I first met Conrad Atkinson in 1995. He visited my solo show at Tullie House and gave me a full acerbic dissection of the exhibition. This led to a 30 year friendship which I value as highly as any other I have acquired. 

 

Curating his work into a gallery came with a health warning. He was brutally honest and his work was created with purpose and the keenest of eyes. 

 

“Conrad Atkinson has been described as one of the most thoroughly humanist artists of our time, and his was certainly one of the most urgent voices, compelling, provoking us, to confront the more painful social, political and economic realities of modern life. His work, driven always by a genuine commitment to make the world a better place, showed us the power that art possesses as an instrument for social change, and reminded us that art is not separate from life.”

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Roisin McDonough, Chief Executive of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland:

"We lost Conrad in 2022. But we still have his voice and his vision through his work. As an artist, activist, and teacher, Conrad committed his life and work to advocate for those without a platform or voice. Growing up in the mining village of Cleator Moor in Cumbria, England, he observed and empathised with the struggles of the Irish coalminers, propelling him to speak out for those marginalised by society. This politic served as a driving force throughout his career, as he investigated themes of war, corporate malfeasance, growing inequality, and its effect on the working class worldwide."

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"It is the forging together of conceptualism and activism to art practice that distinguishes Atkinson's work and makes it such an important contribution to 20th century art history," said Lawrence Rinder, Dean of the California College of Arts. 

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On the 13th September, Lowood arts bring to life his artistic practice. With his last interviews (2019-2021) filmed by Lowood arts Curator/Filmmaker Callum Latimer. Chairs from his studio, his artist jacket’s, John Lennon’s art easel from their College days, Iron ore from the mine generations of his family worked in, his cameras and sketchbooks from Carlisle College of art and the Royal academy, a ceramic landmine commissioned by the United Nations to be presented to Princess Diana but unfortunately she died the week before she would have received it, Newspaper works exhibited in 11 downing street and wallpaper created for The Royal apartments in Belfast, Portraits of Wordsworth, Trump, Melvyn Bragg, Thatcher, Reagan and Gerry Adams which hang’s in the National Portrait Gallery and all the way back to the first painting he did for an entrance exam in the 1950’s on loan from his family and Christmas cards he designed at school.

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Legacy brings together Atkinsons work from our Lowood archive and commissioned work from the last exhibition Conrad co-curated of his work, “No place like Home”, which was lost to the covid outbreak. It is remarkable that we have been able to deliver this show with the original team from that show and Conrad's surviving family. For us, this will be an incredibly emotional moment.

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“Since 1996, I have had the honour of exhibiting Conrad's work in 4 award winning exhibitions nationally but this will be his first solo exhibition at Lowood arts. If you are familiar with his work, this is a must to experience his work again in his beloved Cumbria. If you are not familiar with his work, this will be a revelation.“ J Latimer, Director Lowood arts.

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Mairtin O Muilleoir, Lord Mayor of Belfast and past Finance Minister Northern Ireland, said: “Conrad Atkinson was to pop art what the Sex Pistols were to punk rock: the first to the barricades, the rebellious iconoclast, the knife to the gut. Only a super artist like him could have taken on that most kryptonite of subjects: Britain’s corrosive role in the North of Ireland. And yet he did so with a swagger and a derring-do which outraged the comfortable and comforted the afflicted. 40-plus years on, it’s worth noting that his compelling love letters from Ireland have been vindicated by peace talks, ceasefires and a power-sharing parliament. And they say art can’t save lives. It did here, courtesy of Conrad. “

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“Perhaps art can’t really make a difference, but it can highlight alternative ways of seeing and living.” Conrad Atkinson in conversation with Sue Hubbard for Artist’s Newsletter.

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Conrad Atkinson was represented by Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York City, from 1979. His work is included in numerous museum collections, among them are the Tate Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, the British Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, the Australian National Gallery, MIMA, Nottingham Castle museum, Pushkin Museum, Russia and the Nelson Gallery, California. He was a Professor Emeritus at University of California at Davis. He was also a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Courtauld Institute, London University, and an Honorary Fellow at Cumbria University.

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It is incredible to think he is more widely known in New York, Boston, San Francisco, London and Belfast than in Carlisle, Kendal and Penrith. 

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Conrad Atkinson, Legacy exhibition, Lowood arts will run from the 13th of September - 15th November 2026. If you want to see the work created by the man once described as “the most important living Cumbrian, in 2015” this is the exhibition for you. For all of us at Lowood arts we are just privileged and honoured to bring Conrad’s life and work to an audience one more time. Art as a vehicle for social change, created by a man who devoted his whole life to others.