See the best art this March

Geedon Gallery Spring Exhibition 2013. The Gallery, which is situated in an attractive barn conversion overlooking the River Coln estuary in north Essex, will be exhibiting 20th and 21st century paintings, sculptures, ceramics and prints by leading British artists including Anthony Atkinson ARCA, Julian Bailey NEAC,Fred Cuming RA NEAC, Ken Howard OBE RA NEAC,Pamela Kay RWS, Gill Brown NDD and Prue Cooper. At Geedon Gallery, Jaggers, Fingringhoe, Colchester, Essex from 23 Mar to 7 Apr and thereafter by appointment until 15th May. www.geedongallery,co.uk

David Bowie is. The first international exhibition of David Bowie’s explosive career, exploring his creativity as a musical innovator and cultural icon. Featuring over 300 objects incorporating the fields of fashion, sound, graphics, theatre, art and film. At the V & A, South Kensington, London from 23rd March- 28th July. www.vam.ac.uk (see preview in Country Life 20 Mar 2013)

Bellini, Botticelli, Titian…500 years of Italian Art. Including works by Giovanni Bellini, Sandro Botticelli, Titian, Salvator Rosa and Francesco Guardi, this exhibition shows landscapes, portraits and devotional works chronicling Italian painting from 1400-1900. At Compton Verney, Warwickshire from 23 Mar to 23 Jun. www.comptonverney.org.uk

A Critic’s Choice 1950-2000 – selected by Andrew Lambirth. The third in a trilogy of exhibitions by the art critic, including works by Norman Adams, Adrian Berg, Sandra Blow, Prunella Clough, Cecil Collins, Terry Frost, Adrian Heath, Patrick Heron, John Hoyland, R B Kitaj, Mary Newcombe, Ceri Richards and William Scott. At Browse & Darby, 19 Cork Street, London W1 from 20 Mar to 19 Apr. www.browseanddarby.co.uk

Jonathan Kenworthy – Six Decades of Sculpture – major retrospective of sculpture and works on paper by a master of movement in sculpture (now in his 70th year). At Pangolin London, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 from 20 Mar to 20 Apr. www.pangolinlondon.com

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Kaffe Fassett; A Life in Colour – celebration of the work of one of the great practitioners of contemporary craft, this is the first London show of the textile designer’s work since the record-breaking V & A exhibition in 1988 and features over 100 works within a dramatic installation by Sue Timney. At Fashion and Textile Museum, 83 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 from 22 Mar to 29 June. www.ftmlondon.org

Shaun Ferguson Solo Show – inspired by the figure, usually caught in a quiet contemplative mood, this series of atmospheric and sensitively expressed works delivers qualities that lifts Ferguson’s work beyond straightforward portraiture. At Gallery 27, Cork Street, London W1 20-23 Mar. www.james@fairfaxgallery.com

Risen! Art of the Crucifixion and Eastertide – an exibition of works from the Methodist Church Collection of Modern Christian Art complemented by the work of contemporary artists. At Monnow Valley Arts, Middle Hunt House, Walterstone, Hereford from 23 Mar to 21 Apr. www.monnowvalleyarts.org

Robert Filliou:The Institute of Endless Possibilities. Devoted to the French artist Robert Filliou (1926-87), this exhibition asks the question: when does an everyday object become a sculpture? Using tools ranging from mobile museums to absent cleaners, masterpieces to chance operations, telepathic sculptures to musical economies, the Henry Moore Institute turns into an institute of endless possibilities. 40 artworks on show made between 1962 and 1984. At Henry Moore Institute, The Headrow, Leeds from 21 Mar to 23 Jun. www.henry-moore.org/hmi

Keir Smith: From Wall to Floor – Keir Smith (1950-2007) pushed the possibilities of painting into sculpture, using the landscape as a subject, site and support. This show, which celebrates the donation of the Keir Smith archive into the Henry Moore Institute’s Archive of Sculptors’ papers, charts his evolving sculptural ideas through sketchbooks, highly detailed drawings and sculptures. At Henry Moore Institute, The Headrow, Leeds from 21 Mar to 23 Jun. www.henry-moore.org/hmi

