Event type: Exhibition

JMW Turner with Lamin Fofana: Dark Wat...

Take a fresh look at JMW Turner in new exhibition Dark Waters. For the first time, Turner’s work will be presented within an immersive sound environment created by artist and musician, Lamin Fofana.

Tate Liverpool’s location on the waterfront, combined with Liverpool’s maritime history, provides the perfect context for us to consider Turner afresh. The exhibition features some of Turner’s most celebrated seascapes alongside his sketchbooks and works on paper.

Although creating work centuries apart, both artists convey the power and politics of the ocean and explore its relationship to capitalism and colonialism. Turner’s paintings focus on the dangers of the waters around the British coast and Fofana’s sound work looks across the Atlantic.

The Interior

The Interior exhibition features two contrasting Liverpool artists; Ali Hunter with her inky and illustrative works on paper and Lorna Morris who creates immense realism in her tranquil oil paintings.

Both artists, though different in style, do share one thing: their subject matter of “The Interior”. Highlighting sanctuaries, reading nooks and often overlooked spots in our own abodes, these art works celebrate the ordinary and moments of stillness in a room of one’s own.

Lincolnshire born Illustrator Ali Hunter now lives and works in Liverpool. Taking inspiration from fashion, interiors and home decor; Hunter’s work captures intimate spaces, fashionable characters and pets. Graduating from Manchester School of Art in Illustration, Ali Hunter uses pen and ink to create portraits and interior scenes.

Lorna Morris graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a Masters Degree in Fine Art . She has exhibited solo and with fellow artists. Her work is in private collections in the USA, Canada, Germany and the UK. Interiors are for her places of retreat, solitude and silence. In her paintings she hopes to create shortcuts to tranquillity. Each painting represents weeks of stillness and solitude due to the nature of her slow, oil-painting technique. You can step into them at will or set aside a time each day to escape with your painting into distilled peace.

Morris says – “With the outside world shut off in March 2020, I found myself in my studio with no distractions, free to create. I began painting the silent tranquil interiors of my home. By June I was longing to return to our art galleries and see again the brush strokes, decisions, colours and mystery of the masters.

More portraits have followed by studying the portrait painters of the past – particularly Sargent – striving to achieve that physical presence, seeing the layers of translucent and opaque colours, the spirit of the sitter and the moment of the paint being placed. I have been fulfilling my longing to see the art of centuries past by creating these pieces and I hope in turn they bring you that joy of living with real art in your own home.”

Ali’s interiors go between the home and local coffee shops, sleepy chic bars and highly fashionable flats, expanding more on who we are in the spaces we socialise in and relax in. With hints of fashion illustration Ali places characters and close friends in these settings, with their mood and clothing matching perfectly to their environment.

All artworks are for sale.

Join them for the Private View of the exhibition on Thursday 28th July from 5pm-7pm.

All welcome, but you must register here: https://TheInteriorPrivateView.eventbrite.co.uk .

The dot-art Gallery can be found at 14 Queen Avenue, Castle Street, Liverpool, L2 4TX (just 5 minutes’ walk from Liverpool One).

Opening times: Tuesday – Saturday, 10am-6pm

The exhibition runs 29th July – 17th September 2022.

Ellie Hoskins – EVERYTHING! IS! ...

Artist and writer Ellie Hoskins is currently working in-situ at OUTPUT on her first solo exhibition, a large-scale sculptural installation.

Ellie Hoskins (b. 1995) is a multi-disciplinary artist and writer from Cumbria, now based in Liverpool. Her work is diaristic, frank and funny, combining slapstick millennial nihilism with an immersion in the rituals and details of everyday working life. OUTPUT is delighted to welcome Ellie for her first solo presentation Everything! Is! Futile! for which she is currently working in-situ in the gallery, creating an installation of text works and sculpture around a family of papier-mâché homunculi.

Hoskins’ work combines lineages of contemporary art and culture – sad, lumpy figures reminiscent of Maria Lassnig or Louise Bourgeois sup cans of lager, while inspirational Instagram quotes are replaced by seedy confessions or suburban existential angst.

The artist explains; “I think what I’m mostly inspired by is content that comes from a very human place, like proper gut-level feelings expressed successfully enough to be gut-wrenching when communicated to someone else. And so when it’s consumed you feel less alone”. Hoskins captures moments of private absurdity with self-deprecating clarity, emphasising their universality as she brings them out into the light.

This search for communality led Hoskins to create and lead the one-year unofficial online art school Phlegm, which culminated in an exhibition at The Royal Standard in 2021. Other recent projects include a text installation on the exterior of Bluecoat and Broken Little Things, a collection of short text fragments for Montez Press.

