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16
Aug 2024
The famous face behind new Harrogate art exhibition
Artist Jim Moir – otherwise known as Vic Reeves – will make a long-awaited return to Harrogate gallery RedHouse next month.
Moir’s solo exhibition brings together an exclusive collection of 50 new paintings celebrating his favourite - and most recognisable – subject, birds.
Described as "The Warhol of bird painting” by The Guardian’s art critic Jonathan Jones, Moir’s enduring fascination and wonder at nature is expressed through his depictions of peregrine falcons, lapwings, curlews and pigeons. Moir said:
I’m a big wildlife fan. When I started birding, I was very young, I remember all I had was natural history books. I loved bird watching as a kid and I could probably tell you what any bird was, to this day. It’s really important.
Roc, left, and Pigeon Mob by Jim Moir.
Wildlife TV presenter and conservationist Chris Packham has said about him:
Jim doesn’t just see birds, he looks at them, so intensely that he understands them. Not just anatomically or behaviourally - he knows how they feel.
Long Tailed Tits (detail) by Jim Moir.
Moir has been making paintings, drawings and prints since the early 1980s, before he found fame as an actor, musician and comedian alongside his long-term writing partner Bob Mortimer.
He has said that he has “never not painted” and that his art comes before his comedy. But elements of comedy nevertheless appear in his artwork, which is influenced by Pop Art giants such as Gilbert and George, Warhol and Blake, and has drawn comparisons with the Surrealist and Dadaist movements.
Birdland, which runs from September 12 to 28, follows the success of Moir’s previous exhibition in 2022 at RedHouseGallery, Yorkshire Rocks & Dinghy Fights.
It comprised more than 50 unseen and original paintings and marked the first time he had exhibited in his native Yorkshire. It also featured in the first season of Sky Arts’ Painting Birds with Jim & Nancy Moir.
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