of four works in the deluxe box set).