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The Grundy Art Gallery’s new summer show is now open. Donkey Work and Horse Power are two exhibitions that examine artists’ representations of the humble donkey and horse, inviting visitors to see our equine companions in a new light. David Simper caught the service 61 bus to Talbot Road to explore the exhibitions.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]These exhibitions set out to show how artists have used donkeys and horses as symbols of labour, leisure, value and wealth. It features a number of renowned contemporary artists, including Sir Peter Blake and Marina Abramovic on loan from regional and national institutions, supported by rarely seen works from the permanent collection.
The theme of donkeys and horses provides a compelling basis for an exhibition that is moving and which shouldn’t be underestimated. The collection spotlight has enabled a significant number of the Grundy collection’s pieces to be brought out into the light and it’s good to see the high quality work that we have in our town collection.
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On entering, one is immediately confronted by two monumental black and white photographic prints from the collection of Paul Nash (1889-1946), British surrealist painter, war artist and photographer, featuring a donkey against a stone wall, which appears almost abstract. Later there is another, sadder donkey image by Paul Nash, showing what must be an incredibly heavy load; again a large black and white photographic image.
Passing through into the main gallery, one must turn back to the right to find Andrea Buttner’s ‘Neon’ from 2014, a striking light piece.
To the left, one finds ‘Donkey in the Distance’ from 2011, a striking donkey sculpture, sufficiently realistic to require a second glance. Further down the gallery we find Laura Ford’s ‘Donkey’ from 2000, a five legged beast dressed in tweed.
I’m afraid that I passed on Sener Ozmen and Erkan Ozgen’s video piece, ‘The Road to Tate Modern’ from 2003. This seemed to consist of two men in suits re-enacting Don Quixote in a Turkish desert and I’m afraid I missed the point; I suspect their pony and donkey did too.
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More effective for me was Marina Abramovic’s piece, ‘Confession’ from 2011. This is an hour long video piece where Marina sits and stares at a very patient donkey while a ticker tape dialogue about her life runs across the bottom of the screen, not an easy life either. I didn’t make it to the end and retired after I’d dozed off a couple of times (the room is dark and the video ticking past is soothing), but this is a very fine piece of work.
The main gallery also includes pieces from the permanent collection. ‘Getting in the Sugar Cane’ by Frederick Goodall (1822-1904) particularly caught my eye. This work results from the painter’s first hand experience of Egypt and interactions with local tribespeople.
The exhibition carries trigger warnings and Sarah Dobai’s video piece, ‘The Donkey Field’ from 2021, in gallery 3 is a good reason for this. It mashes up an account of wartime persecution in Budapest and the the story of the persecution of Marie and Balthazar the donkey, as related in the 1966 Robert Bresson film Au Hasard Balthazar. As an unsmiling girl leads a patient donkey through the streets, observed by predators, the Budapest story unrolls in sub-titles on the screen.
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Gallery 4 lifts the mood slightly, featuring the Sir Peter Blake work ‘Life as a Circus (four men up and equestrian act)’ from 2003, which used to feature as part of the South Promenade sited, Great Promenade Show. On the back wall, features a fine piece from the permanent collection, ‘The Waterway’ (1914), by Lucy Elizabeth Kemp Welch (1869-1958), showing working heavy horses.
A number of other permanent collection works are hung here. They may be traditional works, but they are of high standard and well selected. I wish I could paint like that.
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I have described my personal highlights, but there is much more to see including Lubaina Himid’s ‘My Donkey (diptych)’. This exhibition benefits from putting a reasonable amount of time aside, particularly for the Marina Abramovic piece, I’ll definitely return.
Donkey Work and Horse Power runs until 20 September 2025. For more information, visit the Grundy Art Gallery website.
Main image:Marina Abramović, Confession, 2010. Performance for video, 60 minutes. © Marina Abramović, courtesy of the Marina Abramović Archives
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