Art in the Sun: August 9-10 (final weekend)

Yesterday I went along to the Art in the Sun exhibition in Ingsdon, Newton Abbot. The exhibition features the work of five artists in a barn and in the surrounding woodlands and is well worth a visit. It includes Ben Yates' studio where you can see his electronic creations. When I visited, Ben kindly spent some time explaining to me how he creates these pieces and answering my questions.

Ben Yates (at TAAG)

I've previously seen Ben's awesome creations when he was exhibiting at TAAG, and posted some photos in my blog. In the current exhibition you can also see a number of his clever photocubism pieces - photographs combined with wood cubes of varying depths (are they still cubes?) - unusual and nicely executed work.

'Photocubism' by Ben Yates

There is also some beautiful sculpture and mixed media work by Luci Coles; and op art (mainly different diamond configurations) by Bob Bruce.

Luci Coles

The other artists are Harbz, who brings a touch of urban grit to the exhibition, and stained glass pieces by Amy McCarthy.

Amy McCarthy (Yarner Woods)

This is a fascinating mix of work displayed in an idyllic setting, when the sun is shining. I only hope that this weekend remains dry and that people get the chance to get along and see it.

The location is just beyond the turning for Hannah's, on the A383 out of Newton Abbot - so you could easily combine this with a visit to the absorbing exhibition of digital work by Michael Takeo Magruder at Hannah's. I'll be posting about this shortly.

Reflect Crediton Exhibition - ends Saturday 9 August

I went to Crediton today and visited the exhibition 'Reflect Crediton' which features the works of Tim Backhouse, Paul McCullough and Nicci Wonnacott. To quote from Tim Backhouse in the Crediton Courier: "The work is based upon social, historical and cultural aspects of Crediton and touches upon a wide variety of themes such as the Link Road, World War One and aesthetic considerations in and around Crediton.” It is an installation-based show including film, sound, sculpture and drawings.

It's been some time since I was in Crediton and there have been some significant changes. The town seems quite vibrant and less shabby than I remember. But it also has a massive Tesco store on its doorstep and a ring road which is not yet open. As an outsider, I can see that these developments are likely to have been contentious - and this forms one of the themes explored in the show.

When you enter the old town hall, which is now the town museum, there is an exhibit marking the anniversary of the first world war and reflecting the involvement of people from Crediton. The 'Reflect' exhibition flows on from this, starting with a 'WAR DECLARED' banner and a moving video of wounded soldiers returning from the front, overlaid with a modern soundtrack of children at play.

The main hall contains a number of works by each of the exhibitors. The hall is dominated by a 30ft nude by Paul McCullough - a 'panoramic drawing which echoes the rolling hills, valleys, hidden woodlands and open fields of the Mid-Devon landscape'. It is a beautifully executed work.

Another McCulloch work explores people's feelings about the routeing of the Crediton bypass:

Amongst her four works on show, Nicci Wonnacott is showing her contribution to the Neoreplicants exhibition at Exeter Phoenix - a representation of 'The Woman in White' decorated with the 'white man's bones' and invoking the Ghost (and Death) of Capitalism:

Another piece is 'White Rocks, the Borderline':

But my favourite piece of Nicci's is 'White Rags, MH17-298, Homage to the innocent victims of war':

Tim Backhouse was stewarding on the day I visited and I am grateful for his insights. The most striking of his works is the film showing a continuous journey around the unopened Crediton bypass which is accompanied by opera playing on an old record player. The film is mesmerising, the more so because the highs and lows of the operatic soundtrack appear to accompany the action in a meaningful way, even though they are not synchronised.

In all, this is an excellent and thought-provoking exhibition. If you get the chance to catch it over the next few days, then I commend it to you ... and you can enjoy a day out in Crediton, like I did today.

Art Installation and Open Evening at St Olave's, Exeter

Wednesday's open evening at the St Olaves art installation was a big success, thanks mainly to the efforts of the organisers, Katie Scott-Hamilton, and Jon Curtis of Venture FX. The exhibitors, Katie, Ruth Carpenter, Karen Tarr, Clare Heaton, Judy Harington, and I produced work in response to the space and history of the church, along with aspects of faith and religion. The exhibition guide, including artist statements, is reproduced here.

