John Burningham Exhibition

Mr Gumpy and Other Outings: Celebrating 50 years of John Burningham’s work On September 18, 2010 Seven Stories in Newcastle will open its doors to a brand new exhibition, Mr Gumpy and Other Outings: Celebrating 50 years of John Burningham’s work. The exhibition will incorporate John’s creative process highlighting artwork, rough sketches, dummy books, letters, photos and childhood toys all from his personal archive. John Burningham has been making picture books for almost fifty years, and has been a master craftsman from the beginning, exploiting the potential of colour lithography with eccentric narratives making him one of the defining illustrators of our time. John is an inspiration to many illustrators today. “Burningham's own part in this great renaissance is not quite as widely documented as the rise of The Beatles, or the emergence of the Rolling Stones. But his personal contribution to the redefining of the British creative landscape, and that of his like-minded colleagues, was just as significant in its way. The 1960s also saw a revolution in the way that books for very young children were conceived and presented, with a decisive shift away from preachy narratives to exuberant and colourful chunks of wonder that strove to capture the world from the perspective of the pre-school child.” Deborah Orr, The Independent 18 April 2009. Seven Stories Exhibition Curator Gill Rennie said: “John Burningham’s first picture book, Borka, the Adventures of a Goose with No Feathers, was so perfect it was published without the editor making any changes and went on to win the Kate Greenaway Medal in 1963. John has continued to make unique and entrancing picture books ever since. Working on this exhibition has been an absolute joy.” Exhibition runs to 17 March 2011