A Macclesfield resident has a large art exhibition in a town just a short drive away.

Next month, Stockport Art Gallery will host a major exhibition featuring the works of Macclesfield resident Helen Clapcott.

The exhibition will feature more than 100 works, spanning the breadth of Helen's long and impressive career. 

It will run from 28 September 2024 to 25 January 2025. 

Helen was born in Blackpool, and moved to Stockport when she was 10. In 1984, she moved to Macclesfield, with 2024 being her 40th anniversary living in Macclesfield.

She is known for her landscapes of industrial Stockport, rendered in light, ethereal colour. 

Art critic Andrew Lambirth said of Helen's work: "If Lowry first opened our eyes to the beauties of the industrial scene, Clapcott is chronicling its last chapter: the decline and fall of a great cityscape, bathed in pellucid light." 

Andrew is also producing a book on Helen's works, which releases shortly before the opening of the exhibition, and is available to pre-order HERE.

Since graduating from the Royal Academy of Arts in 1978, Helen has exhibited at many prestigious locations, including Scolar Fine Art and the Osborne Samuel Gallery in London's Mayfair.

Her upcoming exhibition at the War Memorial Gallery will feature some of her flagship pieces; The Power Station, The Last Carnival and Brinksway 1979, Before The Motorway.

Helen herself said of the exhibition: "It's 50 years since I sat by the side of the Viaduct painting the mills, 40 years since the power station was untangled and demolished and 30 years since the motorway was completed. 

"Stockport - my home town, with its ever-changing topography - is as inspiring today as it was when I first set out with a sketchbook. 

"I'm delighted to have the opportunity to hold a retrospective exhibition of my work at Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery."

Helen lives in Macclesfield with her husband Ian Pollock.

"In 1975, me and Ian were both living in London," she recalled.

"I missed the landscape of the north west, so chose to move to Macclesfield.

Click the red link below to pre-order the book.

"[It was] near the parents, in the hills, close to the airport, and on the London-line; the silk town of Macclesfield, with its' red brick, low-cost weavers' garrets was an obvious choice in 1984 after life in the rat-race."

Should you wish to support Helen's work, Stockport Art Gallery is just a 12-mile drive north from Macclefsield town centre. 

Cllr Frankie Singleton, cabinet member for culture at Stockport Council, said: "Helen is one of the most exciting artists in the North West today and it's very fitting that her paintings of Stockport will be on display at the War Memorial Art Gallery for local people to enjoy.

"Our time as Greater Manchester Town of Culture has left a lasting legacy and attracting artists of Helen's calibre to the town is fantastic and testament to our reputation as a first-class cultural destination."

A book on Helen's work will also released on September 2.

The exhibition is sponsored by local law firm SAS Daniels, who have offices in both Macclesfield and Stockport.

It has also received funding from Stockport Council and from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Katie Hodson, joint head of SAS Daniels' Stockport office, said: "Sponsoring this landmark exhibition at Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery, local to our Stockport office, is a fitting way to celebrate the town and champion some of Helen Clapcott's most captivating works.

"The gallery has a long history of exhibitions from some of the art world's finest artists, and 'A Portrait of Stockport' will offer a special insight into the entire oeuvre of Helen's career."

The book on Helen's work costs £29.99, and can be pre-ordered HERE.

This article was produced in association with Macclesfield Nub News' sister site Stockport Nub News.