2026 ‘Right round the corner and back again’
It has been a very busy year with some impactful events marking ten years since Matthew’s death and celebrating the astonishing range of his life and art.
Falmouth Art Gallery acquired three silk screen prints by Matthew Lanyon for their permanent collection this year; Porthleven and Racewater (2015) are on display in the gallery alongside a 1964 gouache by Matthew's father, Peter Lanyon until Dec 31st 2026.
New Craftsman Gallery in St Ives held a special exhibition, ‘Poet and Painter’ to mark the ten year anniversary of Matthew’s death in September/October, highlighting some exquisite pieces from his unique Bottles series as well as vivid paintings such as ‘Pegasus’ see below.
https://www.newcraftsmanstives.com/exhibitions/46-matthew-lanyon-painter-poet-10th-anniversary-exhibition/works/
We are grateful to Ylenia Haase at New Craftsman Gallery for hosting a very popular live poetry event celebrating Matthew’s own poetry and the Matthew Lanyon Poetry Prize winners as part of the St Ives September Festival. Cornish poets Olive Mills and Ellie Fullwood read their winning poems, and the writer, broadcaster and critic Michael Bird read a selection of Matthew’s poetry from the Archive. Michael’s tuneful and creative rendition of ‘Song for You’, a poem revealing Matthew’s feelings for his father, remains particularly memorable and the whole audience appreciated the gravity and comedy of this unusual event. Full details of the Poetry Prize winners and shortlisted entries can be found here.
Guillemot Press have published a poetry pamphlet, The Archaeology of Tomorrow which features all six shortlisted entries from the inaugural Matthew Lanyon Poetry Prize 2026. A beautiful object in itself, the pamphlet is available from their website for £10. Huge thanks to judges Luke Thompson of Guillemot Press and Zelda Cahill-Patten for their continued support. We expect to run the Matthew Lanyon Poetry Prize again in 2027 and welcome donations to the Prize fund.
https://www.guillemotpress.co.uk/poetry
Tipping Point (2013), one of Matthew’s amazing 22’ wide paintings, has been on display and stimulating students and staff in Falmouth University canteen on the Wood Lane campus alongside a small display about the work since early July. It deals with human vanity, in response to the sinking of the Costa Concordia in 2012, and the impact of climate catastrophe, which was always at the forefront of Matthew’s mind. Do drop in to see it if you are on campus, or visiting Falmouth.
Festival of Matthew Lanyon, July 2026. This two day event was an opportunity to demonstrate the work of the Archive over the last nine years and to curate a spectacular exhibition of his art across our chosen themes of Poetry and Plurals; Construction/Deconstruction; Self Portrait/Life and Art, and Cornwall in Bondage. It was a huge undertaking but very worthwhile and created a magnificent response. The sense of festival flowed from the workshops and talks across both days as well as from the astonishing variety of exhibits and ideas. Our thanks to all who came and all who contributed and to the University Technical Department for excellent input and guidance. Judith was assisted in curating the event in particular by Stella Douglass and Amy May Brand who also worked on delivering the event alongside the other former Archive residents, Sampada Ladke, Zelda Cahill-Patten and Eleanor Eden. Thanks also to Mark Waugh and Ellie Porter who have been instrumental in encouraging strategy and ideas to take forward the legacy over a number of years and led a meaningful discussion on Archive at the event. Ellie’s idea and help with launching the Residencies in 2024 has been for example a crucial element in realising the potential of the Archive in recent years. Many grateful thanks to our sponsors Zennor Asset Management; Falmouth University; Matthew Lanyon Estate.
A short video filmed at the Festival in Falmouth by Sam Bestwick is available to view on Matthew Lanyon Archive Youtube along with Matthew’s own short films.
The 38 page full colour Catalogue of the Archaeology of Tomorrow exhibition, pictured here, and printed at Falmouth University, features essays by Mark Waugh, Judith Lanyon, Stella Douglass, Amy Brand and Zelda Cahill-Patten in addition to a selection of unseen material from the exhibition. Email your full name, and postal address to baileyslane@btinternet.com to order a copy and enquire about payment details (price £20, inc p&p).
A new piece of writing exploring Matthew’s relationship to rural life by clay artist Abbie Fowler, who worked in the Archive as a resident in October 2025, has been added to the Archive section under News and Events. Our thanks to her for a different and thoughtful investigation into the concept of rural as radical, which is particularly applicable to Matthew’s work and life.
