Viva Lewes Issue #153 June 2019

ON THIS MONTH: ART
Lothar is well used to creating large-scale
works – previous commissions include the
Southbank Centre in London, and Leeds Art
Gallery – but the Towner will be a first for
the artist. “What is very unusual about this
project is that I’m painting the whole of the
outside, which will turn the building itself into
a giant public art sculpture. It crosses over
from architecture or painting and becomes
part of the topography of the town. It’s not like
going into a gallery and saying, ‘there are the
paintings’. People will walk along the street,
not necessarily expecting to look at art, but
then suddenly there it is.
“It will create quite a landmark in the town
centre and that’s very special. It doesn’t happen
very often, to have an opportunity to do
something which is so visible to the public.”
The installation is set to take three weeks
and, when we speak in early May, Lothar isn’t
sure how much paint he will need for each of
the 15 colours, each needing four coats. But,
with Brewers Decorator Centres sponsoring
the commission, he is guaranteed a sufficient
supply. Nor does he know how much tape it
will take to mask the crisp diagonal lines across
such distances (one of the walls is more than 30
metres wide and 15 metres high), but he’ll be
working with an expert team from the London
Mural Company to manage the process. What
is certain is that the Towner – always a striking
building – is about to become an artwork in its
own right. And an eye-catching centrepiece for
Eastbourne’s new Devonshire Quarter.
Towner’s celebratory summer season
launches on the 15th of June. Lizzie Lower
townereastbourne.org.uk
Crash: Acrylic and Emulsion on wall, Küstlerhaus / Kunstverein Hanover, 2012photo by Raimund Zakowski
Double-Take:Acrylic and emulsion on wall, MAC Belfast, 2013, photo by Jordan Hutchins
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