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 – including a look ahead to upcoming features….
AT THE RWA
These Mad Hybrids: John Hoyland and Contemporary Sculpture
Until 12 May 2024
The exhibition positions a group of ceramic sculptures made by abstract painter John Hoyland RA in dialogue with a spectacular, international, assembly of contemporary sculpture by artists including Phyllida Barlow and Hew Locke. A display of paintings by Hoyland shows the dynamic connection between his sculptures and paintings.
Curated by sculptor Olivia Bax in collaboration with Sam Cornish and Wiz Patterson Kelly of The John Hoyland Estate, the exhibition is inspired by a group of unique ceramic sculptures by Hoyland, which he affectionately called his “mad little hybrids.” This is the first public display of the ceramics since 1994, and their first presentation alongside Hoyland’s abstract paintings from the 1960s to 2010s.
Rasheed Araeen: Conscious Forms
25 May – 11 August 24
As part of a triple bill of exhibitions honouring global majority artists, the RWA brings the pioneering work of Rasheed Araeen to Bristol for the first time. An impressive array of Araeen’s bright, abstract sculptures will fill the RWA daylit galleries. More info
Windrush: Portraits of a Pioneering Generation
25 May – 11 August 24
Commemorating the 75th anniversary of HMT Empire Windrush’s arrival in Britain, Windrush: Portraits of a Pioneering Generation is a display of ten portraits, highlighting the experiences of people who have made positive contributions to the United Kingdom. More info
Image top: © Amy Sherald. Photograph: Royal Collection Trust. Edna Henry, 2023.
Valda Jackson: Miss Polly
25 May – 11 August 24
Valda Jackson: Miss Polly, showcases a powerful and evocative installation by esteemed writer and artist Valda Jackson MBE RWA. This thought-provoking exhibition, featuring spoken word, text, sculpture, and painting, delves into the realms of neurological research and the concept of the ‘unfinished brain.’ More info
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Compiled by Sue Quirk and Laurel Smart
1) IONE PARKIN: OPEN STUDIO
4-12 MAY, LARKHALL FESTIVAL, BATH
As part of the Larkhall Festival Ione Parkin opens her studio. Ione Parkin’s large scale paintings express her fascination about the early formation of the universe: massive clouds of cosmic dust; vast webs of colour and shimmering light; solar dynamics; luminous visions of immensity. Her richly texture mixed-media works on paper are inspired by planetary surfaces, extremes of temperature and geological process – resembling samples of the undiscovered terrain of distant moons.
2) GAYLE CHONG KWAN: A POCKET FULL OF SAND
UNTIL 11 MAY, JOHN HANSARD GALLERY, SOUTHAMPTON
Exploring colonial histories, geology and ecological deep time, A Pocket Full of Sand unearths both historic and contemporary connections between Mauritius and the Isle of Wight. The artist connects her research of the islands with political and physical structures of power, labour, leisure, childhood and play. The exhibition comprises a multipart installation bringing together moving image, photography and sculpture. Moving images permeate the presentation, depicting sand sculptures emulating colonial architecture in Mauritius. A large-scale composite panorama gives micro and macro perspectives on deep time, colonial history, and contemporary treatment of immigrants, whilst new sculptural objects made from bagasse (a by-product of sugar production), further evokes colonial power and its symbols. Layers of time and geological strata and are revealed through references to the coloured earth and sand in Mauritius and Alum Bay on the Isle of Wight.
3) NICK MOORE: FIREMUSIC
UNTIL 12 MAY, RUSKIN MILL, NAILSWORTH, GLOS
Started in 2019, these small, dynamic works in acrylic on canvas are rooted in earth colours. They continue to explore black as an energy; solid-seeming, fractured and molten. The exhibition title and those of the individual paintings align them with Nick’s practice as an improvising musician.
The canvases embody the sensuousness and physicality of painting, the embedded textures give added depth and feeling. They have a sense of scale that bely their size, emerging from spontaneity, combining the elements of chance and deliberation; what in music John Cage talked about as ‘considered improvisation’.