Ellie Hoskins – Everything! Is Futile! will have a launch event from 6pm – 8pm on Thursday, 21st July. The exhibition continues until August 7th.

Exhibition Tour

Join FACT for an introductory exhibition tour of My Garden, My Sanctuary.

Learn how artists use technology, how their ideas get transformed into artworks and how they work with a curator to bring a show together.

This tour will be led by Senior Exhibitions Producer, Charlotte Horn, who will giving us a closer look at each of the immersive artworks by artists Yaloo and Sian Fan. The tour will last approximately 45-60 minutes.

Following recent feedback, our tours now benefit from a microphone and speaker to improve sound quality and give you a better touring experience.

Image: Zinzi Minott, Fi Dem V – A Redemptive Song, 2022. Installation view at FACT. Image by Drew Forsyth.

Chila Kumari Singh Burman: Opening Eve...

Join FACT to celebrate the opening of Chila Kumari Singh Burman’s vibrant redesign of their gallery space.

The installation Merseyside British Empire will contain new commissions from the Bootle-born artist including an immersive Tuk Tuk; a kaleidoscope of colour, made up of layered collages, glitter and embellished motifs including Hindu deities, Bindis and tigers.

This new space will present work from FACT’s artists-in-residence, host artist-led events, and deliver hands-on workshops. It will be somewhere for artists to experiment and engage directly with the public.

With food and drink from iconic street food hang out Bundobust, this joyful gathering will be packed with tasty treats and musical celebrations, marking the start of a year long installation of Chila’s signature culture-clashing visuals, neons and sculptures at FACT.

Food from Bundobust will be served from 1-5pm. We’ll then move onto serving drinks only from 5-8pm at Riposo, an independent bar located inside FACT.

 

Adornments of Fancy by Luke George

Next up at TRS is a solo exhibition by Liverpool-based painter, Luke George. Adornments of Fancy offers a glimpse of what the artist has been working on in the past 2 years.

Luke George (b.1994, UK) is a contemporary visual artist whose large-scale painted works are the product of time-intensive, cumulative mark making, which finds anchorages in colour and a balance between abstract and figurative imagery; between minimalism and excess.

Adornments of Fancy opens 15 July at The Royal Standard from 7-9pm. Refreshments will be available on the night.

Peter Walker – Being Human

A new exhibition, which is made up of four installations by acclaimed sculptor and artist, Peter Walker, is set to be unveiled at Liverpool Cathedral this month. ‘Being Human’, which is free to attend, launches on 27 July and runs until 30 August.

As part of a two-year programme of events, exhibitions and artworks leading up to the iconic building’s 100th anniversary, which falls in 2024, the latest collaboration between Liverpool Cathedral and the renowned artist explores what it means to be human.

At the heart of the exhibition will be a sculpture entitled Connection, inspired by Michelangelo’s ‘Creation of Adam’. A contemporary twist on the Renaissance masterpiece, which depicts God’s hand reaching out to meet Adam’s finger, the striking installation features two giant hands, each standing at two metres tall and equivalent in height to the size of an average front door.

‘Being Human’ aims to encourage visitors to reflect on who they are as individuals, what makes us unique as human beings and how we connect with others in a changing world, as they journey through the four artworks: Connection, Reflection, Identity and Creativity.

The exhibition promises to be just as awe-inspiring as the talented artist’s previous works at Liverpool Cathedral including ‘Peace Doves’, a mass participation art installation featuring around 18,000 paper doves suspended from the roof of the magnificent building.

Earlier this year, working as one half of the artistic duo, Luxmuralis, he amazed visitors by flooding Liverpool Cathedral with the wonders of the universe in a dazzling display of projections, lights and sounds as part of an immersive art installation entitled ‘Space, The Universe and Everything’.

Speaking on his next collaboration with Liverpool Cathedral, artist and sculptor, Peter Walker, said: “It’s a huge honour to be working with the team at Liverpool Cathedral once again. As the largest cathedral in the UK and one of the biggest in the world, the vast space within the iconic building provides the perfect setting for an exhibition that explores what it means to be human.

“Bringing together sculpture, created using traditional techniques, with interactive art installations, ‘Being Human’ will fascinate visitors of all ages across many different levels and I can’t wait to unveil the exhibition later this month.”

The Dean of Liverpool, The Very Revd Dr Sue Jones, said: “We’re really looking forward to welcoming Peter back to Liverpool Cathedral. ‘Being Human’ looks set to be one of his most thought-provoking pieces yet and I’m sure the exhibition will inspire visitors to contemplate just how remarkable we are as human beings.

“Our connection with others is more important than ever, particularly after so many of us experienced feelings of isolation and loneliness during the pandemic when families, friends and communities were kept apart for so long. I would like to encourage visitors from all walks of life to visit the exhibition and use the experience to reflect upon what makes us human, the value of our relationships and how we feel when we’re separated from others.”

Liverpool Cathedral is open to visitors from 10am – 6pm daily with the exception of 27 July when the ‘Being Human’ exhibition launches to the public at 11am.

For more information about ‘Being Human’ and the events programme at Liverpool Cathedral, visit liverpoolcathedral.org.uk.

Twice Nightly: The Argyle Theatre Reme...

The Argyle Theatre of Varieties opened in 1868 on the edge of the then developing town of Birkenhead. Owned and managed by three generations of one family, it entertained thousands of people over 72 years.

The theatre became known nationally and internationally as ‘The Cradle of the Stars’ launching the careers of artistes who were to become household names.

Come and see original playbills and memorabilia from public and private collections, and follow the fascinating story of the theatre and its people in “Twice Nightly, the Argyle Theatre Remembered”.

The exhibition opens Wednesday 8th June and runs until Saturday 3rd September and is free entry. “Twice Nightly: The Argyle Theatre Remembered” is made possible thanks to the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Emma Rodgers: Wunderkammer

This summer, the Williamson Art Gallery will host a special exhibition of the work of Wirral-based sculptor Emma Rodgers.

The exhibition is a mini-retrospective of Emma’s practice and gives visitors a chance to step into the artist’s studio and see how her work has developed over time – from the young art student awestruck by the collections in her local Williamson Art Gallery, to one of the country’s foremost sculptors in ceramic and bronze. “Wunderkammer” explores the objects, people and places that have fascinated and inspired Emma throughout her career.

Alongside the exhibition, the Williamson Art Gallery will be unveiling a specially commissioned new sculpture by Emma for the Gallery’s outdoor courtyard.

The ‘Garden of Artemis’ is a life-size ornamental oak tree sculpture in steel and bronze – a nod to both the oak tree in Birkenhead’s coat of arms, and the trees that feature in the Gallery’s collection of Della Robbia decorative ceramics. The sculpture has been made possible by funding from the estate of Fanchon Frohlich, through the Williamson and Priory Friends.

dot-art x OEG Analogue Photography Com...

dot-art teamed up with Open Eye Gallery in March 2022 to create an Analogue Photography Competition for both amateur and professional photographers based in the North West.

This collaboration was to platform and celebrate local film photography and the dot-art Darkroom, established in the past year in the historic Cotton Exchange building. The Darkroom is equipped to process and develop black & white film prints and can be accessed on a hire or membership basis. At dot-art we also run a series of courses on Darkroom techniques and analogue photography aimed at beginners to intermediate photographers.

The competition came with the award of 3 months membership to dot-art’s city centre Darkroom & Artist Membership, a one-to-one crit session with Open Eye’s Programme Assistant as well as the lead feature in this 1-week exhibition on Open Eye Gallery’s Digital Window Gallery.

After a judging panel consisting Open Eye Gallery’s Director Sarah Fisher, Programme Assistant Declan O’Connoly, dot-art’s Founder and Manging Director Lucy Byrne and Gallery Manager Claire Henderson examined the 25 submissions to the competition, the panel selected their favourite images.

Discussing the skill, subject, and darkroom techniques of each submission it was decided that Chun-Mei Wang was the winner of this, the first year of the competition. Chun-Mei Wang’s winning submissions were part of her Darkroom Project, ‘White’. Interested in social structures and the cultural performances we engage in within them, Mei created gelatin silver prints, translating the concept of white into the relationship between image, light, subject, object, shape, and shadow as there is no substantial white during the printing process.

Mei also submitted images from her series ‘Called’, a photographic study of Beitou, a suburb of Taipei and Mei’s hometown. Due to gentrification, Taipei has transformed into a flourishing city. By photographing the landscape, she explores what details are embedded in this place and what traces remain of the history before the colonisation of Taiwan by Japan over a century ago.

dot-art and Open Eye Gallery are proud to platform the passion, innovation and quality of analogue photography in Liverpool and invite the public to view this exhibition featuring all the competition submissions on the Digital Window Gallery in Mann Island outside of Open Eye Gallery from Wednesday 13th – Sunday 17th July.

Find out more about the dot-art Darkroom here: dot-art.co.uk/darkroom/