The exhibition open evening (Katie centre)

At the open evening over 100 people took the opportunity to mingle with the artists and look at the art on show in this small church at the top of Fore Street in Exeter (details here). The exhibition is only on for three days, from Thursday to Saturday, so drop in between 11am and 4pm if you'd like to see more of our work. Here's a selection of photos:

Judy Harington's pill curtain at the entrance to the church

Pictures hanging either side of the chancel screen by Karen Tarr

Katie Scott-Hamilton staircase work

Katie Scott-Hamilton

Judy's cross of pills

Judy

Karen Tarr's modern day Olaf relics

Ruth Carpenter's portraits

Katie's work (centre)

Ruth's photographs

Clare Heaton

Clare's 'Knowledge' & 'Messenger'

View across the nave - Work by Katie, Steve and Ruth

Judy's 'The Book'

Judy's crosses and Ruth's portrait

Post-exhibition update: There were 200+ visitors during the open evening and the three days of the show. Although most of the works were not for sale, several pieces of merchandise and a good number of postcards were sold. Feedback, both in the comments book and verbal, was all positive. For an interpretive critique take a look at this posting on the Sparks in Electrical Jelly Blog. Overall it was a great experience of a site-specific installation.

Art Installation at St Olave's, Exeter 24-26 July

'Re interpretation' is the second exhibition by a number of (mainly) first year FdA students taking place outside of Exeter college this summer. The venue is St Olave's Church at the top of Fore Street, Exeter and it is open from Thursday 24th to Saturday 26th July, 10am to 4pm. There is an open evening on the preceding Wednesday from 6 to 8pm.

The site-based installation is a collaboration between six artists, and Jon Curtis from the Methodist venture fx project, with the parish of Central Exeter. Katie Scott-Hamilton, Ruth Carpenter, Karen Tarr, Clare Heaton, Judy Harington, and I have been working in response to the space and history of the church, along with aspects of faith and religion. Why not drop in and take a look at this all-new selection of work?

St Olave's Church at the top of Fore Street, Exeter

Summer Break: Exeter College Student Fine Art Exhibition at TAAG

Summer Break, an exhibition of work by Exeter College First Year Fine Art Foundation Degree students at TAAG in Teignmouth, got off to a good start today (Saturday). There were 186 visitors to the main gallery and most of them looked at our work also. The weather was kind and there was something of a carnival atmosphere due to a live jazz band and the bustle created by a Craft Fair in Northumberland Place, immediately outside the gallery.

Below are a few snaps giving of the varied work on show, which mixes pieces from the College Summer Show with other material by students.

The exhibition is on daily for the rest of this week, from 10am to 4pm, until Friday 11th, if you want to pop in and check it out. A full photographic record of the works exhibited can be accessed here.

Post-exhibition update: We had a total of 540+ visitors over the seven days of the exhibition and, even though most of the exhibits were not for sale, we sold one painting and a number of postcards. Overall, great fun and a terrific learning experience.

Cate Le Bon at Exeter Phoenix

We were both knackered on Friday night and were in two minds about whether to go and see Cate Le Bon at Exeter Phoenix - However, we're glad that we did.

The support act was Tender Prey (Laura Bryon, below) - all power chords and shouty vocals. On another day we might have appreciated it more - But it was ok, and she did manage to command the attention of the good-sized audience who had come to see Le Bon.

I'd heard several people praising Cate le Bon and the reviews were intriguing: A folkie who sings in Welsh and English and who numbers amongst her influences the Velvet Underground. In fact, she was a revelation. Dressed in a Hawkwind-style long silver dress she played some cool psychedelic guitar riffs while delivering vocals which were often more pure sounds than a vehicle for her lyrics.

She has the stage presence and style of a Nico-like chanteuse and between the songs her accent actually sounds more Scandinavian than Welsh. The band seemed a bit younger but played together with Le Bon in a very tight unit: The drumming was crisp and the bass punchy. The second guitarist really came into his own when playing keyboards. He  managed to coax the sounds of a mellotron, a farfisa, - whatever was needed - to produce appropriately psychedelic and discordant chord shapes which brilliantly complemented the guitar work by Le Bon.

The audience loved it - A number were obviously longtime fans. At the end, contrary to what is often the case, we all genuinely wanted to hear more. I'll definitely be checking out her latest CD, Mug Museum.

Le Bon and her band were going on to perform at Glastonbury the next day. Below is a taster - a clip of her performing 'Sisters':

And here is a link to the set in full (for a while, anyway).

Royal Academy Summer Exhibition

The Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition is now underway until 17th August. Reviewers say it's worth going along to see the huge variety of painting - or perhaps just to view Cornelia Parker's black and white room. If you look carefully you may spot Anna Grayson's Arnolfini Wedding pastiche (shown in blog post here), which was selected this year from the 12,000 hopefuls submitted, and which has already sold, along with a growing number of prints.

Anna with her pastiche (in gold frame) at the RA private view

On Saturday I'm going along to the Matisse cut-outs exhibition at Tate Modern and, before that, to the Plymouth photography degree show tomorrow evening. So it should be a good weekend.