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Exhibitions for 1999.

30 January to 14 March
From Prototype to Production
New Furniture from the Crafts Council Collection.
Many furniture designers working in Britain today create prototypes and then oversee batch production carried out by others. The focus of this exhibition is the fascinating progression of ideas from the drawing board through to the final product.
Work by seven young designers illustrates all stages in the process including finished products in materials ranging from plywood to recycled plastic.
A Crafts Council touring exhibition.

Claire Roberts
Recent Prints.
Claire Roberts was awarded the Gainsborough House Residency Prize in the National Print Open of 1997. Her images are striking and complex, some taking early medical illustrations as their starting point.
She combines a wide range of techniques to great effect. Since graduating from the Slade she has won a number of awards and is rapidly making a name for herself.

20 March to 9 May
Suffolk Art Society Biennial Members' Exhibition.
This thriving art society has had a long association with Gainsborough's House. Exhibitors are drawn from South Suffolk and neighbouring parts of Essex. The quality and variety of work on display demonstrates the high level of talent and commitment to art in this area.

Gainsborough Drawings from the Permanent Collection.
This remarkable collection (one of the most comprehensive in the world) includes work from throughout Thomas Gainsborough's career - from early pencil sketches of corners of Suffolk to the elaborate set-pieces of his mature years. In order to allow as many people to see them as possible, but limit their exposure to light, these drawings will now be exhibited once every year in the early spring.

15 May to 27 June
Kate Malone
The Allotment
Kate Malone's unashamedly decorative, witty and colourful work is enjoyed by the general public and is highly influential in the field of contemporary British ceramics. This exhibition's theme is the fruit and vegetables to be found in The Allotment - from prize pieces such as a pumpkin teapot to rows of individual pea-pods. The exuberant forms in richly coloured crystalline glazes are life affirming and celebratory.
A MAC touring exhibition.

Colin Wilkin
Views of Essex
Colin Wilkin sees strong pattern and simple forms in the landscape of North Essex. There are echoes of Eric Ravillious in his carefully constructed but fresh watercolours which focus on the geometry and repeated patterns of field and copse. Colin completed an MA in illustration at the Royal College of Art in 1996 and this is his first exhibition in East Anglia.

3 July to 29 August
Three Painters
Christopher Northall, Andrew Vass, Hugh Webster
These three painters share a preoccupation with landscape. This exhibition of paintings and drawings explores the similarities and differences in their approaches. They all make pictures which arise from personal response to the subject, an understanding of the language of painting and a questioning of visual perception. All paint in Suffolk - the wide horizons, the earthy arable richness and the eerie coastline live in their work.

3 July to 31 October
Letters in the Garden.
Sundials, bird baths and commemorative plaques feature in this exhibition in the garden. A variety of personal styles underpinned by a hard-earned technical skill is evident in this selection of work by six of the region's foremost lettercutters. Intuitive variations in form, rhythm and pacing, reflect human values and amplify meaning in unexpected ways.

4 September to 31 October
Relief Printing Today
The first in a series of thematic shows reflecting the strong links with printmaking at Gainsborough's House looks at innovative and expressive use of wood and lino by contemporary artists.
Christopher Le Brun, Ken Kiff and Julian Meredith are among those who exploit the qualities of this traditional process to spectacular effect.

Noel Myles
Plants without Flowers
This is the first exhibition of Noel Myles's hand-made platinum and silver prints to be held in Britain. He made and exhibited paintings and etchings for many years before taking up photography in 1984. These exquisitely fine photographs of brambles and nettles, dead ferns and reeds (often taken within a mile of Gainsborough's House), bridge abstraction, representation, the painterly and the photographic.

6 November to 16 January 2000
Sudbury's Choice
Gainsborough's House, like most museums, permanently exhibits only a small proportion of its collection. Delicate items can be damaged by exposure to light and reserve collections may be more interesting to the specialist than the casual museum visitor. For this exhibition no holds are barred: a group of townspeople have been invited to select their favourite items and explain their choice. The show contains some surprises: Gainsboroughs and anonymous works; grand and modest pieces, drawings and figurines; maybe even a fountain.

Christmas Craft
Jewellery, ceramics, textiles and other artefacts by selected artists and designer-makers from all over the country provide a feast for the eye and some unusual Christmas gifts.

Gainsborough's House, 46 Gainsborough Street, Sudbury, Suffolk, UK.
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