The Sidney Nolan Trust opens its 2024 visitor season at The Rodd, Presteigne on Saturday, March 23.

The season will open with Painting With Light, an exhibition of early digital artwork created by Sidney Nolan and his contemporaries. It explores the dawn of digital art, including famous names such as David Hockey, Richard Hamilton, Lea Lublin and Larry Rivers. 

Launched globally in 1981, the Quantel Paintbox was a revolutionary computer graphics system and the world’s first digital design studio. It brought digital images into every home via news, weather graphics, titles, logos, music videos and television adverts. The Paintbox would heavily influence the look and feel of the following decade and would pave the way for the “Photoshop Era.”

The exhibition showcases the extent of Sidney Nolan’s experiments with the Paintbox through previously unseen artwork from their archives, including video and other material.

The exhibition also includes artwork by students from Hereford College of Art’s Digital Futures Programme.  

Antony Mottershead, the Sidney Nolan Trust’s Curator and Creative Producer said: “The artwork that Nolan created using the Quantel Paintbox is yet another instance of his eagerness to experiment with new tools and technologies – a further voyage of discovery on the cusp of the digital age. 

“The exhibition opens a window onto his early digital forays and demonstrates how artists and designers pioneered a visual language that we often take for granted.”  

The exhibition has been organised with Adrian Wilson, a pioneer in the digital manipulation of photographs. He has generously supported the project, lending rare artwork and archive materials for display. He recently curated the touring exhibition How Quantel’s Paintbox Changed Our World (2023). 

Sir Sidney Nolan, one of Australia’s most famous modern artists, founded the Trust in 1985. Today the Trust cares for his former home and estate at The Rodd, a large collection of his artwork, photography and personal archive. The Trust hosts an exciting programme of exhibitions, events, learning activities, workshops and residencies. 

Visitors to The Rodd can also explore Nolan’s former home, 17th century Rodd Court, which features changing interpretations of the artist’s life and work, the gardens and historic farm buildings, and Nolan’s studio. A pop-up café serves tea, coffee and cake.

The Sidney Nolan Trust is a registered charity.

The exhibition runs from March 23 to May 11. The full season for the Sidney Nolan Trust runs until September 28.

The opening times are Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 4pm.

Please visit www.sidneynolantrust.org for full details, email: [email protected]​, or phone 01544 260149.