''Go West'' is the title of the first exhibition by
Stuckist
Stuckism () is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson (artist), Charles Thomson to promote Figurative art, figurative painting as opposed to conceptual art.Spectrum London gallery in October 2006. The show attracted media interest for its location, for the use of a painting satirising Sir Nicholas Serota, Director of the
Tate gallery
Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...
, and for two paintings of a stripper by
Charles Thomson
Charles Thomson (November 29, 1729 – August 16, 1824) was an Irish-born Founding Father of the United States and secretary of the Continental Congress (1774–1789) throughout its existence. As secretary, Thomson prepared the Journals of the ...
The Stuckists had previously been seen as art world outsiders, but with the backing of a West End gallery in a "major exhibition"Barnes, Anthony (2006 "Portrait of an ex-husband's revenge" ''
The Independent on Sunday
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...
''. Retrieved 9 October 2006, from findarticles.com became "major players" in the art world.Teodorczuk, Tom (2006 "Modern art is pants" ''
Evening Standard
The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...
'', 22 August 2006. Retrieved 9 October 2006 from thisislondon.co.uk. Ten leading Stuckist artists were exhibited.
Royden Prior, the director of Spectrum London, said, "These artists are good and are part of history. Get past the art politics and look at the work.""The first West End show for the Stuckists" saatchi-gallery.co.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2006"Stuckists art group in major show"
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' online, 3 October 2006. Retrieved 9 October 2006
Exhibition dates: October 6 – November 4, 2006.
Controversy
It was suggested that the exhibition of Thomson's painting, '' Sir Nicholas Serota Makes an Acquisitions Decision'', satirising Sir Nicholas Serota, displayed in the gallery window (see image above), could be seen as revenge for the Tate's rejection of a Stuckist donation of 175 paintings the previous year.
Thomson was also accused of revenge for exhibiting two paintings of strippers, which he said were based on his ex-wife and one-time stripper, Stella Vine. She was briefly a member of the Stuckists group at the time of their marriage in 2001, but has since attracted solo attention. Rivalry increased when her work was promoted by
Charles Saatchi
Charles Saatchi ( ; ; born 9 June 1943) is an Iraqi-British businessman and the co-founder, with his brother Maurice, of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi. The brothers led the business – the world's largest advertising agency in the 19 ...
in 2004. Thomson denied any intention of vengeance with the paintings and said that "I would prefer her to enjoy these, as I still enjoy her art".Thomson, Charles (2006), "Paint Stripper", Letters, p. 40, ''
The Independent on Sunday
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...
", 10 September 2006Michael Dickinson, a Stuckist from Istanbul, was a guest artist at the show with a folder of
collage
Collage (, from the , "to glue" or "to stick together") is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assembly of different forms, thus creating a new whole. (Compare with pasti ...
Charles Thomson
Charles Thomson (November 29, 1729 – August 16, 1824) was an Irish-born Founding Father of the United States and secretary of the Continental Congress (1774–1789) throughout its existence. As secretary, Thomson prepared the Journals of the ...
Paul Harvey
Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous ''The Rest o ...
Stuckism
Stuckism () is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson (artist), Charles Thomson to promote Figurative art, figurative painting as opposed to conceptual art.Stuckist demonstrations
*
The Stuckists Punk Victorian
''The Stuckists Punk Victorian'' was the first national gallery exhibition of Stuckist art.Moss, Richard"Stuckist's Punk Victorian gatecrashes Walker's Biennial Culture24, 17 September 2004. Retrieved 3 December 2009. It was held at the Walker A ...