4) MATILDA TEMPERLEY, UNDER THE SURFACE: SOMERSET FLOODS – TEN YEARS ON
UNTIL 19 MAY, SOMERSET RURAL LIFE MUSEUM, GLASTONBURY, SOMERSET
‘Under the Surface’ is a display of photographs by renowned Somerset-based photographer Matilda Temperley, reflecting on ten years since the devastating floods of 2013-14. It will feature photographs from her sell out publication ‘Under the Surface: Somerset Floods’, alongside previously unpublished colour photograph taken during that winter. Also on display will be newly commissioned photographs, which will reflect on changes to the Somerset landscape over the past decade.
5) BETWEEN THE LINES: GROUP EXHIBITION
UNTIL 20 MAY, ART GALLERY & STUDIO BY AGA KUBISH, WESTON-SUPER-MARE
Opening Art Exhibition in new gallery featuring: Aga Kubish ARE, Marta Hutt, Gail Reid, Ian Shipton, Frank Harwood, Ruth White, Ruth Baker, Susannah Crook, Anna Brzezinska.
6) LAURA CALVERT: ROSA
24-29 MAY, CENTRESPACE GALLERY, BRISTOL
Laura is an abstract mixed media painter, invested in centring emotional experiences in her work. She uses imagery as a visual language for expression and examination of inner worlds. Laura often paints on a large scale, on the floor, in an embodied practice. This approach creates spaces and surfaces where the invisible, ephemeral, (feeling) worlds are given physicality and form. Laura has been investigating the meeting point of expression and process through her work for over 20 years. This exhibition explores the unique grief of baby loss. Laura will be running an expressive painting workshop at the gallery on Sunday 26th May 3.30 – 5pm.
7) ANITA MANDL & STEVE RUSSELL: ANIMALIA
UNTIL 2 JUNE, NATURE IN ART, TWIGWORTH, GLOS
An inspiring display of sculpture by Anita Mandl and photography by Steve Russell, in collaboration with Gallery Pangolin, Stroud. Where would we be in a world without animals and birds? Their beauty astounds, their diversity is myriad. Both Anita Mandl and Steve Russell celebrate these in their very different ways. The animal world Mandl carves and casts is tightly hewn in form bringing to life the essential character of her avian and mammalian subjects. Russell explores wildlife large and small with the knowledge of their place into an ecological jigsaw puzzle of immense complexity.
Born in Prague, Mandl (1926-2022) trained as a zoologist and studied sculpture at the Birmingham College of Art. She was a Member of the Royal West of England Academy and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Sculptors. Her carvings, mostly in stone, are cast into editions in bronze and silver. Her deep knowledge of animal anatomy and behaviour informed her sculptures which are skilfully pared down to convey the very nature of a species. Their economy of language, their smooth and lustrous surfaces, together express the essential characteristics of an animal.
Preview Thursday 9 May 6.30-8.30.
LAST CHANCE TO SEE
- UNTIL 4 MAY: MATTHEW HAYWARD: AQUA Water, with its comfort and danger as well as the sometimes terrible lack of it, is the focus of this exhibition. GUGGLETON FARM ARTS, STALBRIDGE, DORSET https://www.guggletonfarmarts.com/
WATCH OUT FOR
- PETE HOIDA: BLACK SEVERN ANGEL 4 MAY – 2 JUNE A showcase of works from 1993 to 2022 chosen by his widow. MUSEUM IN THE PARK, STROUD https://museuminthepark.org.uk/black-severn-angel-paintings-by-pete-hoida
- REBECCA PARTRIDGE: THE GLOW OF HOURS UNTIL 11 MAY A collection of paintings including a new series of small works made in response to the local Devon landscape. THELMA HULBERT GALLERY, HONITON, DEVON https://www.thelmahulbert.com/?q=exhibitions
- UPFEST BRISTOL: STREET ART AND GRAFITTI FESTIVAL 17 MAY – 2 JUNE New 17 day cultural programme in 2024. BRISTOL BS3 https://www.upfest.co.uk/
The Floating Circle 