Lancelot Ribeiro: A Risen Voice - Symposium

‘Lancelot Ribeiro: A Risen Voice’ takes inspiration from a poem penned by the pioneering Indian Expressionist artist exploring his legacy as painter, poet, advocate, and storyteller.

Lancelot Ribeiro (1933–2010), the half-brother of the Indian Modernist, FN Souza, was a fiercely independent artist who fused Eastern and Western traditions in expressionistic visions, ranging from lyrical images of homeland to Tantric paintings inspired by his Indian roots. His ‘Heads’ often sought to challenge the embodiment of tyranny alongside some of his important but understudied compositions in surrealism. These include his three works, acquired by the V&A, over a decade ago.

This one-day event brings together curators, art historians, and scholars to foster dialogue and study Ribeiro’s impact as an artist who refused to be branded. It will explore why he was considered the ‘godfather of generations of artists using acrylics,’ (The Times, 2011) and chart the advocacy role he played through the Indian Artists’ Collective movement for artists from the Subcontinent who ‘hoped to catapult themselves on the British scene’ (Ribeiro, The Economic Times, 1973).

Guest speakers and themes include:
 
* Out of Chaos comes Cosmos
Daughter Marsha Ribeiro and custodian of the Ribeiro Collection will chronicle her father’s personal and artistic journey from India to Britain through the family archive.

* Placing Ribeiro in the V&A’s South Asian Collection
Divia Patel, Senior Curator in the Asia Department of the Victoria and Albert Museum will place the work of Lancelot Ribeiro within the history of collecting and the formation of the V&A’s modern and contemporary South Asia collection. 

 

* Materials and Materiality: The Alchemy of Ribeiro in his practice
 Dr Patricia Smithen, Queen’s University (Canada), will examine how Ribeiro pioneered his own ‘PVA’ materials as an alternative to oil paint and the artistic direction this took him in; exploring why acrylics have developed into a popular medium of choice since they were first commercialised in the UK in 1963.

 

* In their Voices ~ The Indian Artists’ Collective Movement
Marsha Ribeiro, will trace the complex history of the Indian Artists’ Collective movement through the lens of the Ribeiro Archive and testimonials of its first painter-members.

 

* The Legacy of Expressionism among Post-war Immigrant Artists in Britain
Curator Sarah MacDougall, Ben Uri Gallery and Museum, will provide a wider reassessment of Ribeiro within a postwar émigré context and the legacy of Expressionism today.

 

* Hopes, Fears, and Frolics: Lancelot Ribeiro's Nuclear Landscapes
Jelena Sofronijevic, guest curator of Seeds of Hate and Hope at the Sainsbury Centre, will explore Ribeiro’s politically charged portraits in relation to war, conflict, and colonial legacies. 

 

* Panel Discussion: Painting through Space and Time
Margaret Glover, producer-facilitator-editor, will be joined by several guest panellists including Dominican-born British painter Tam Joseph, writer, researcher, and curator Vasundhara Mathur, and Francoise Lamy and Graham Daniels of Addictive TV to reflect on the day’s themes and Ribeiro’s legacy as artist, thinker and visionary and explore the enduring power and hope the visual arts provide for our troubled times. Further panellists will be announced shortly.

See further details download the Schedule.

This event is in collaboration with Marsha Ribeiro, custodian of the Ribeiro Collection.