Galleries and Exhibitions

Leeds City Art Gallery

Visiting Leeds City Art Gallery has given me the opportunity to look at a wide range of different works, from a number of well known artists. These include the artists, Francis Bacon, John Sell Cotman, Henry Moore, David Dye and many more. Within the Cotman collection (Shelter from the Storm) the gallery holds almost 900 watercolour, drawings and prints. John Sell Cotman [1782-1842] was one of the original and most important watercolour painters in the 19th century. Cotman is greatly knows for his watercolours representing Yorkshire, Shelter from the Storm, for the first time in a generation presents some of Cotman's finest watercolours in the Leeds collection as well as hundreds of the artists sketchbook drawings that have previously never been exhibited.

West Front of St Botolph's Llyn Ogwen, North Wales 1823 West Front of St Botolph's

Priory, Colchester, Essex 1811 Priory, Colchester, Essex 1804

The pieces that stood out to me the most within this collection where the three that I have attached. West Front of St Botolph's Priory, Colchester, Essex 1811 is my first, made using ink on woven paper. Ruins held a powerful place in the Romantic imagination, the small watercolour is Cotman's earliest image of St Botolph's Priory which he first visited in 1804. the second image is Llyn Ogwen, North Wales 1823, this piece is Sepia wash on woven paper. Cotman visited Llyn Ogwen while touring Wales in 1800 and 1802. The watercolour reflects a view from the south shore of the lake Llyn Ogwen over Elidir Fawr and Carnedd y Filiast. The final image is West Front of St Botolph's Priory, Colchester, Essex 1804, made up of Graphite and watercolour on woven paper.

Scotlan for Ever! 1881

I also chose the piece Scotland for Ever! 1881 by, Elizabeth Butler [1846-1933]. Created using Oil on canvas, Butler painted The Battle of Waterloo, 1815, She declared that: 'I never painted for the glory of war, but to portray its pathos and heroism' [1922]. I chose this piece especially as I am amazed at the amount of detail Butler has captured with the use of oil, also, although she had never witnessed the war first hand, her marriage to an army officer gave her access to the parade ground which other female painters did not have access to.

Finally I wanted to include images of the outstanding painting Xanadu 2017-2023. Painted by the artist Lothar Götz [b1963], also a current lecture at the University of Sunderland. Known well for his large-scale wall paintings and three-dimensional, architectural displays, that are identified with the use of vibrant colours. Götz striking painting links the ground and first floor galleries, welcoming visitors up to the new collection display How the Light Gets In.

Hull Ferns Art Gallery

The Ferns Art Gallery has a spectacular collection of sculptures and paintings. Works from European Old Master, portraiture, marine painting, and modern and contemporary British art. Holding the works of artists such as Lorenzetti, Frans Hals, Antonio Canaletto, David Hockney, Anrea Büttner, Hurvin Anderson and more. I was amazed by a number of pieces that were held at the Ferns but, I chose three pieces I wanted to add to my blog. Firstly I chose Duck and Daisy 2015 by the artist Andrea Büttner [b1972], I chose this piece specifically because it was the first piece of work that captured my eye in the gallery. Duck and Daisy was created using woodcut and Diptych, both of the prints each measuring at 70 7/8 x 48 7/16 inches (180 x 123 cm). Büttners draws inspiration from the artist Ernst Barlach sculpture Verhüllte Bettlerin (Cloaked Beggerwoman), 1919. Translating the kneeling figure across a number of nine woodblock prints. Using the element of outstretched arms, suggesting shame and redemption. The character also makes refrences to St Francis of Assis who gave up material wealth and adopted a simple life.

Duck and Daisy, 2015

Hurvin Anderson [1965] is an artist who produces paintings and drawings which enclose landscape, portraiture and still life. For Turner Prize 2017, Anderson presents a variety of new paintings, which include Greensleeves, 2017 and Ascension, 2017. These painting bring together a mixture of visual references , which are his childhood in Birmingham, a tree near his South London Studio, and a scene remembered from a recent visit to Jamaica. Anderson paints places that combine what he hopes to see, find and remember, as well as ones he hoped will surprise him. By drawing elements familiar to him, as well as those newly discovered and those unknown, he reworks and combines images to produce a unique sense of place. I captured pictures of the pieces Last House 2013, and Greensleeves 2017 as they where the two that made me want to look closer. Both produced using Oil and acrylic on linen.

Last House, 2013 Greensleeves, 2017

BALTIC Center for Contemporary Art

On my visit to he BALTIC I was given the opportunity to view a number of artists work such as, Sofia Stevi, Susan Philipsz and Edgar Arceneaux. Within the BALTIC there is also a exhibition of work, that has been running from the 20th of October 2017 up untill the 21st of January 2018. The exhibition brings together the work of nine artists which confront the problems of racism, poverty, war, and gender and economic inequality. Starless Midnight, includes the work of Barby Asante, Season Butker, Louis Cameron, Karon Davis, Charles Gaines, Micol Hebron, Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle, Ashley Holmes and Cauleen Smith. Some of the work was made new especially for the exhibition.

