APS Gallery in partnership with Ort Gallery and ICF presents the Agency of Realised Worlds – at Aire Place Studios from 23 June to 25 August.
Celebrate the life work of Clem Archibald, a skilled, self-taught artist in his seventies who has lived in LS4 since arriving from St. Kitts aged 8 years old.
Clem and and Curator Sarah Francis have collaborated to present an exhibition which explores and showcases Archibald’s unseen painting over six decades. Two different creatives, two different socio-cultural perspectives, with a shared sense of the different worlds realised through art and making. The project has spanned 12 months, curating the stories and paintings that represent different stages of Clem’s life and experiences. This is an autobiographical journey of an artist almost left behind by barriers in the cultural world, showcasing his unprecedented talent.
“Art has the power to transport an artist from a world they feel a sense of unbelonging into a world of their own imagination, of safety and where they can share their stories. A world where they can be their authentic selves without the fear of prejudice, and harm from others. A world that is unashamedly the WE we seek. These worlds we create carry transformative powers to be able to translate these stories into the real world, so that we can connect, relate, and be moved with exploration. Agency of Realised Worlds explores the talented work of Clem, a proud Leeds artist we should all be celebrating. His art is saturated in Leeds’ history and an untold personal connection which he explores in his paintings. I have been a privileged guest inside Clem’s world and I am so thrilled to be permitted to showcase his paintings in this exhibition. His artwork should be in collections, and I hope that after 60 years this exhibition can form the start of his legacy and a shift in finding and platforming our hidden voices within Leeds.” Sarah Francis, Curator.
This exhibition stems from Ort Gallery and ICF’s Emergence(y) project for emerging curators, in which Sarah Francis was selected to participate in 2021. As part of the project, Francis undertook a period of research and development towards this exhibition with Clem Archibald. Emergence(y) was funded by Arts Council England.
Come and join us for the public opening event on Friday 30th June 2023, 6:30-9:30pm.
Exhibition Dates: 23 June – 25 August 2023.
Gallery visiting times: Wednesdays & Fridays (11am – 5pm).
Please book ahead of your visit here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/agency-of-realised-worlds-exhibition-tickets-648099371667
Image by Clem Archibald.
