Tuesday 28 June 2011

Students Open Evening at Sheffield College

Thursday evening 23rd June 2011, saw the Hillsborough Collage Art and Design students open evening and end of year exhibition marking the end of GCE,s and the start for many of University.
Holding the exhibition in the sports Hall has always ment that the full extent of their work cannot be displayed, however what was on show gave a good flavour not only of work carried out but intimations of things to come.
A large percentage of students had been accepted for university across the country which speaks well for Sheffield, but the high light was the fashion and design show with models parading students designs in a series of floor shows.
A well presented and executed show bringing credit to the staff and organisers which went without any apparent hitch.
Helped backstage by the students the models performed smoothly to display the students work effectively with a range from modern to cool to sophisticated in a range of materials.
The palatable relief from the students at the end was all to evident from the almighty roar emanating back stage which was justified and well deserved.
Look forward to next year

Wednesday 22 June 2011

John Martin at the Millenium

The studio attended the new Millennium Gallery exhibition in Sheffield last night for the John Martin Exhibition Painting the Apocalypse"
Martin 1789-1854 was a very underestimated painter and not regarded by the establishment yet was very popular with the public.
He is described as a Romantic engraver and illustrator whose huge paintings depicting
apocalyptic visions of passages from the Bible may not be to every ones taste but it cannot be denied that the massive scale of the depictions are matched by the massive scale of the canvas, yet his small works have the same atmospheric perspective and detail giving an impression that it is actually a huge canvas which has been squeezed and condensed.
This exhibition far exceeds expectations with over 80 pieces of artwork on display from the massive oils to finely detailed prints it is an exhibition which cannot fail to be held in awe both in the size of the artwork, its presentation and content.
An extra bonus is that the exhibition is free to enter and will be in Sheffield until 4th September when it moves to Tate Britain.
This is a must see exhibition which the author will be revisiting.

Wednesday 2 March 2011

"Reflect"

The first day of March saw our reviewer attending a preview of the exhibition “Reflect” at ‘The Orchard Centre’ situated on West Bar next to the Central Police Station.
Hosted and curated by Chloe Gill and Phillipa Kosowski both second year art students at Hallam University the exhibition showcased work produced by them as part of their second year studio practice with the exhibition as part of their professional practice portfolio.
Chloe’s work is centred around landscape photography whilst Phillipa dealt with sculptural forms depicting a life form from land, sea and air in the shape of a dinosaur, shark and bird, unfortunately neither student was able to provide a artists statement about themselves to help the visitor assess the concepts of the works, where the artist was coming from, or the aims and objectives of the work.,
Whilst it may be argued that the work speaks for itself it does help to give it a voice.

Not with standing that, a conversation with the artists did reveal a leaning towards certain aspects of their work tending to lead in a direction that should be interesting to see how it will be followed through this time next year.

When visiting exhibitions I find it fascinating, where possible to see the “real work” leading up to the finished piece through drawings and experimentations which enables one to get inside the artists head, and to appreciate the why’s and wherefores,
The construction leading to the end result is the easy part as the artist knows where they are going, the hard part is finding where to go and how to get there, and for that reason I would liked to have seen more back ground work, however the work was presented and its content showed a commitment which opened up directions of travel for future exhibitions.

From experience I know that not withstanding any remits presented to students many will either not bother or fail to full fill that what is asked of them, and in that respect they are the losers.
In the case of this exhibition we have two students who have cast around, obtained a space, and created an exhibition featuring some of their work as part of their degree portfolio, all well and good academically, but the “real work” has been the journey leading up to the finished piece [the exhibition] making them the winners with knowledge and experience the prize.
A case of getting out there and making it happen for which we wish them success.

The exhibition is open to the public and will run until the 3rd March 2011.

Tuesday 30 November 2010

Victorian Market at Rotherham Minster

On Saturday 27th November 2010 the team were part of the annual Rotherham Minster Victorian Market held within the Minster itself.

Unfortunately it snowed overnight which one would think would be perfect in creating an ambiance and a reason to attend, resulting in a packed church , unfortunately the Minster was undergoing renovation work which rather restricted access albeit in a small way. but as those who know it the Minster is right in the centre of the towns shopping area which is a good thing but it is also on an elevated position with steep steps to one side and a sloping cobbled roadway to the other side providing its main access from the shopping centre which throughout the day remained covered in ice restricting access to the Minster which was felt by the exhibitors through a lack of visitors.

