Pool is a new commission by painter Lothar Götz
Striking immersive wall painting transforms the Holden Gallery
19 July 2021
Lothar Götz’s new commission ‘Pool’ opens from July 21
A new large-scale, colourful, immersive wall painting will go on display at the Holden Gallery at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Pool is a new commission by painter Lothar Götz which will transform the Holden Gallery into a vibrant, colourful receptacle, completely altering the viewer’s experience of the space.
The installation will be the Holden Gallery’s first in-person exhibition since closing and moving activity online at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Götz is a painter responding to site, space and colour. His work spans from drawings and paintings to large-scale wall paintings on interior and exterior walls of buildings.
He is best known for his use of abstract and geometric forms and abundance of colour, responding to a space by its architectural characteristics and features.
Götz said: “One of my first associations when visiting the Holden Gallery was a feeling like entering an empty swimming pool. The sense of a vast space which one has the urge to fill. Like the urge to fill an empty pool, I had the desire to fill the space with colour.”
The new commission Pool responds to the distinct Victorian architectural features of the Holden Gallery.
Götz has painted the full interior walls of the gallery, while the rest of the space will be stripped of all objects and freestanding walls.
Götz said: “On a site visit, the gallery was in between exhibitions showing its empty white walls and its dominant historical architectural features. The stone arches and pillars give away the history of the place. In contrast to the stone arches the white walls are naturalising the space after each show, kind of eradicating its history and always preparing the space for the now and future.
“I found this contradiction fascinating and it made me wish to connect the two different spatial elements of the exhibition hall. The wall painting takes the historical arches as starting point for the composition and fills the white space in between with colour. All wall space up to half height of the room will be painted so that the viewer will be surrounded by colour as if swimming under water in a pool.”
Zoe Watson, Curator of the Holden Gallery at Manchester Metropolitan University, said: “We are delighted to be reopening the gallery with Lothar Götz’s wall painting Pool. After remaining closed to the public since March 2020, and having delayed the show by a year, it is a pleasure to finally welcome visitors back to experience this joyful, vibrant installation in the gallery.”
Lothar Götz, Pool is curated by Zoe Watson, Curator at the Holden Gallery and is on display at the Holden Gallery from July 21 to August 21, 2021.
All visitors must book a timed entry ticket to manage capacity and ensure visitors can keep a safe distance apart. Please see booking details and further guidance on the Holden Gallery website.
Support is kindly provided by Crown Paints, with the help of their Manchester Crown Decorating Centre, donating paints to bring Lothar Götz’s new wall painting to life. Crown are happy to support local artists and designers, and are delighted to be part of this project.
