Turner Contemporary
nearing completion in Margate

by Martin Jefferies

A work by internationally-acclaimed landscape artist JMW Turner
will grace the walls of a multi-million pounds gallery when it
opens next year.

The Turner Contemporary, hailed as one of Margate's biggest ever
regeneration projects, will open its doors on April 16.

The little-known painting by JMW Turner, the artist after
whom the art gallery is named, will take centre stage in the
opening exhibition, entitled 'Revealed: Turner Contemporary
Opens'.

Victoria Pomery, director of Turner Contemporary, said: "We hope
the opening of the gallery next year will be a cause for
celebration, not just in Margate but across the whole of the
country.

"Turner Contemporary isn't just an art gallery with fantastic
exhibits; we firmly believe it will do far more for the town, with
people coming from far and wide to experience the magic of
Margate."

She added: "It's an amazing building, but what goes
inside is absolutely critical.

"It's the art that will have the greatest impact on
visitors."

Turner's 'The Eruption of the Souffrier Mountains' will be
loaned to the gallery by the University of Liverpool.

The opening exhibition, which will run from April 18-September
4, 2011, will also feature work by six major international artists,
including Daniel Buren, Russell Crotty, Douglas Gordon, Ellen
Harvey and Conrad Shawcross.

The controversial artist Tracey Emin, whose pink neon sign still
hangs over the entrance to nearby Droit House, has not yet signed
up for an exhibition at the gallery, although Ms Pomery said she
was in talks with the Turner Prize nominee.

Up to 150,000 people are expected to visit the £18 million
Turner Contemporary in the opening year, falling to 130,000 in year
two.

Building work began in December 2008, nearly three years after
original plans for the gallery were scrapped when projected costs
soared to £50 million.