On Thursday 3 April a merry band of Baltic colleagues headed over the river on a beautiful spring evening to attend the Preview of renowned north east artist Jimmy Turrell's Off the Record, On the Pitch exhibition being held at INNSiDE hotel on Newcastle Quayside.
A collaboration between the hotel and Baltic, this mini exhibition supports the key values of INNSiDE supporting local artist and highlighting the talent within the wonderful area of the north east. Jimmy's work is a perfect place to start, combining two of his absolute passions - music and football - especially as it's been quite a year for his beloved Newcastle United.
We received a warm welcome from the lovely people at INNSiDE with a glass of fizz and some delicious canapes (shout out to the mushroom arancini balls of which we didn't get a photo as we were too busy devouring them) and there was time for a quick catch up before Jimmy's friends, family and other special guests started to arrive to celebrate a fantastic addition to the artistic offer available on the Quayside. And what makes the chosen works more exciting is that all the work is for sale, meaning hotel guests and visitors are able to purchase a piece of north east talent and support artists living in the area.
After some mingling, more canapes (did we mention the arancini balls..?) and another glass of fizz, it was time to toast the man of the hour, Jimmy Turrell. Jimmy gave a great speech about his start in art, his artistic journey and some of his past commissions (Beck and Iron Maiden, call us impressed!) and a bit of background as to why he chose the pieces for this particular showcase. With a heady mix of David Ginola (his Mum's favourite he was mortified to find out..), Aretha Franklin, David Bowie and local hero Dan Burn all featured in Turrell's signature collage style, there is something to appeal to everyone, especially if you're into a vibrant mix of large-scale works, combining vintage football imagery, punk aesthetics, bold typography and layered textures that reference everything from match-day fanzines to classic album covers.
He also shared that the football works were going to feature some international teams too but, with the triumph of the Carabao Cup win for NUFC, he decided to celebrate the Newcastle players, continuing the feelgood factor the city has been having ever since that iconic win. It's good to be a Newcastle fan, it's good to love exhilarating art and it's great to be out with colleagues on a vibrant Thursday night on the Toon. Congrats to the fantastic folks at INNSiDE, to Sara Ley for curating the pieces, to Jimmy, of course, for his talent and sense of humour and to the mushroom arancini balls of which 5 members of Baltic staff will be wistfully thinking of as we work through Friday after a fun night out.
'Off the Record, On the Pitch' can be found in INNSiDE Hotel in a dedicated exhibition space on the mezzanine floor until 30th June 2025.
