Patrick Procktor: Art and Life (ROTOR)

This exhibition, the first museum show of Patrick Procktor's work since his death in 2003, will constitute a unique opportunity to consider the career of this somewhat neglected artist. Procktor was part of a subsequently mythologized bohemian circle in Sixties and Seventies London, that also included his great friends the artist David Hockney and the fashion designer Ossie Clark. The focus will be on the artist’s paintings and works on paper from that period, and will examine pictorial, stylistic and technical developments within a context that refers also to broader artistic and social developments. This era in British cultural history continues to fascinate a wide public, and although subject to much analysis (in both popular media and academic terms), remains open to re-examination. To this end, the exhibition will serve to extend themes contained within Ian Massey’s book 'Patrick Procktor: Art and Life,' in particular the crosscurrents of inspiration and influence of the period.