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Two Artists, One City

Peter James Houghton and Anthony McCarthy

31 Aug 2024 - 09 Feb 2025
A drawing of a cityscape with cars driving on a large road beside a river.
View from the Maxwell Building of Salford Crescent, Anthony McCarthy, 2024, Mixed media.

This exhibition takes place in the Park Gallery, which is only open to the public on weekends and during school holidays. This online exhibition aims to make the work from our wonderful artists available everyday of the week.

 

‘Two Artists, One City’ celebrates Salford through a series of drawings and paintings by local artists Peter James Houghton and Anthony McCarthy. Both artists have deep rooted connections with Salford and have come together to present their personal perspectives on the city.

 

Peter James Houghton’s urban landscape paintings find beauty in the mundane, neglected or overlooked.

Originally from Lancashire, Peter has lived in Salford for 20 years, witnessing the city’s skyline and demographic change rapidly with regeneration and gentrification. In his series of acrylic paintings of Salford, he depicts the conflict that arises with this, through buildings and landmarks pushed to the periphery as eyesores or relics of a recent past, yet still standing defiantly in all their atrophy under the looming shadow of redevelopment.

 

Salford born artist Anthony McCarthy’s drawings are an exploration of changes in urban life. Here, Salford’s iconic architecture sits alongside his own personal journey through the city, making observations on both the familiar and its unseen. His obsessive use of pen and ink are utilised to build up lines and layers, adding depth and a unique quality to each of the drawings.

Anthony’s work takes inspiration from the work of another local British artist, LS Lowry, and after working alongside Salford’s collection of LS Lowry’s work for over 20 years, it is easy to see how.

 

The works of art in this exhibition are for sale. Each purchase helps support the artist and the work of Salford Museum and Art Gallery. There are also limited edition prints available to purchase on site in our print shop. Please speak to a member of staff to make your purchase.

Peter James Houghton

A painting of a street with a graffiti-ed building and city lights in the background. There is a sign on the building that says: TNT Textiles & Hosiery ltd.
Moontex 2, 2024, Acrylic on board.
A painting of a heavily graffiti-ed brick and concrete structure with green doors. There are yellow electrical hazard signs on the walls.
Clarendon Park substation, 2024, Acrylic on board.
A painting of a concrete carpark.
Eccles car park 1, 2021, Acrylic on board.
A painting of a concrete staircase leading out of a carpark. The stairs are lit with a soft pink light.
Eccles car park 2, 2022, Acrylic on board.
A painting of a close up detail of a blue wall with long black triangles painted onto it. The wall is dirty and the paint is fading.
A6 Eccles Old Road underpass, 2024, Acrylic on board.
A close up on a textured blue wall with dark blue and white stripes. The wall is dirty and has graffiti on it that says 'Suppress, Demoralize, Control' and the f-word.
A6 Broad Street underpass, 2023, Acrylic on board.
A painting of an underpass with colourful graffiti on the walls and ceiling.
Greengate underpass, 2024, Acrylic on board.
A painting of skyscrapers against a purple sky. There are brick walls in front of them. Yellow lights can be seen at some of the windows.
Grey Friar, 2024, Acrylic on board.
A painting of a grey wall with a warmly lit, yellow underpass. There is a black bollard standing in the centre of the square underpass.
Height underpass, 2023, Acrylic on board.
A painting of a multistory carpark. The metal garage doors are closed.
King Street West car park, 2023, Acylic on board.
A painting of a speckled concrete stairwell. There is a pink, cloudy sky in the background.
Lancastrian Hall stairwell, 2024, Acylic on board.
A painting of parking spaces in front of a shop with a pale blue awning and bollards.
Mocha 3, 2024, Acrylic on board.
A painting of a brick wall with barbed wire on the top. There is a sign on the wall that says: Danger no climbing.
Pendleton substation, 2023, Acrylic on board.
A painting of a bin with two holes. One site days 'Litter', the other says 'Recycle'. There is writing along the bottom that says 'Love your streets in Salford', but the the text is partially covered in dirt.
Shopping City bin, 2024, Acylic on board.
A black bin with the word 'LITTER' written on it. In the background there is a cityscape with lights glowing in the dark.
Crescent bin, 2023, Acrylic on board.
A painting of a black bin with graffiti on it and a sign that says 'love your parks Salford'. The background is dark and abstract, with patches of bright green.
Wallness bin, 2023, Acrylic on board.
A painting of a bin in front of a brick wall, both covered in dirt and graffiti. The bin has a sticker on it that says 'Love your streets IN Salford'.
Viaduct bin, 2024, Acrylic on board.
A red, black, and white shopping centre at night. A streetlight shines brightly, illuminating the shop and the street below it.
Salford Shopping City 2, 2023, Acrylic on board.
A painting of four terraced houses against a purple cloudy sky. There are six concrete bollards in the foreground.
Riverside, 2024, Acrylic on board.
A painting of a skyscraper at dusk. In the foreground there are some shopfronts with their metal security doors down.
Salford Shopping City 3, 2023, Acrylic on board.
A close up of a white and red striped tile wall with a blue and white striped awning. Above the awning, the wall is speckled and there are three vents.
Salford Shopping City 5, 2024, Acrylic on board.
A painting of a concrete stairwell. The white sides are dirty and covered in graffiti.
Strangeways 2, 2023, Acrylic on board.
A painting of an underpass with blue and white tiles on the walls. There is a sign on the wall but the writing is too far away to be read.
Worsley Road underpass, 2023, Acrylic on board.
A painting of a skyscraper with lights shining out of a few windows. There is a blue staircase in the foreground.
White Friar, 2024, Acrylic on board.

