Print: a celebration of printmaking at The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum

The Printed Line, an exhibition featuring work by nearly 50 of some of the most celebrated artists of the 20th and 21st centuries will be the highlight of Print, a new season opening at The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum this month.

Work by artists including Hockney, Matisse, Picasso, Yinka Shonibare, Whistler and Rachel Whiteread will be presented in the Arts Council Collection exhibition The Printed Line as part of Print: celebrating the art of printmaking at The Wilson. The Printed Line opens on the second floor gallery on Saturday 18 February and runs until 14 May.

This *Arts Council Collection exhibition explores how artists have used printmaking techniques to exploit the potential of the printed line since the beginning of the 20th century. The exhibition shows a variety of techniques from the thick velvety line of drypoint and the heavy cross-hatching of etching to delicate wood engraving and boldly coloured screenprints and lithographs.

*Arts Council Collection is managed by Southbank Centre on behalf of Arts Council England.

Images feature - Fernand Leger: Composition With Profile, 1948; Farwa Moledina: No One is Neutral Here (2019), Lahore Biennale: A Rich Tapestry, installation view, digitally printed textile, Aisha Khalid Studio Gardens, January 2020

Pattern Repeat

An exhibition by Farwa Moledina, a contemporary artist who takes imagery from art history, architecture and culture and creates intricate repeated patterns and installations in textile and paper that reframe familiar stories and histories.  These reoccurring motifs reflect themes of culture, family and faith.

The Wilson’s Pattern Repeat exhibition features a new motif by the artist made from images of objects in the Wilson collection.  This unique design takes inspiration from the Islamic eight point star and adopts principles of Islamic design including recurrence, symmetry and abstraction.

Moledina presents historic works from the collection alongside her own, and highlights from The Wilson Print collection including works by Rembrandt, Turner and a selection of influential women printmakers.

The Print season takes The Wilson out into the town with a colourful artists’ trail running from the iconic red telephone boxes on The Promenade, through stepping stones leading into the museum, and through the galleries in a tour of works by the artist.

The Cheltenham Illustration Awards 2022

On show in the first floor Sir Charles Irving Community Gallery until the end of February are around 60 entries from the Cheltenham Illustration Awards 2022. The theme for this year’s show, which attracts entries from all over the world, is Digging Deep. The University of Gloucestershire's Illustration department has been running the internationally renowned Cheltenham Illustration Awards for over a decade and produce a print annual, each year, alongside the exhibition. The awards, run in conjunction with the Pittville Press, receive more than 800 entries each year from all over the world.

The Wilson will be running a series of workshops and events surrounding the Print season. Look out for details at: cheltenhammuseum.org.uk.

Entrance details - The Wilson is managed by The Cheltenham Trust, an independent charity. Admission to the exhibition and all the galleries is free. A donation of £3 is suggested for visitors to The Printed Line. Donations help to support future exhibitions and free community events.

Opening times - The Wilson is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 6pm, Sunday 10am to 4pm

The Wilson Kitchen is open Monday 8.30am to 4pm, Tuesday to Saturday 8.30am to 6pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm.