John Macfarlane exhibition

Posted on July 20, 2012

The artist and theatre designer John Macfarlane is holding an exhibition of new work at the Martin Tinney Gallery in Cardiff, running from August 2 to 25.

Macfarlane’s past designs for dance include his sumptuous Nutcracker and Cinderella for Birmingham Royal Ballet, The Royal Ballet’s Asphodel Meadows, for which he was nominated for an Olivier award, and many collaborations with Jirí Kylián.

The new exhibition focuses on two recent opera productions. Macfarlane’s designs for the recent Scottish Opera production of Stravinsky’s Rake’s Progress evoke the grimy underworld of 18th-century London. The exhibition also includes a collection of studies for Strauss’s Elektra, to be staged by the Lyric Opera of Chicago in October 2012.

Macfarlane has exhibited his paintings and designs drawings throughout Europe. His work hangs in public collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Museum of Wales, the Albertina, the Hunterian Museum, the Archive of the Opéra de Paris and the Collection of the Metropolitan Opera House, New York. All the works in this exhibition are for sale.

The exhibition is at the Martin Tinney Gallery, 18 St Andrew’s Crescent, Cardiff CF10 3DD from August 2 to 25. The opening hours are Monday to Friday, 10am to 6pm, and from 10am until 5pm on Saturdays. See www.artwales.com for details.

Picture: Design for “Rich Woman”, The Rake’s Progress. Image: John Macfarlane and the Martin Tinney Gallery

Zoe Anderson

Zoë was born in Edinburgh, and saw her first dance performances at the Festival there. She is the dance critic of The Independent, and has also written for The Independent on Sunday, The Scotsman and Dancing Times. In 2002, she received her doctorate from the University of York for a thesis on “Nationhood and epic romance: Ariosto, Sidney, Spenser”. She is the author of The Royal Ballet: 75 Years and The Ballet Lover’s Companion.