Iconic Eastbourne building to be transformed with giant colourful mural

Lothar Gotz, who is based in the UK, was chosen from 60 artists and designers to crate an artwork to mark the 10th anniversary of the gallery’s move from its original home in Old Town.

Gotz’s work has included commissions for the South Bank Centre and Leeds Art Gallery. But the Towner mural will be his largest work to date.

The Brewers Towner Commission – created using paint supplied by Brewers Decorator Centres which is based in Eastbourne – will be in situ for one year.

Gotz was chosen by a selection panel including Joe Hill, director of the Towner, Mark Brewer, chairman of Brewers Decorator Centres, David Dimbleby, chairman of the Towner, Dinah Casson, deputy chair of the Towner, and Kiera, curator for Art on the Underground.

Gotz said, “To paint the entire rendered wall space of the Towner Art Gallery offers an amazing canvas and to realise a painting of that scale in such a prominent public position of Eastbourne really is a kind of dream project for me.

“The building’s facade with its three-dimensional qualities will turn the painting into a kind of giant sculpture addressing the boundaries and crossovers between art and architecture, painting and sculpture and public and institutional spaces.”

He added that the mural will ‘sit somewhere between street art and minimalism/asbtraction’.

Towner director Mr Hill said the gallery was ‘delighted’ to commission Gotz as his ’signature style of bright, engaging colours, geometric patterns and bold large-scale works will allow visitors and residents to engage with the gallery in a new way’.

David Dimbleby said he was delighted that the gallery is celebrating its 10th year and added, “I very much look forward to seeing the finished work when it is unveiled later this year’.

The mural will be on view from June 1.