Wirth-Miller at the Minories
Denis Wirth-Miller last exhibited at the Minories in Colchester in 1959 as a 44 year-old rising artist. He was about to enter the most creative decade of his life, and one that would largely draw inspiration from living in Wivenhoe, and observing the estuary wilds and surrounds.
Fifty-two years later, and a retrospective of Wirth-Miller has now returned to the gallery, partly in remembrance following his death last October, and partly in celebration of how his work captures the timeless rural scenes around these parts.
It would be fascinating to find out what the artist would have made of @firstsite, situated just around the corner from the more traditional artistic space of the Minories. The Arts in Colchester is about to change big time. It is somewhat reassuring to find that fifty year-old period pieces from around these parts can still be appreciated.
On show until the end of this month are a collection of oil paintings covering the 50′s, 60′s and early 70′s creative peak of Wirth-Miller. Rich green colours compete with the odd splash of red, depicting an Essex estuary sunset that is still recognisable from out towards Alresford Creek today.
Assembling the work itself must have been quite a task to curate. Much of the exhibition is on loan from private collections. It is testimony to the high regard that is held for Wirth-Miller that his career’s retrospective can be housed within Colchester, more than fifty years since that first exhibit.
This is far from a static art exhibition however. A student class was in progress during my visit, with keen young eyes drawing inspiration from the originals, and then offering an interpretation from a modern day perspective.
And this essentially is the legacy of the Wivenhoe artist, who along with his partner Dicky Chopping, pretty much introduced the artistic ambience into Wivenhoe. Firstsite may be about to take artistic installations to another dimension, but a traditional estuary landscape painting is as relevant now as it was half a century ago.
Denis Wirth-Miller at the Minories comes to a close on Thursday 31st March. Entrance is free. You’d be a fool to miss out.
Denis Wirth-Miller, Essex Landscape, Winter 1968, oil on canvas.
04/04/2011 at 6:45 pm Permalink
Thanks for flagging this one up, Jason. I caught it on the day before it closed on the strength of your pictures and recommendation. A brilliant exhibition which captured much of what I’ve come to like so much about this part of the country.