Come May, 2015, Richmonders will get a rare look at the art of former Beatle John Lennon when it comes through town at the Chasen Galleries.
Come May, 2015, Richmonders will get a rare look at the art of former Beatle John Lennon when it comes through town at the Chasen Galleries.
“In many ways, John Lennon was truly a renaissance man whose insights and perspective helped shape the sensibility of the contemporary mind,” reads the press release we just got in our inbox.
ku ku kachoo.
Anywho, the collection of graphics, photos, and images has traveled the U.S., England, Spain, Italy, Japan, and many other countries around the world, and now it’s stopping in Richmond.
Lennon was a visual artist before he picked up his first guitar or wrote his first song. He attended the prestigious Liverpool Art Institute (1957-1960). He continued to draw throughout his life. Lennon’s primary medium was line drawing, either in pen, pencil, or Japanese sumi ink.
He penned many of the illustrations for his books as well, including In His Own Write (1964), A Spaniard in the Works (1965) and Skywriting By Word of Mouth (1987).
Here’s a bit more details about the show via Chasen Galleries –
As early as 1969, John began moving toward a return to visual art. He was primarily interested in drawing and favored the creative loose sketch, working in pen and ink. In 1969, as a wedding gift for Yoko, John drew the ‘Bag One Portfolio’, a chronicle of their wedding ceremony, honeymoon, and their plea for world peace, the Bed-in. The suite also contained erotic sketches. The ‘Bag One Series’ was first published and exhibited in January 1970 at the London Art Gallery. On the second day, the exhibition was closed by Scotland Yard and the erotic lithographs confiscated.
During 1986, Yoko Ono decided to share John’s artistic genius with the public by publishing the first in a series of prints entitled ‘This is my Story Both Humble and True’ followed with ‘Bag One Continued…’, ‘Dakota Days’, ‘Karuizawa Series’ and ‘Japan Through John Lennon’s Eyes’. These works are a commentary on John’s everyday life, his wife, Yoko and their son, Sean. The drawings are whimsical yet poetic, loving portraits of their years together. Drawn by one of the most important cultural figures of our time, these illustrations celebrate human love and communication- two themes at the heart of John Lennon’s contribution to the art of the twentieth century.
Chasen Galleries is located at 3554 West Cary Street.
The show runs Thursday, May 7th through Sunday the 10th, from Noon – 8 or 6 PM
All events are complimentary and open to the public, but a donation of $5 per person is suggested, with proceeds going to which will be going to FeedMore – a group which helps feed 31 counties and 5 cities around Central VA.
