The best art exhibitions coming up in Bristol and the Westcountry – selected by the Friends of the RWA…
Here’s our pick of the best art exhibitions and events happening in and around Bristol and the south west in the month ahead – including a look ahead to upcoming features….
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Compiled by Sue Quirk and Laurel Smart
1) JACK DAVIS: THE ZENNOR SERIES
3-26 FEBRUARY, LIVINGSTONE ST IVES CLIFTON GALLERY
This exhibition grew out of Jack’s obsession with capturing the exquisite and dramatic North Coast in the far west of Cornwall, between the beaches of Sennen Cove and Porthmeor in St. Ives. It revels in the beauty of Cornwall in all its moods and moments – landscapes reflecting the intense colour of the autumnal bracken, seascapes exploring the wild moorland stretching to the west of St. Ives, and dizzying skyscapes which sweep the viewer off their feet and into the tumultuous clouds.
2) BRIDGETTE ASHTON: ARTIFICIALIA
19 FEBRUARY – 5 MARCH, NEWLYN ART GALLERY, CORNWALL
This exhibition explores questions of replica and reimagining. A display case of what appear to be elaborately presented geological specimens, reveal themselves as imitations of mineral-like objects. An integrated digital work incorporates the physical qualities of the sculptures into a virtual, tactile experience, inviting interaction from the viewer.
3) THE ART OF BRIAN RICE: SIXTY YEARS OF PAINTING AND PRINTS
UNTIL 26 FEBRUARY, THE MUSEUM OF SOMERSET, TAUNTON
There are more than 30 vibrant abstract works by the painter-printmaker who was born in Somerset but made an international name for himself in 1960s London. The exhibition features works from throughout Brian Rice’s career. They range from his early days at Yeovil School of Art and Goldsmiths College, to his time as part of the booming London art scene. Later works reflect his fascination with local archaeology. The exhibition also explores the artist’s life as a teacher, his passion for cycling and the time he spent as a sheep farmer.
4) BODIES IN SPACE: GROUP EXHIBITION CURATED BY BEN BORTHWICK
UNTIL 26 FEBRUARY, MIRROR, PLYMOUTH
Bodies in Space presents work by artists using the figure in painting and drawing to question and understand how we occupy, move through and negotiate the public and private spaces of daily life. The exhibition also reflects how figurative painting and drawing becomes more visible at times of wider social and political change.
Some artists in this show use the figure in allegorical ways while others treat the figure as an apparition emerging from abstraction. In spite of these differences in approaches, the disjunction between the body, space and time is a common thread across works and forms the basis of this exhibition. Artists are Nicola Bealing, Flo Brooks, Andrea Büttner, Andrew Pierre Hart, Nick Jensen, Claudette Johnson, Joy Labinjo, Bruno Pacheco.
5) SONGLINES: TRACKING THE SEVEN SISTERS – GROUP EXHIBITION
UNTIL 27 FEBRUARY, THE BOX, PLYMOUTH
The National Museum of Australia’s award-winning exhibition comes to The Box this winter. Experience ancient stories from the world’s oldest continuing culture, told through more than 300 paintings and objects by over 100 different artists. Take an epic journey that crosses three states, three deserts and some 500,000 square kilometres. With ceramics, paintings, sculpture, installation and film, come and immerse yourself in an exhibition that uses the power of art and culture to connect us across time zones and international borders.
6) CHARLES POULSEN: MEDITATIONS IN A SQUARE
UNTIL 27 FEBRUARY, MESSUMS WILTSHIRE, TISBURY
The drawings start with the square sheet of paper and a drawn square frame within. The square is chosen for its stability, calmness and because there is not the same association with landscape or the portrait of a rectangle. They are more about energy than any particular subject matter – the invisible energies, the internal organic forces of growth, the forces which drive the winds and currents the energies within the earth. They are often drawn to music as the musical language of harmony, melody, rhythm and form has a very close relationship to the language of his drawings.
7) RADIANCE 2022
UNTIL 5 MARCH, SLADERS YARD, WEST BAY, DORSET
An eclectic feast of n artists plus new invited artists which includes paintings, ceramics and bronze sculpture by Daisy Cook; Julia Cooper; Isabel Coulton; Parastoo Ganjei; Andrew Lansley; Peter Lloyd-Jones; Mungo Powney; Yuta Segawa; Mike Service; and Frances Watts.
LAST CHANCE TO SEE
- UNTIL 1 FEBRUARY: LET THE MAGIC HAPPEN: MIXED WINTER EXHIBITION Winter exhibition is full of beautiful paintings, sculpture, ceramics and jewellery from the Brownston artists and designers. THE BROWNSTON GALLERY, MODBURY, DEVON https://www.brownstonart.com/exhibitions/26-let-the-magic-happen/overview/
- UNTIL 3 FEBRUARY: KIM PIFFY: “I AM PIFFY” Each of the eight exhibited artworks, one tapestry and seven collages, represents a pivotal moment in a figurative journey towards self-awareness. CENTRESPACE, BRISTOL http://www.centrespacegallery.com/exhibitions/
WATCH OUT FOR…
- MYTHS AND MONSTERS: MULTIPLE CONTRIBUTORS: UNTIL 27 FEBRUARY Family-friendly exhibition is a fun continuation of the 2017 Here Be Dragons extravaganza. VICTORIA ART GALLERY, BATH https://www.victoriagal.org.uk/events/myths-and-monsters
- IMPRESSIONS ON PAPER: 4 FEB – 1 MAR Showcase of a group of original, signed works on paper by Francis Bacon, etchings by Lucien Freud, Henry Moore, John Nash, Ben Nicholsonand Graham Sutherland figurative engravings by Maynard Hales, characteristic still life and interiors by Steven Hubbard; and rare early etchings by Margaret Lovell. DAVID SIMON CONTEMPORARY, CASTLE CARY https://www.davidsimoncontemporary.com/exhibitions/17-impressions-on-paper/overview/
If you would like an exhibition or artist to be listed please email laurel.smart@blueyonder.co.uk for consideration.
The Floating Circle 