Gangsters & Gunslingers: The Good, the Bad & the Memorabilia
. Bringing together two defining chapters in the history of the US that shaped its national identity: the Wild West (mid 1860s to late 1880s) and the wild years of the Prohibition/Depression era (1920s and early 1930s) Each epoch produced legendary characters – Buffalo Bill, Calamity Jane, Bonnie and Clyde to name a few. For this show, the American Museum will show treasures from the Americana collection and Hollywood archive of David Gainsborough Roberts, including native American weapons confiscated in reprisal for the Batle of Little Big Horn, Custer’s Last Stand in Montana; the watch worn by Clyde Barrow when he was gunned down with Bonnie Parker in 1934; silver cigarette cases presented by Chicago mob boss John Torrio to his successor, Al Capone. At the American Museum in Britain, Claverton Manor, Bath from 23 Mar to 3 Nov. www.americanmuseum.org

The Tate Britain Commission: Simon Starling. The English conceptual artist Simon Starling will create the Tate Britain Commission this year. At Tate Britain, Millbank, London until 20 Oct. www.tate.org.uk

George Bellows (1882-1925). Including paintings, drawings and lithographs from the famous American Realist painter Bellows, this exhibition explores the principle themes of his artwork, for instance his fascination with New York’s gritty urban landscape. At the Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1 from 16th March- 9th June. www.royacademy.org.uk

Studio Sittings: Photographing Royal Academicians – behind the scenes with David Hockney, Elizabeth Frink, Antony Gormley, Grayson Perry and Sir Peter Blake. Photographs of some of the most celebrated Royal Academicians of recent times, shown in the context of their studios. At Leighton House Museum, 12 Holland Park Road, Kensington, London W14 from 15 Mar to 2 Jun. www.leightonhouse.co.uk

Nicholas Romeril: Sand Surf Stone
– 50 new paintings that capture the essence of the artist’s native Jersey. He uses canvas and slate to produce versatile motifs of sand dunes, boulders and foaming seas that allow him to encapsulate not only the raw power of nature, but also its beauty and serenity. At Chris Beetles Gallery, 8 and 10 Ryder Street, London SW1 until 30 Mar.  

Painting the Everyday: Still Life by Thelma Hulbert, Jessica Cooper and Vanessa Bowman at Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Elmfield House, Dowell Street, Honiton, Devon from 16 Mar to 27 Apr. 01404 45006

Greywalls – A Work of Art – showing the work of ten artists commissioned to paint various aspects of the historic Lutyens house Greywalls. Artists include Ann Fraser, Christine Woodside, Hugh Dodd, Matt Curtis and Maggie Vance. At Gullane Art Gallery, 8 Stanley Road, Gullane, East Lothian until 7 Apr. www.gullaneartgallery.co.uk

David Maljkovic – Sources in the Air – the first survey exhibition of the Croatian artist (b.1973) including his work from the last 10 years in collage, installation, film, video and works on paper. Throughout his career he has sought to create new relationships between how we record, remember and understand the past, initially using film to reflect upon the history of his native Croatia as part of socialist Yogoslavia. At Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead Quays, South Shore Road, Gateshead until 7 July. www.balticmill.com

Sam Cartman: At the End of the Road – paintings on show at Kilmorack Gallery, by Beauly, Invernessshire until 13 Apr. www.kilmorackgallery.co.uk

Summer in February – Art in Lamorna 1910-1914. Brings together paintings by the artists working in Newlyn and around the Lamorna Valley in the early 20th century, giving depth to the story now featured in a new film about Alfred Munnings, and putting it in context with the lives and work of the main protagonists’ circle. At Penlee House Gallery & Museum, Morrab Road, Penzance from 16 Mar to 8 Jun. www.penleehouse.org.uk

Jerwood Painting Fellowships 2013 – new work by three exceptional emerging painters: Anthony Faroux, Susan Sluglett and Sophia Starling. At JVA at Jerwood Space, 171 Union Street, London SE1 until 28 Apr. www.jerwoodvisualarts.org

