De La Warr Art Exhibition and New Season Launch

Those attending the packed launch party included town mayor Cllr Paul Lendon, Director of the De La Warr, Alan Haydon and Paul Martin, Son of Kenneth and Mary Martin.

The De La Warr, which has faced criticism in the past from local people who wanted to see more quality shows, are hoping this new programme will prove to be their best ever.

Alan said: "The importance about today is that we are not only celebrating the opening of this new exhibition by the late Kenneth and Mary Martin, who were important figures in British art during the fifties and sixties, but we are also essentially announcing and celebrating the programme of the forthcoming season that we've got here at the Pavilion, which includes some world class performers, particularly in music. It's part and parcel of of our ambition to essentially bring world class performers to a world class building."

Some of the forthcoming attractions include the London Sinfonietta, The Moscow City Ballet performing Romeo and Juliet, and Cinderella, Goldfrapp, Marc Almond and Harry Hill.

Alan added:"It's nice that we are now harmonising the music programme with the exhibition programme in terms of quality and excellence, two important words that we attach to everything we try and do.

"We have a world class exhibition opening today and it's quite fitting that two key figures in the British Modernist Movement are at the De La Warr and, even though I say it myself, it's probably the best showcase for their work as in a building of this nature they work very much in harmony together. We are really excited about the exhibition and are expecting it to be popular as well as challenging. I think in many respects it has a slight nostalgic note for a lot of older people as they might have seen the Martin's work in major institutions during the past fifty years. Their work was very influential in terms of the generations that followed."

The exhibition, which is on until the 20th April, has been arranged in collaboration with the Camden Art Centre in London, where it opened last summer, and is displayed in two galleries at the De La Warr.

'Kenneth Martin & Mary Martin: Constructed Works' is described as an exhibition which 'shows over 50 works from these two British Constructivist artists who based their art on mathematical principles and explored ideas of change and order, format and movement, balance and precision.'

Paul Martin, said that he thinks the De La Warr is an "ideal building" to exhibit his parents work adding: "It's a retrospective of my Mother and Fathers work; obviously we can't show everything they did so it's edited down to fifty pieces."

He believes people of all ages will enjoy the exhibition, saying: "Their work doesn't age, it's still of our times - of where we live now."

For more information visit the De La Warr website at: www.dlwp.com or call (01424) 229 111.