(Above) Nature Painting is inspired by the random side of the cosmos. Picture courtesy Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery
A "monumental" two-metre psychedelic nature scene by Turner Prize-winning artist Keith Tyson has been bought by Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery after the Carlisle site won two lucrative funding grants.
The Art Fund and the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund each contributed £25,000 towards securing the previously unseen exhibit from Tyson’s acclaimed show of the same name at the House in 2006, which attracted more than 6,000 visitors.
"It's great to give something back to the area that was so formative in my youth and to see the local community showing such an interest in contemporary art," said Tyson, a Lake District lad who was born in nearby Ulverston and cites his Cumbrian upbringing as the driving force behind his rural creative passions.
"I'm happy that such an important piece of my work has found a permanent home in Tullie House, which in my early years as an artist inspired and underpinned my creative thinking."
The random nature of the universe was Tyson's inspiration for the work, making cosmic visual allusions to the natural world formed through a reaction of mixed paints and chemicals poured onto aluminium at varying angles and temperatures.
The Art Fund reckons Tyson is "the foremost living artist to have emerged from Cumbria," and Director David Barrie called the work "a wonderfully dramatic, large-scale feast for the eyes."
"At The Art Fund we strive to make great art available to people all over the UK, so we are particularly pleased to have helped secure this brand new painting by one of Cumbria's leading artists for the people of Carlisle," he added.
Hilary Wade, Arts & Museums Manager at Tullie House, said: "We are delighted to be acquiring Keith Tyson's Nature Painting for the Tullie House collections and are grateful to our funders for their support in purchasing this outstanding work.
"I know it will be a painting that will be appreciated and enjoyed by visitors to the museum."