Growing Talent – jewellery and silver creations by 80 jewellers and silversmiths nurtured by the Goldsmiths’ Company. At Goldsmiths’ Hall, Foster Lane, London EC2 until 13 Apr. www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk

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CLOSING SOON

Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition – showing the best of contemporary representational painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing from the member artists and open submission. At Mall Galleries, Carlton House Terrace, London SW1 until 17 March. www.mallgalleries.org.uk

Dilip Sur: Recent Works by the West Bengal painter and sculptor who now teaches at the Royal College of Art at Grosvenor Gallery, 21 Ryder Street, London SW1 until 22 March. www.grosvenorgallery.com

Premiums Interim Projects, annual exhibition featuring the work of 16 postgraduates in their second year, including painting, performance, photography, sculpture, site specific installation and video at the Royal Academy Schools. At the RA, Burlington Gardens, London W1 until 16 March. www.royalacademy.org.uk

The Big Issues 2013: Celebrating Art for All. Bringing G.F. and Mary Watts’s vision of art for all to people who would otherwise struggle to access the arts, this exhibition includes art work by women prisoners at HMP Send and Bronzefield, male prisoners at HMP Coldingley, young people involved in the Surrey Youth Support Service and adults from Street Level Arts and The Cellar in Godalming. This inspirational exhibition clearly demonstrates the power of art to change lives and is not to be missed. At the Watts Gallery, Down Lane, Guildford from 5 Feb – 14 March 2013. www.wattsgallery.org.uk

Francis Jeans – recent oil paintings, focusing mainly on city centres depicting people in their daily pursuits. At The John Russell Gallery, 4-6 Wherry Lane, Ipswich, Suffolk until 16 Mar. www.thejohnrussellgallery.co.uk

The Picture Collection – new work by Taryn Simon, comprising 44 works inspired by the New York Public Library’s picture archive, one of the institution’s lesser-known troves containing 1.2 million prints, postcards, posters and printed images. Each work is made up of a number of images that Simon has selected from a given archival category, in overlapping compositions. At Gagosian Gallery, Davies Street, London until 28 Mar.  

Guy Taplin. Born in 1939, Taplin is a sculptor of now worldwide renown whose soaring talents leave more conventional wildlife artists earthbound. In the early 1970s, he was working as a keeper in Regent’s Park and training to become a Buddhist monk, when he first began to fashion stylised birds from randomly found wood and objects. Conceived with a canny sense of organic style and a deep appreciation for both the beauty and comedy of his subjects, Taplin’s work has garnered international acclaim and is represented in important private and public collections that range from those of Ridley Scott, Michael Palin and the late Jacqueline Onassis to the Tate Gallery and The Royal Collection. At Messum’s, 8 Cork Street, London W1S from 6 Feb – 16 March 2013. www.messums.com

Wildlife and Sporting Art – 17 highly regarded names in sporting art showing their latest work at the Jerram Gallery, Half Moon Street, Sherborne, Dorset from 2-20 March. www.jerramgallery.com

James Dodds – solo exhibition of exuberant new work, including a selection of new large paintings of boats from the Northern Isles and the East and South coast. At Messums, 8 Cork Street, London W1 until 16 March. www.messums.com

Masquerade, a group exhibition bringing together a selection of innovative and award-winning international contemporary photographers who push the boundaries of portraiture through a variety of techniques. At the new gallery based in a grade II listed Victorian house within recently restored formal gardens – High House Gallery, Clanfield, Oxfordshire – until 17 March. www.highhousegallery.com

Relatively Absolute. This exhibition explores how visible and implied structures might be used to uncover meaning, narrative and paradox. Amongst new work, which includes sculpture, photography, performance and talks, each artist has been invited to contribute source material that has informed its production, derived from the research that took place during Wysing Art Centre’s three six-week-long residencies: The Cosmos, The Mirror and The Forest. At Wysing Arts Centre, Fox Road, nr Bourn from 10 Feb – 24 March 2013. www.wysingartscentre.org
Marilyn Monroe: A British Love Affair – new focus display at the National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Place, London WC2 from 29 Sep to 24 Mar. www.npg.org.uk

