By the Mark! Alison Wilding RA in conversation with Rosie Cooper

Wilding is an alchemist whose art is full of romance and mystery and sudden transformations. - Jonathan Jones for The Guardian.

Delve into the creative process of one of Britain's most acclaimed living artists, Alison Wilding RA. In conversation with her will be Rosie Cooper, Director of the Wysing Arts Centre,Bourn. Cooper curated Wilding's exhibition RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW at the De La Warr Pavillion, Bexhill-on-Sea. This event is part of the public programme for By the Mark - and the Line below the Loaf at The Heong Gallery at Downing College, Cambridge.

About the exhibition

Alison Wilding RA is best known for her multimedia sculptures, admired internationally for their unexpected interplay between material, form, and space. What is less well known is her drawing practice, which has developed parallel to her sculpture practice across a career spanning over four decades. By the Mark - and the Line below the Loaf brings together series of drawings from the last 30 years alongside a new monumental drawing made for the exhibition. The exhibition is the most extensive display of Wilding’s drawings in a public gallery to date. It is accompanied by a display of small-scale sculpture, selected by the artist.
A catalogue of Wilding’s drawings, ON PAPER, will be published by Ridinghouse in Autumn 2024.

About Alison Wilding RA

Born in 1948 in Blackburn, Alison Wilding went to school in Cambridge before heading to art school in 1967. Nominated twice for the Turner Prize (1988 and 1992), Wilding was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 2001.
Wilding was represented by Karsten Schubert from 1987 to 2023, and drawings from Karsten Schubert’s bequest to the Whitworth Art Gallery (Manchester) are on show until January 2025. Alison Wilding is represented by Alison Jacques.

About Rosie Cooper

Rosie Cooper joined Wysing in late September 2021. She was previously Head of Exhibitions at De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea, and Head of programmes at Liverpool Biennial. She brings to Wysing her extensive experience of working in the UK visual arts sector, and a strong record of championing art as a tool for social change. She is also a trustee of IntoArt, a visual arts organisation based in south London working with people with learning disabilities, and a trustee of Home Live Art, producers of performance and community gatherings across south east England and beyond.

About The Heong Gallery

The Heong Gallery at Downing College opened in February 2016 as purpose-built public exhibition space for modern and contemporary art. Designed by Caruso St John Architects (RIBA Stirling Prize 2016), the Gallery won a RIBA East Award in 2017. It was inaugurated by alumnus Sir Alan Bowness (Modern Languages, 1950) and named after alumnus Alwyn Heong in recognition of his generous benefaction.

Access Information

The Howard Theatre is accessible via a lift (1st floor), and wheelchair-accessible toilet facilities are also available via a lift (Basement Level). In the theatre, there is padded seating, designated spaces for wheelchair users, and sufficient space for an assistance dog. There is a hearing loop facility available by request IN ADVANCE. Lighting levels will be low during the event. You are free to arrive, leave, stand up, lie down, or take a break at any time, without giving a reason.

Host or Publisher The Heong Gallery at Downing College