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
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) ANDREA JENKINS: SUMMERTIME
5-11 JUNE, SHAFTESBURY ARTS CENTRE, DORSET
Abstract paintings and collages to celebrate summer.
Whether you gravitate to the beach, fairgrounds, jazz in the park or chilling on hot summer nights in the moonlight, here is art to make you smile, want to play, dance and dream.
2) BLACKDOWN EDGE ARTISTS: A FRESH LOOK
UNTIL 7 JUNE, ILMINSTER ARTS CENTRE, SOMERSET
Exhibition of six artists to include multimedia painters and ceramics: Annie Musgrove, Keith Crocker, Bev Purdue, Alexandra Lavizzari, Joanna Commings and ceramicist Jenny Sutton Kirby – all of whom are inspired by the natural world around them but use very different techniques and approaches to reflect it.
3) BEN RISK, TAKE YOUR LOVE TO TOWN
7-22 JUNE, THAT ART GALLERY, BRISTOL
‘Ben Risk is an emotive teller of stories whose lyrical paintings are bound to memory. Narrating natural and personal histories defined on the surface by lively colour and raw materiality, his reimagined scapes are emotional testaments to the passing of time and expose what it means to be human. Recurrently oneiric and unorthodox, his work always instances reality, either as elaborate, visual chapters informed by what he characterises as a “psychological odyssey to an imagined destination” or as simple, fleeting moments captured on paper.’
Preview: 6pm – 9pm Thurs 6th June
4) CERCARE LA LUCE & JANE SHEPPARD CERAMICS: GROUP SHOW
UNTIL 8 JUNE, DAVID SIMON CONTEMPORARY, CASTLE CARY, SOMERSET
Cercare la Luce features Gareth Edwards RWA, Diana Matthews FRSA and Sue Wales. Gareth is based in St Ives, his latest paintings in this exhibition are based on largely Italian coastal subjects. Contrasting with these ethereal compositions are the more figurative approaches by two painters, Diana Matthews and Sue Wales. Diana Matthews focusses on semi-abstract still life, whilst Sue Wales, moves between all subject matter, from landscape, portraiture to still life and room interiors. Showing at the same time are the ceramics by Jane Sheppard. Jane is now developing larger, sculptural pieces and teaching the ancient heritage skills of hand-coiling and smoke-firing.
5) NIGEL MOORES & GORDON ELLIS: EMERGENCE
15 JUNE – 7 JULY, SOU’-SOU’-WEST GALLERY, BRIDPORT, DORSET
This exhibition aims to encourage the active involvement of the observer in the continuous process of creativity; opening the way to a change of sensibility, so that our approach to life is no longer based on subject/object duality but is a collaborative venture in a field of open possibilities. We are thus a part of rather than apart from. Here, painter and poet interact creatively to give rise to such a field that all are invited to participate in, giving rise to their own creative activity, actual or imagined. In doing so we can take part in the fundamental processes of creation out of which the world and its manifestations arise. As Goethe said:
…through the contemplation of an ever creating nature, we should make ourselves worthy of spiritual participation in her production.
Such an orientation with respect to artistic creation can help us to change our sensibility and relationship to the natural world and contribute towards the renewal we need for humanity and the planet to survive.
6) YINKA SHONIBARE CBE RA: END OF EMPIRE
UNTIL 16 JUNE, THE BOX, PLYMOUTH, DEVON
This large-scale sculpture comments on the balance of power at the outset of the First World War, making a striking visual connection between the conflicts of the West, globalisation and empire. End of Empire depicts two dapper figures with globe heads on a steam-punk seesaw – a symbol of Victorian industrialism. They wear brightly coloured suits made of ‘Dutch wax’ textiles: fabric that tells a story about colonial history, via Indonesian-style batik prints made in Dutch mills and sold to 19th-century Nigeria.
The globe heads represent the two ‘sides’ in the First World War: the British-French allies versus the Austro-Hungarians and Germans. The coloured textile designs indicate the African lands formerly colonised by the Europeans. The First World War witnessed the disappearance of four once-powerful realms – German, Habsburg, Ottoman and Russian. The seesaw swings slowly, constantly rebalancing – a symbol of the move towards this ‘end of empire’.
7) THE LIGHT BENEATH: GROUP SHOW
UNTIL 22 JUNE, BROWNSTON GALLERY, MODBURY, DEVON
This lovely exhibition is showcasing paintings by Jo Vollers and Teresa Pemberton, and also introducing a new artist, Polly Luce. These three inspiring artists show their skill at capturing light which emanates from their paintings, bringing them alive. The vibrant, varied colours they use and the subject matter they’ve each chosen is perfect for this time of year. A truly joyous exhibition, not to be missed.
LAST CHANCE TO SEE
- UNTIL 2 JUNE: PETE HOIDA: BLACK SEVERN ANGEL An exhibition featuring new works by Helen Barff, Katherine Perrins and Denise Webber. CENTRESPACE GALLERY, BRISTOL https://museuminthepark.org.uk/black-severn-angel-paintings-by-pete-hoida
WATCH OUT FOR
- MIRRORS FOG OVER WHEN I BREATHE: GROUP SHOW 7-19 JUNE A showcase of works from 1993 to 2022 chosen by his widow. MUSEUM IN THE PARK, STROUD https://www.centrespace.org.uk/whats-on/mirrors-fog-over-when-i-breathe
- FRINGE ARTS BATH: VARIOUS VENUES in BATH UNTIL 9 JUNE A two-week festival of contemporary visual art exhibitions, events and workshops during Bath Fringe Festival.
www.bathfringe.co.uk - KAREN HOWSE: DUNS-LAND DRAWING WITH TREE SHADOWS UNTIL 15 JUNE This exhibition is a gathering of drawings, monoprints and experiments made over the 5 years Karen Howse has been re-visiting this NT Parkland Dunsland. PLOUGH ARTS CENTRE, GREAT TORRINGTON, DEVON https://www.theploughartscentre.org.uk/exhibition/duns-land-drawing-tree-shadows#
The Floating Circle 