Spencer’s Earthly Paradise – Stanley Spencer 50th Anniversary Exhibition, a continuation of this year’s earlier show but with some changes made to enable the display of further works. At the Stanley Spencer Gallery, High Street, Cookham, Berkshire. Until 24 March. www.stanleyspencer.org.uk

Janine Partington and Katrin Moye – enamels, ceramics, paintings and drawings at Castle Gallery, Inverness from 2-23 March. 01463 729512

Becoming Independent: Presenting work by Amina Menia & Zineb Sidera
Amina Menia and Zineb Sidera’s installations deal with the fragility of history and identity. Working in the context of contemporary Algeria, they focus on specific disappearances of material culture that could impoverish the understanding of societal growth. By highlighting a rich heritage they aim to form a new visual reference point for the future. At Royal Hibernian Academy,
Gallagher Gallery, RHA Gallery II & III, 15 Ely Place, Dublin 2, Ireland 11 Jan to 24 March . www.rhagallery.ie

Potfest: Journeys in Clay. A special exhibition to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the annual Penrith festival, where potters from as far as New Zealand, Australia and Japan come to display their work at the ceramic festival held over two weekends. This event celebrates 14 of these potters travelling to Cumbria and highlights their journeys in clay, capturing of the spirit of adventure. At the Gallery at Rheged, Penrith, Cumbria from 22nd January- 24th March 2013. www.potfest.co.uk/journeysinclay

Painting the Light – new works by Keith Roper. The Lincolnshire artist is a member of the National Pastel Society. Many of his paintings are landscapes of the Lincolnshire countryside and Humber estuary or townscapes of Lincoln, with the cathedral as the focal point. Other subjects include York and east Yorkshire, the north-east coast, the Fens and the Solent in Hampshire, and also the north west coast of Scotland. At Kentmere House Gallery, 53 Scarcroft Hill, York from 2 Feb to 28 Mar. www.kentmerehouse.co.uk

Thomas Joshua Cooper: Messages – an exhibition of over 20 photographs by the renowned landscape photographer who for over 30 years has made landscape photographs in some of the most remote and isolated locations of the world. At Haunch of Venison, 51 Eastcastle Street, London W1 until 28 Mar. www.haunchofvenison.com

Robert Rauschenberg: Jammers – a series of works executed in 1975 and 1976 after he’d worked for a month in an ashram in Ahmedabad in India. These ‘true bursts of colours’ are named after the windjammer, a sailing vessel, and titles of individual works emphasise the maritime reference. At Gagosian Gallery, 6-24 Britannia Street, London until 28 Mar.  

Walter Leblanc – works on paper and sculpture from 1963-1985. At The Mayor Gallery, 22a Cork Street, London W1 until 28 Mar. www.mayorgallery.com

Herbert Ponting, Captain Scott’s Antarctic Expedition
– over 60 photos taken from the legendary 1910 British Antarctic expedition, the largest and most varied exhibition of Ponting prints ever staged in London, in association with the Scott Polar Research Institute, at Chris Beetles Fine Photographs, 3-5 Swallow Street, London W1 until 23 Mar. www.chrisbeetlesfinephotographs.com

John Piper: paintings and works on paper – over 40 original works dating from 1930s-1980s, highlights including Byland Abbey painted in Oct 1940, a month before Piper’s seminal painting of the ruins of Coventry Cathedral was executed. At Portland Gallery, 8 Bennet Street, London SW1 from 7 to 28 Mar. www.portlandgallery.com

Robi Walters – exhibition of collages and drawings at Waterhouse & Dodd, 26 Cork Street, London W1 until 28 Mar. www.waterhousedodd.com

Russian Spring
– an exhibition of contemporary Russian figurative art by Dmitry Lisichenko, Audrey Demin, Asya Feoktistova, Maria Stcherbinina, Evgenia Buravleva, Svetlana Rumak and Richard Boardman, at Medici Gallery, 5 Cork Street, London W1 until 28 March. www.medicigallery.co.uk.

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