We have been busily browsing the national listings for artists’ exhibitions taking place over the summer months. There are so many superb shows coming-up, but we had to mention just a few that are tickling our fancy.
So, here are eight artists who are enjoying prime public exposure at galleries and museums across the length and breadth of Britain: from Edinburgh to Gateshead, Wakefield to Manchester, Wrexham to Norwich, and from London to Taunton. We hope you get the opportunity to see some of these…
First up is the ‘Dame’ of British art, Bridget Riley who has a major exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery (from 15 June). Riley’s biggest show in Scotland ever and spanning over 70 years of her work, this promises to be a real blockbuster. As by now you probably know, we have a wide selection of books on the artist which you can browse here. We are also pleased to announce that our publisher friend, Ridinghouse is producing Bridget Riley’s much anticipated ‘early years’ biography this summer. Watch this space for more news coming soon.
A master of creating powerful and poetic audio-visual collages, John Akomfrah’s immersive work graces the big spaces of BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art (from 6 July). This will see him present three film-works including the premiere of his new piece, Precarity. The book for Akomfrah’s cinematic ‘climate change’ elegy, Purple (Barbican Centre, London) is a good introduction to the artist’s work, alongside the bestselling monograph published by Lisson Gallery.
South Korean artist, Kimsooja re-animates the Yorkshire Sculpture Park’s historic chapel with her new work, To Breathe (from 30 March). She’s renowned for her large-scale installations created usually from weaving and fabrics, however her commission for YSP breaks expectations as the artist will instead experiment with mirrors and light. You can read about Kimsooja’s art in her own words in this substantial collection of interviews with influential curators such as Hans Ulrich Obrist, Mary Jane Jacob, and Hou Hanru.
You might know him as the director of classic films such as Blue Velvet and cult TV series Twin Peaks, however the American auteur David Lynch makes more than just cinema – he’s actually an ‘artist’ in his own right. We are absolutely thrilled that we (at HOME) are hosting Lynch’s major exhibition of artworks (from 6 July) entitled, My Head Is Disconnected. It is one of the most hotly anticipated headline commissions for the Manchester International Festival (MIF19) and the biggest showing of Lynch’s art in the UK, ever. If you’re a fan of Lynch’s visionary art (as we are) then check-out his Marriage of Picture and Sound interview CD. It’s currently unavailable on our website, but you can pick up a copy at our HOME Bookshop during the exhibition.
Cornelia Parker’s UK touring exhibition, Silver and Glass opens mid-summer (from 29 June) at Oriel Wrexham – also known as, Tŷ Pawb (‘Everyone’s House’). The Turner Prize winner’s photographic works are the focus of this new display which is visiting some important smaller regional arts venues including the brilliant new community cultural centre in North Wales. Related to this, we are also keen to remind you of Parker’s substantial monograph (published by our fellow Mancunian friends, Whitworth Art Gallery).
The celebrated British artist, Lynn Chadwick (1914–2003) is renowned for his distinctive semi-abstract, angular iron sculptures of human and animal forms. As part of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival, the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts has unveiled three of the artist’s Beasts in its expansive Sculpture Park (until 31 August), situated on the University of East Anglia campus. If you are unable to pay a visit to see the beasts, then these two Chadwick outdoor sculpture books – at Cliveden, and at Lypiatt Park – are perhaps the next best thing?
Formerly a Professor of Fine Art at the Slade in London, Phyllida Barlow is wowing critics and public alike with her cul-de-sac show at the Royal Academy (until 23 June). This eminent sculptress’ playfully coloured forms need little introduction really, yet suffice to say that her work is as influential and vital as ever. For further inspiration, take a look at Barlow’s rather nice and affordable Mix catalogue, or if you’re keen on something more lavish then her coffee-table tome, Fifty Years of Drawings might be just your’re looking for.
Simon Faithfull is a ‘walking artist’ whose practice comes from the same lineage as the distinguished Richard Long and Hamish Fulton. Working across various media (performance, photography, drawing, etc.) he creates fascinating explorative mappings of our place in the world; approaching a personal experience of the planet as a kind of sculptural object. His new Elsewhen exhibition at Hestercombe gallery and gardens (until 30 June) is described as ‘an attempt to place the viewer against a planetary scale of both space and time.’ Faithfull’s neat pocket-size book, Going Nowhere is an excellent introduction to the artist’s work. It also features an exclusive essay by award-winning nature writer Robert Macfarlane, which is quite a treat!
Image credit: Bridget Riley, High Sky (detail), 1991 © Bridget Riley 2018