Artists’ Laboratory 06: Stephen Chambers RA

24 October—2 December 2012

In the Large Weston Room

FINAL DAYS

Supported by the Friends of the Royal Academy

This exhibition charts Stephen Chambers’ creation of an immense print stretching across more than one wall of the Royal Academy’s stately galleries.

The Big Country, inspired by the 1958 American Western of the same name, is made up of more than 75 screenprints executed in Chambers’ familiar decorative style. Intriguing narratives emerge from the deliberately fragmented presentation of this work, which together form a technically complex print, a seamless fusion of the analogue and the digital. The Big Country showcases Chambers’ challenge to the boundaries of printmaking, as well as his mastery of the medium.

Primarily a painter, Chambers uses printmaking as another element of expression and experimentation. A powerful atmosphere of exploration and discovery emerges out of The Big Country’s organic development; each beautifully executed print clamouring for attention in the story of the work as a whole. Viewed together they form a captivating exploration of atmosphere and landscape.

The exhibition also presents a series of prints entitled Trouble Meets Trouble, suggesting impossible liaisons between historical figures and characters from fiction, as well as a number of Chambers’ other graphic works.

Click here to view gallery of works

Artists’ Laboratory
The Artists’ Laboratory is a programme of exhibitions which commenced in 2010. The exhibition underpins the Royal Academy’s unique position in having artists at its core. They give Royal Academicians the opportunity to take risks and explore new ideas within their artistic practice and are a chance for the public to experience less familiar aspects of their work.

Opening hours
10am – 6pm daily (last admission 5.30pm)
Fridays until 10pm (last admission 9.30pm)

Admission: Complimentary entry with a valid Royal Academy exhibition ticket. £3 without an exhibition ticket - book a general admission ticket here. RA Friends go free

• Some works in the exhibition are available for sale. For further details please contact Paul Sirr on 020 7300 5932/ paul.sirr@royalacademy.org.uk

• Royal Academy of Arts