The first room entering the exhibition holds Karon Davis' Waiting Room 2016, recreated for the exhibition, Davis has recreated a medical centre space that stops you before viewing any other work. Influenced by the new world-reaching directives and the 'Brexit' negotiations that President Trump issued, Waiting Room reflects a global state of uncertainty, and the space was modelled on a hospital-bound world. The recreation reflects a space, occupying a realm somewhere between reality and hallucination, between life and death.

Waiting Room, 2016

Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle creates work that is deeply researched and investigates the historical and contemporary perceptions of the Black female body, this is to question the construction of race and sexuality. On show here is a large selectin of an on going series named The Evanesced, consisting of 150 drawings, paintings and performances, the series brings light to 64,0000 missing Black women in America and throughout the African diaspora , from history to the present day. Hinkle's 'un-portraits' are all drawn using hand maid bushes while the artist danced to blues, hip-hop and Baltimore Club music, in the middle of real and imagined narratives representing thousands of Black women who have disappeared due to human trafficing, homocide, and colonialism.

The Evanesced 2016

Michol Hebron launched Gallery Tally in 2013, a global project which participants tracked the paticipation and representation of women in art galleries and museums, creating posters for a display. For Starless Midnight, Hebron has made a new Gallery Tally, collating current data for arts institutions and artists in the UK. Inviting local and internationl artists to make a visualisation of this data to inform the designs for posters that have filled the wall of the exhibition. The most important aspect of the project is that it relies upon the contributions of the local artists to populate Hebron's database. It is stated also that if your are a member of the public and are interested to participate , that you ask a member of staff, as new poster are being created and will be added throughout the course of the exhibition.

Gallery Tally 2013-present

Finally I want to add in the work of Sofia Stevi [b1982]. The exhibition turning forty winks into a decade has been running at the BALTIC from the 15th of december 2017 and is there untill the 22nd of April 2018. Stevi makes paintings, sculpture, books, works on paper, and installations. Stevi's work is influenced by literature, philosophy and the everyday, bringing together a wide range of references, from writings of Victorian poet Christina Rossetti. The artists work is often deeply personal, exploring her desires and dreams, moving back and forth from real and imaginary. Stevi's work is built up of bold colours, capturing fleshy fruits and soft body contours with a cartoon-like expressiveness. Created with Japanese ink on untreated cotton fabric, pinned to the wall or stretched over frames, the works bring to mind the domestic but contain a charged eroticism.

The Biscuit Factory

The Biscuit Factory is located in Newcastle's cultural quarter and is the UK's largest independent art, craft and design gallery. Based in a former victorian warehouse, they exhibit and sell artwork from more that 200 artists a season. The gallery holds not only artwork for your home but also sell handcrafted jewellery. On my visit I was able to look around The Winter Exhibition, which is running from the 17th of November 2017 until the 18th of February 2018. The exhibition showcased a range f contemporary fine art, craft and design work from more than 200 artists.

The artist Judith Appleby was the artist who first caught my eye as I entered the second floor, her pieces Redesdale Ridge And Furrow and The Cheviot From near Otterburn. Both works are Acrylic on canvas, I admire the style of Appleby's paintings as they are simple yet affective, the way that she has added the paint to the canvas, focusing on colour and line rather than great detail. I believe that the choice of a black frame around the canvas has also allowed the light colours within the painting to jump out, emphasising the white snow on the hills and fields in the landscape.

The Cheviot from near Otterburn Redesdale Ridge and Furrow

Acrylic on canvas, 100 x 70 cm Acrylic on canvas, 100 x 70 cm

Anthony Marshall was born in Newcastle Upon Tyne in 1952, his work reflects his love of colour and design, with subject matter across the artistic spectrum, from figurative through to landscape. His influences are diverse however, all are grounded in colour. Marshall presents the world from his quirky perspective. Drawing his inspiration from the observations of his everyday life, his style is unusual and distinctive. Adding bold colour into everyday scenes. He is known for his individual rendering of colour where naturalism is substituted for bold, bright colour.

The piece I chose out of Marshall's collection is Alvinos, using bold colours he has managed to create an abstract image that shows a high street, with a bar, coffee shop, black poles, board sign, and a figure entering one of the shops. I appreciate the work as it focuses mainly on colour and not the image yet is also wanting the viewers to think about the image as you have to look closer to put the image together. I believe Marshall has thought deeply about what colours he was going to use and where he was going to add it. Some of the paint has been added hard and and made to look like a block, others have been layered to create texture.