This was not to say that the town was devoid of shoppers as witnessed by the author who checked the shopping centre it was just that they had difficulty getting up to the Minster, plus there seemed a distinct lack of marketing in the town on the day to inform the public of what was taking place, after all this is an annual event and was supposed to raise the profile of Rotherham and bring in the visitors as well as raising funds for the Minster.

It would be interesting to see how the Lady Mayor who opened the event arrived.

In fairness to Rotherham Corporation they did start spreading grit around the Minster around 3.30pm to aid the stallholders leave early due to lack of visitors, and they did have free car parking.

A wonderful opportunity to turn weather conditions to an advantage was lost.

Sorry Rotherham could have done better.

Monday 27 September 2010

"A Silent Conversation"

Have you considered what makes a gallery? does it have to have a specific layout with spotlights and a hanging system? does it have to be dedicated and defined as a gallery? This was the thought that occurred to our reviewer when he came came to write this preview.
On Thursday night (25/09/2010) we attend a preview of "A Silent Conversation" being the latest combined art exhibition by Mick Foster, John Ledger and Mikk Murray in the West Yorkshire Village of 'Honley' just outside of Hudderfield.
The exhibition is self was located in 'Holme Valley Warehouse' situated on the main road running through the village, the name of the premises initially gave the mental impression of it being an industrial warehouse which proved to be erroneous, for these are commercial shop style premises which upon entering proved to be a treasure trove of art, sculpture and object d 'art fighting with, yet complementing each other for space on the lower floor but at the same time having some of the upper rooms totally dedicated to art work including the current exhibition.
The owner of the premises (another 'Mick') deals mainly in old style furniture comprising Wardrobes, Chest's of Drawers, Pews, etc, either in their original state or which have been refurbished as well as unusual and quirky pieces for the garden and home which have been placed in some cases where there is room, giving the premises an almost emporium feel.
You may ask what does this have to do with a contemporary art exhibition, the fact is that this mix of solid wood furniture belonging to another generation , quirky objects and this specific exhibition of modern art incredibly fits together, which caused us to ask "What make a gallery"?.
As usual the answer lies with you the viewer so rather than us posting a personal review of the exhibition itself, feel free to go along and visit the premises and exhibition, then tell us what you think.
Add your comments or opinions on the blog.
The Premises are situated at 11 West Gate, Honley, Huddersfield HD9 6AA
t.n 01484 667915 and is open Monday- Tuesday, Thursday-Saturday 10.00am-5pm, closed Wednesday & Sunday.
The Exhibition runs until the 8th October 2010.

Monday 6 September 2010

"20x20" at Access

Entering its 5th year the Access Space's 5th exhibition has 48 pieces of art work on exhibition by various artists based on a mount of 20x20 in size hence the title.
The subject matter and style are left to the individual which had produced an eclectic mash of 20x20,s from paper mache' to prints and textiles, however surely this is what it is all about, the unknown and unexpected ranging from the figurative to the obscure or even tenuous.
Being a IT centre the exhibition has to be viewed in part with IT work taking place but this is not a detriment for as can be seen from some of the work the connection beween digital photography and IT work can sometimes be blurred and taken out of contex, but who is to say that it cannot or should not happen, we are talking artistic interpretation which relies on presenting that work to the viewer for judgement and criteque, that space none of it would happen.
The Access Space is open 11am-7pm and is situated at 3-7 Sidney Street, Sheffield

"The Working Artist"

"The Working Artist" is a joint exhibition by 7 young artists working in collaboration with each other to mount an exhibition of their work aided by collaboration with Barnsley Council in providing an empty shop situated within the town centre for the promotion of the arts by such individuals or groups such as this exhibition on display in the aptly named POD1.
The range covers photography, installation and fine art dealing with various subject pertinent to the artists own interest.
Artist exhibiting are Carys Bryan (Photography and drawing) Kate Burton (Photography)
Fiona Helen Halliday (Fine Art) Jessica Jones (Fine Art) John Ledger (Drawing) Sophie Littlewood (Sculpture) Lisa V Robinson (Fine Art)
For further information contact the Northern Young Artists at fiona'norhternyoungartists.co.uk