Stormin’ Norman
No one captures the brooding aura of the British isles quite like artist Norman Ackroyd, as a new exhibition shows
The Shetland Islands may not hold allure for every holidaymaker — average rainfall 1,220mm a year, average daily winds 15mph — but for those who like their landscapes wild and windswept, the outer reaches of our little collection of craggy islands can be staggering. However, if you like to enjoy your wild and windswept landscapes somewhere warm and dry, head to Yorkshire Sculpture Park which is holding an exhibition of work by the Leeds artist Norman Ackroyd; the 80-year-old print-maker and Royal Academician has even been made a CBE for “services to engraving and printing”, so you know he means business. The Furthest Lands showcases prints and watercolours based on the western edges of the British isles, from Shetland down to the far south-west of Ireland, where gulls circle and skies are low. With jagged rocks bursting from the sea in swirls of monochrome, Ackroyd’s works, like their subjects, are awesome to behold.
—
Norman Ackroyd: The Furthest Lands, 17 November–24 February 2019, Yorkshire Sculpture Park; ysp.org.uk