Women’s work is showcased here
In Galleries Three and Four at Touchstones in Rochdale is a world class exhibition, Herstory: Women Artists from the Collection of Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo.
Turin-based Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo began collecting contemporary art in 1992 and is now one of the most respected private collectors in Europe.
In 1995 she established the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in her native Turin.
Alongside educational initiatives and exhibitions, the foundation prioritises collaboration with other public galleries to support artists and promote contemporary art.
When she began her collection, there was virtually no institutional support for contemporary art in Italy.
Having now amassed artworks by many of the major names in international contemporary art, she has been described as ‘the Italian Peggy Guggenheim.’
Re Rebaudengo has loaned pieces from her 3,000-plus collection to institutions as far afield as Shanghai and Philadelphia – and now Rochdale.
Drawing on her collection and in keeping with Touchstones’ policy of supporting female talent, Herstory features artwork by some of the leading female artists of the last 40 years, including Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger, Sherrie Levine, Mona Hatoum and Sarah Lucas.
The exhibition explores how these female artists have radically altered the face of contemporary art.
Mark Doyle, curator and collections manager at Touchstones, said: “It is essential for us to take a strong lead in recognising and celebrating the important cultural contributions women make to society.”
In addition to the works from Re Rebaudengo’s collection, the exhibition also showcases select items taken from Rochdale’s own art, museum and local history collections, such as Flowers (1914) by Stockport-born Jessica Etchells, a work that was assumed to be by her brother until the 1980s.
It is linked with a loaned piece by Sherrie Levine, After Henri Matisse (1985), which appropriates the male modernist’s work to give a feminist perspective.
Re Rebaudengo’s Love Me (1998) by Sarah Lucas addresses how women are portrayed in the media and through marketing and is paired with a sexualised advert for Brettles Stockings, a hosiery company that closed in 1987.
Touchstones is open Tuesday to Saturday,