Technically this exhibition focuses on these artists’ experience of London, the friendships they formed there and their involvement with the British art scene. The claim being they not only developed the British scene itself but it dramatically changed their own work.

Kathryn Maple’s Under a Hot Sun opens on 11 February 2023 and runs until 30 April 2023. For more information, visit: www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/kathrynmaple About five plus years ago I never tended to include figures in my work. This has been an exciting possibility which I have enjoyed exploring in the works shown. There was something strange about living in a city with people everywhere, and I always struggled to connect them to the spaces I was painting. When I first included people they were doing activities, and then they sort of naturally started appearing. When I am looking at art, the works that attract me or I stay with for the longest are the ones where everything doesn’t surface at the same time. This comprehensive retrospective is a chance to see a large amount of Modigliani’s work and understand the inspirational and pivotal effect his work has had on the art world since the 20th century. His style is instantly recognisable and has become a beloved symbol of emotionally engaged pictorial work.

What's on: Exhibitions

R.B. Kitaj, Immortal Portraits, 1972 screenprint, 72.1 x 114.3 cm edition of 70 signed printed at Kelpra Studio, London The final exhibition contains an installation of over 70 ceramic works from Anita Besson’s private collection, and 2 dimensional work by Anthony Caro, Olga Chernysheva, Richard Deacon, Laura Ford, Richard Long, Paula Rego, Clare Woods and Bedwyr Williams, amongst others. Many of the paintings on display are inhabited by figures that synchronise with nature’s deep rhythms. I hope to provide a connection that is made through the surface of the paintings which resonates and echoes a sense of place.” It takes its revolutionary aim further and allows you to vote for a work to be ‘released’ from storage and put on public display. This hopes to open up the idea that museums could be democratic, and trial what happens if you democratically curate an exhibition. I draw from life as much as possible. In the studio, I reimagine and collage my drawings assembling a new relationship to spaces I visit. I am keen to keep the line searching and always expanding my vocabulary of mark making. This is important from the beginning to the end of a painting.

Over the last few months there has been some amazing support from South Korean collectors. They saw the video about the initial win and reached out to me about my work, asking lots of questions, which is amazing. I haven’t really shown much outside of the UK so it's nice to know that my work is out there. What's really interesting is that they are all around my age, so quite young. One said to me recently ‘I’m really excited to see your career grow as someone from my generation’. The Prize has certainly broadened the view of my work on the world stage and I have welcomed several collectors and art enthusiasts to my studio, definitely boostered by the win. Additionally, the Tate has developed a VR experience of Modigliani’s The Ochre Atelier: his last studio in the centre of Paris in the early 20th century. This is a chance to enter into the mindset of Modigliani and fully consider his short and intense life. Since winning the prize I have been able to rent a bigger studio and buy a bit more paint and canvas, which has allowed me to find more freedom in my work. My paintings have certainly reached a few more people and I am excited to have the opportunity to show my recently finished paintings in one space together at The Walker Art Gallery.” The 2020 jury represent a diverse group of artists and creative influencers: Hurvin Anderson; Michelle Williams Gamaker; Alison Goldfrapp; Jennifer Higgie and Gu Wenda.Kathryn Maple, said: “ Under a Hot Sun is my first solo show, it is huge opportunity to show my paintings at the Walker Art Gallery. The Walker has a great permanent collection and I’m in the company of many artists who have inspired my practice. This exhibition focuses on the move by French artists in the 1870s to the safely of England. These émigrés fled from insurrection in Paris and the Franco-Prussian war. It includes work by Monet, Tissot, Pissarro, Dalou, Sisley, Derain and Legros. Petheram explains the process behind choosing which works to show. The curators drew from a list of seventy artworks that the gallery had acquired in the last ten years. They prioritised works that had not yet been exhibited – in some cases, five or six years had passed since their acquisition: It promotes drawing as a completed process rather than just as a preliminary step for a later work, demonstrating that drawing as an art form has a wide breadth of techniques, styles and interest. It also provides new insights into gallery artists showing the depth of their work and processes. Kathryn Maple’s Under a Hot Sun opens on 13 February 2023 and runs until 30 April 2023. For more information, visit: www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/kathrynmaple.