What’s on in Art and Photography

Photo Communale (c) VisitBritain

Art in Yorkshire is a celebration of visual arts taking place throughout nineteen Yorkshire galleries until late October 2011. With the support of the Tate, over 100 works from Tate’s Collection of contemporary art will be showcased at these galleries, along with more exhibitions and events in order to encourage people to get a feel for the variety of public art galleries across Yorkshire, including the brand new gallery, The Hepworth Wakefield, which opens its doors on 21 May 2011. Watch this space for news on the Art in Yorkshire iPhone app, coming soon.

York Sculpture Park’s Longside Gallery is hosting the Structure & Material exhibit from 31 March – 26 June 2011. This Arts Council Collection exhibition explores the work of three artists who investigate the meaning generated by diverse and unlikely materials such as cosmetics, sugar paper, blackboard paint, brass hinges and turned wood. Running concurrently is the Henry Moore exhibition in the Longside Gallery Project Space, which further accentuates the focus on sculpture in Yorkshire.

This year, York’s Open Studios has been extended to two weekends, 1-3 April and 8-10 April, with 119 of York’s professional artists opening their homes and studios to the public. Visitors to the event can browse and buy diverse artwork, chat informally to artists and sometimes watch the artist at work.

Artists Open Houses in May 2011 is the 30th anniversary of the event, which will see over 1,500 artists exhibit their work in 250 venues across the city, including in their own homes and studios. The Open Houses Festival began all those years back when local painter Ned Hoskins opened his house to the public.

Arts charity Zap Art is producing a transnational street art event this July in Newhaven as part of a two year project with renowned French street theatre company Generik Vapeur. More info to come in April.

A brand new Muhammad Ali photography exhibit by David King is open through 29 April at the Lucy Bell Fine Art Photography Gallery. The images were taken at his training camp in the Pennsylvania Mountains in 1974 when Ali was preparing for his legendary world heavyweight title fight against George Foreman, held later that year in Kinshasa, Zaire (and which, of course, Ali won).

The Free Range 2011 Art & Design show at the Old Truman Brewery from 2 June – 25 July is the UK’s largest graduate talent exhibition in art and design. The eight week showcase of British talent is now in its eleventh year, and will incorporate the brand new Moving Image category, as well as Fashion and Design, launched at last year’s show. These join photography, art, graphic design and interior design at the event which attracts over 100,000 visitors to work by graduate students from around the UK. Look out for fashion shows and weekly changing exhibits.

The Brixton-based Viewfinder gallery focuses on work by emerging art photographers in South London, Richmix showcases monthly exhibitions of up-and-coming artists in east London, while Café 1001 in the Truman Brewery hosts Showcase London on the first and third Wednesday of each month from 5:30-11:30pm.

East London’s hotspot, The Book Club, is set to exhibit photos from German-born, London-based photographer Michael Hess’ popular book Bingo & Social Club, published last year and features in several national newspapers who lauded Hess as one of photography’s rising stars.

Billed as the Warhol of his generation, artist Dave White will present his Americana exhibit from 11-30 April at The Coningsby Gallery, London. This new body of work, inspired by the iconic imagery of the Western Frontier, explores American heritage and the spirit of the West on large scale oil paintings and watercolour on paper.

The South London Art Map has now launched a fully interactive website for art fans to plan a journey to visit the galleries involved in the groundbreaking South London project in Deptford, Bankside or Peckham. The website also has information on Late Fridays, after-parties hosted at the three following art galleries in South London: New Gallery in Peckham, the Old Police Station in Deptford and Beaconsfield in Vauxhall.

Tucked away in a cleft between the cliffs in the salty fishing village of Staithes in the furthest corner of North East Yorkshire is the delightful Staithes Gallery, according to Jill Turton, Tripbod in York. The gallery showcases for contemporary art inspired by the sea and the wild landscape of the Yorkshire coast. The gallery hosts a constantly changing selling exhibition but peaks in April (8th-25th) with the popular annual Lifeboat Show in support of the RNLI and the Staithes lifeboat. The work of some 30 artists will be on display including Paul and Chris Czainski whose witty trompe l’oeil work decorates the homes of rock stars and Russian oligarchs; Ian Burke, Head of the Drawing Schools at Eton College, along with David Curtis, Baz Ward, Rob Shaw and others.
***Jill Turton Tripbod York, Author of food blog www.squidbeak.org

According to Cumbria & The Lake District TripBod Zoe, Abbot Hall, Kendal is the best collection of contemporary art in the area including works by Hockney, Freud, Kurt Schwitters, Hepworth, Lowry, Frink, many of the St Ives School plus 18th & 19th century art works… all housed in an elegant 1750s Grade I Listed building. Current Exhibition: ‘Drawn From Life’ One of the largest international exhibitions that Abbot Hall has hosted to date, bringing together works by over 40 artists from a wide geographical spectrum – South Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Europe and the US – juxtaposing work by international contemporary artists with Abbot Hall’s collection of 18th – 20th century British art.
***Zoe Tripbod Cumbria & Lake District, Quirky Traveller tours