Exhibitions

March 26 – June 12, 2022
Craig Black is a Scottish visual artist who specializes in bespoke artwork, murals, and installations. Black believes in creating exciting and engaging visuals while maintaining originality across all his work. He is best known for applying “Acrylic Fusion,” a hand-poured painting technique he developed. The versatile analogue process of hand pouring layers of acrylic paint to create a unique and mesmerizing effect has brought Black the opportunity to collaborate with a wide range of international partners, from creating a one-of-a-kind football for the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), to transforming a collection of cognac glasses with Remy Martin and creating a custom frame for Ribble Cycles. Acrylic Fusion will be central in Black’s forthcoming works created at Cheekwood during his residency.
Photo courtesy of Craig Black.
May 7 – September 4, 2022
COLORSCAPES is an immersive, site-specific installation by the Chicago collaborative Luftwerk. Exploring the perception of the physical world through color, the exhibition consists of a series of dynamic outdoor and indoor installations set along a prescribed path, unfolding across Cheekwood’s Bradford Robertson Color Garden, Arboretum Lawn, and Bracken Foundation Children’s Garden before moving up the portico of the Historic Mansion & Museum and into the more intimately scaled special exhibition galleries.
The German geologist Abraham Gottlob Werner’s groundbreaking book Nomenclature of Colours, first published in 1814, outlined a taxonomic guide to the colors of the natural world and was a precursor to the modern Pantone system. Color—and more specifically Werner’s nomenclature of colors—serves as the conceptual springboard for this exhibition designed specifically for Cheekwood. In this unique context, COLORSCAPES explores how the historic yet fundamental scientific knowledge of color, perception, and nature informs and connects us to the natural world today.
Sponsored By
Luftwerk, rendering of gallery installation.
June 25 – September 18, 2022
Chroma: The Exploration of Color Field Painting features works by artists known broadly as Color Field Painters, who embraced the boldness of pure, saturated hues and regularly employed basic geometric shapes in their compositions. Many contributed to a revived interest in lithography in the mid-20th century, including Ellsworth Kelly, Frank Stella, and more.
Maltby Sykes (American, 1911-1992), Fission, 1967, Lithograph on paper, Collection of Cheekwood Estate & Gardens – Found in Collection, T-179.
August 13 – November 6, 2022
In the 1920s, the Cheek family traveled to England with architect Bryant Fleming to acquire architectural elements, furniture and décor for the Cheekwood Mansion, then under construction. Some ninety years later, artist Michael Eden finds inspiration in the Cheek’s collection. Made with 3D printing technology and displayed throughout the period rooms on custom-made packing crates, Eden’s works are visual links to the historic objects.
Michael Eden, Icons I and Icons II, 2018. Additive Layer Manufacturing from a high-quality nylon material with a soft mineral coating. Courtesy of Adrian Sassoon, London. Photography by Sylvian Deleu.