EXECUTIVE CHAIR OF THE TRUSTEES, BEN URI GALLERY AND MUSEUM LIMITED
DAVID GLASSER
Executive Chair of the Trustees, Ben Uri Gallery and Museum Limited
Born in Glasgow, David Glasser was elected as Executive Chair in October 2000 to re-establish the museum which had effectively closed in 1996. A long-time collector, he set out to create a new ‘small’ art museum model purposefully combining scholarship with addressing contemporary issues.
In 2018 he led the transformation of Ben Uri into the first full scale virtual museum and research centre, supported by a physical presence in London, focussing on recording the Jewish and immigrant contribution to British art since 1900; redefining the collection to reflect; and researching and developing effective art interventions for older people often living with dementia.
“We are living in the eye of a perfect Covid 19 storm but one constant glimmer of light is our irrepressible creativity whether in science, medicine, caring for those less fortunate or, for the 33rd year in succession, in the visual arts at the London Art Fair.
Art and Health is a core research and operating division of Ben Uri Museum and my selections from the array of excellence on show recognises this current dark moment but concentrates on the reality that freedom without fear will return and soon.
In 2018, when Ben Uri started our transformation into the first full scale virtual museum and research centre (benuri.org), we had no idea a pandemic would turbo-charge the global adoption of digital as a means of showing, witnessing and buying art. Engaging with fine art was always the privilege of those who lived locally or could afford the time and cost to travel.
Today, new and already recognised great art is universally accessible and the entitlement of all. Global is the new local. Enjoy the London Art Fair as it has so much to offer including my own six preferences which reflect today and tomorrow – the established and the new.”
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Sherry Kerlin, The Fashion Conscious Nurse, 2020. Courtesy of Louisa Warfield Art Consultancy.
“Covid 19, was discovered and named in 2020 and the front line of the world populations’ defence is the ‘taken for granted’ nurse. This portrayal has an innocence and sensitivity that epitomises the selfless characteristics of the nursing profession and will serve as a warm reminder of this dark time”
Craigie Aitchison, Crucifixion, 2009. Courtesy of Browse & Darby.
“Aitchison has long focussed on the crucifixion. His slight variations always transform into a totally fresh visuality. This juxtaposition of hapless death within two bright dominant colours creates an unexpected sense of optimism as well as contradiction and perfectly represents the tragedy of the moment. “
Reginald Brill, Tuesday Market, King’s Lynn, c1960. Courtesy of Jenna Burlingham Fine Art.
“Brill was Principal at Kingston College of Art and a master of the use of pencil. This is an expansive composition – very deliberate, very staged, very beautifully executed and apart from the scene itself, which is the Cattle Market in King’s Lynn, you get 25 perfect individual portraits thrown in!
Sonia Delaunay, Projet de Couverture pour l’album No. 1, 1916. Courtesy of Crane Kalman Gallery.
“I have a particular fascination for work produced during both world wars. This composition from 1916, the middle of WW1, is exactly what you want from Delauney. The colours are fresh, composition intriguing and the provenance impeccable coming from Crane Kalman and been exhibited at Gimpel Fills, London in 1966.”
Henry Moore, Standing and Seated Figures, 1948. Courtesy of Osborne Samuel.
“This post war composition by Moore is stunning and engaging. This sketchbook gem presents, within its almost miniature scale, 6 different figures – one standing and five seated. Each posed individually yet seemingly engaging effortlessly with each other. This work draws you into 6 worlds and will never cease to inspire.”
Simeon Stafford, Piccadilly Circus, 2018. Courtesy of Goodman Fine Art.
“If this was last or next year, I would have struggled to choose between Auerbach, Bomberg, Freud and Roberts but it is January 2021 and hopefully in the last tsunami of the pandemic. So, my final selection reflects the joy of freedom tomorrow, wonderfully expressed by Stafford’s vibrant Piccadilly Circus. “
Sherry Kerlin, The Fashion Conscious Nurse, 2020. Courtesy of Louisa Warfield Art Consultancy.
“Covid 19, was discovered and named in 2020 and the front line of the world populations’ defence is the ‘taken for granted’ nurse. This portrayal has an innocence and sensitivity that epitomises the selfless characteristics of the nursing profession and will serve as a warm reminder of this dark time”
Craigie Aitchison, Crucifixion, 2009. Courtesy of Browse & Darby.
“Aitchison has long focussed on the crucifixion. His slight variations always transform into a totally fresh visuality. This juxtaposition of hapless death within two bright dominant colours creates an unexpected sense of optimism as well as contradiction and perfectly represents the tragedy of the moment. “
Reginald Brill, Tuesday Market, King’s Lynn, c1960. Courtesy of Jenna Burlingham Fine Art.
“Brill was Principal at Kingston College of Art and a master of the use of pencil. This is an expansive composition – very deliberate, very staged, very beautifully executed and apart from the scene itself, which is the Cattle Market in King’s Lynn, you get 25 perfect individual portraits thrown in!
Sonia Delaunay, Projet de Couverture pour l’album No. 1, 1916. Courtesy of Crane Kalman Gallery.
“I have a particular fascination for work produced during both world wars. This composition from 1916, the middle of WW1, is exactly what you want from Delauney. The colours are fresh, composition intriguing and the provenance impeccable coming from Crane Kalman and been exhibited at Gimpel Fills, London in 1966.”
Henry Moore, Standing and Seated Figures, 1948. Courtesy of Osborne Samuel.
“This post war composition by Moore is stunning and engaging. This sketchbook gem presents, within its almost miniature scale, 6 different figures – one standing and five seated. Each posed individually yet seemingly engaging effortlessly with each other. This work draws you into 6 worlds and will never cease to inspire.”
Simeon Stafford, Piccadilly Circus, 2018. Courtesy of Goodman Fine Art.
“If this was last or next year, I would have struggled to choose between Auerbach, Bomberg, Freud and Roberts but it is January 2021 and hopefully in the last tsunami of the pandemic. So, my final selection reflects the joy of freedom tomorrow, wonderfully expressed by Stafford’s vibrant Piccadilly Circus. “