Alvinos

Acrylic on canvas board, 44 x 54 cm

Lastly I chose the work of the landscape artist Ian Mitchell, I chose this artist as automatically I noticed a conecction with my own work. Using sketches and images Mitchell refines and reduces the source material down to minimalist forms and shapes. discarding clutter and using artist licences as he goes. Focusing on landscapes, natural scenery, and man made landscapes.

I was drawn into Mitchell's work instantly as the appearance of his work looks very similar to the style of work am creating at the moment. I chose the piece's Towards The Baltic, and Saltburn Pier, as one is a man made landscape showing the Quayside in Newcastle, focusing on the Tyne Bridge and Gateshead Millennium Bridge, and the other is focusing on a more natural landscape being the beach. I like the style of Mitchell's work as he is emphasising the colours that are involved in the work by using solid block colour. Removing any form of detail, focusing on shape , colour and line.

Towards The Baltic Saltburn Pier

Digital Print (Archival), 420 x 297 mm Digital Print (Archival), 420 x 297 mm

BALTIC Centre For Contemporary Art

When visiting the Baltic I was able to see the works of three different artists, on the ground floor was Lubaina Himid, with Our Kisses are Petals. Second floor was Serena Korda, Missing Time. Third floor was Jasmina Cibic, THIS MACHINE BUILDS NATIONS.

Lubaina Himid is a British artist and curator, her work gives a platform to creative individuals who have been, or are, persistently marginalised. Our Kissers are petals is a selection of traditional patterns and motifs of East African Kanga flags combined with mottos. There is also a flag which is located on top of the BALTIC's roof, which is mirrored from these, in commission for the Great Exhibition od the North from the 22nd of June. The is also a section which Himid has used three walls to paint the quote 'our kisses are petals, our tongues, caress the bloom' as shown below. Himids's exhibition echoes the outdoor commission, , taking traditional Kanga patterns and mixing them with slogans to create a shared environment where visitors are invited to rearrange the placement flags within the gallery, using a fully system. I admire that Himid have brought in social context within the gallery, welcoming viewers to join in and become part of the art when rearranging the flags.

Second floor held the exhibition Missing Time, from the artist Serena Korda, who is interested in various ways we think about ourselves in relation to the world. Working with performance, sound and sculpture, she considers how communion, tradition and ritual shape our lives. In the exhibition was a patterned rug, which ontop had two chairs oposite to one another in the corner of the rug. There were also three small, what looked to be cushions that you sit on, in one coner of the rug and at the oposite corner there were two other cushions. There was a wall which held four large ceramic dish-shaped portals, these four where spotlighted to allow you to see the cracks and colours. On another wall was four more large ceramic dish-shaped portals that where spotlighted so that you could see the use of colour inside of them, this time there was also speakers attached to the walls facing into the portals. Sound was being played out of the speakers and into the room, I imagine bouncing off of the portals. Suggesting they where creating the sound. Korda was drawn to the concrete acoustic sound irrors that dot the North East coastline - used to detect the sound of enemy planes until they invented radar - and the sound of stars from the dark skies of Northumberland that are onlu audible with specific radio devices. Inspire by these different wasy's of listening to these sounds is the reason behind why Korda created these series of large ceramic dish-shaped portals, which act as sound resonators. I liked how when I was walking around the room I was able to listen to the sounds and look at the different patterns and colours used inside the portals, which made me feel although the sound was indeed coming from them.

Fourth floor held the exhibition THIS MACHINE BUILDS NTIONS, which brings together film, sculpture, performance and instillation. Cibic explores how art, architecture and political rhetoric come together to be used in the name of the nation. This exhibition is a site-specific instillation that showcases the three films of her latest Nada trilogy, presented for the first time in the UK. Her instillation, photographs and films are often populated by female figures. Not always speaking, they dance, decorate and proclaim. Within this exhibition Cibic has used a number of different rooms, the largest holding a large screen which a woman and mad dance, a long bench which people are allowed to come in and sit and the walls around you are covered from floor to ceiling with colourful curtains all the way round the far two walls other walls are painted black. When leaving that room you can walk down the long walk way, with a colourful ceiling, black walls and at the end you have a large metal sculpture or another way which takes you straight to the entrance of the exhibition. Here is has another two metal sculptures, one stating 'nothing that you fear, everything that you desire' the other 'everything we do today will look heroic in the future'. The first thing you see when you walk into the exhibition is the large wall which has been covered with an image and a number of different quotes/inspirational sayings. I liked how this exhibition was mainly in the dark, the light almost became the work, especially when walking down the dark hall way with he ceiling made up of pink and orange lights.

Emma Wallace

Art Blog