Anthony McCarthy

A drawing of a cityscape. Cars are parked on the road outside a large building.
View from the peel building (100 years after lowry), 2024, Mixed media.
A black and white painting of an industrial cityscape with occasional spots of red colour.
View from Castlefield viaduct, 2024, Mixed media.
A drawing of a blue amazon van with a delivery driver in a high-vis jacket siting inside.
The Amazon driver, 2024, Mixed media.
A painting of a cathedral. The street is wet with rain and the cathedral is reflected on the ground.
Salford cathedral, early morning, 2024, Mixed media.
A painting of a river lined with trees. In the background there is a large building.
Peel Park toward the university (river view), 2024, Mixed media.
A painting of an ornate building in the middle of a cityscape. People are walking along the street.
Old rex cinema, 2024, Mixed media.
Painting of a cityscape. There is a brick wall in the foreground with graffiti that says 'NO WAR'.
No war, view from the tramline, 2024, Mixed media.
A drawing of a man sleeping on a wooden bench. He is wrapped in a blanket and has a pillow.
Near Salford cathedral (man on bench), 2024, Mixed media.
A drawing of an industrial cityscape. The wall in the foreground is broken and parts have been temporarily replaced with metal barriers.
Middlewood locks development, view from Ordsall Lane, 2016, Mixed media.
a painting of parking spaces in front of a 'Betfred' shop. There are people walking on the street.
Cleggs Lane, Little Hulton, 2024, Mixed media
A drawing of a group of people waiting at a bus stop in winter coats, among them a woman with a pushchair.
Salford precinct bus stop, 2024, Mixed media.
A painting of a large church. People and dogs walk in the street in front of it.
Trinity church Salford, 2024, Mixed media.
A painting of a cityscape next to a river. The lights and buildings are reflected on the water's surface.
The Lowry, 2024, Mixed media.
A drawing of a Tudor house beside a river.
Packet house Worsley, 2024, Mixed media.
A drawing of a cityscape lit up at night. The lights reflect on a river. There is a large bridge going across the river.
Media City UK, 2024, Mixed media.
A painting on a napkin showing skyscrapers by the side of a river.
Lowry Hotel drawn on Lowry Hotel serviette, 2018, Mixed media.
A painting of a large brown building with a clock tower. People walk in the street in front of it.
Eccles Town Hall, 2024, Mixed media.
Three drawings of different buildings on one page. Top Left: a building with a clock tower. Top Right: a bandstand with two people walking in front of it. Bottom Middle: a shopping centre with people walking past it.
Swinton studies, 2024, Mixed media.
A painting of a cityscape at night. The lights are reflected in the river in front of them.
Imperial War Museum, 2024, Mixed media.
A drawing of an industrial landscape and a river.
View from Pomona, 2016, Mixed media.

The Park Gallery is open on weekends and school holidays. Plan your visit to Salford Museum and Art Gallery to see this exhibition in person.

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