Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe, at the British Museum, Great Russell St, London WC1 from 23rd June to 9th Oct. www.britishmuseum.org. See preview in Country Life June 22nd
Fresh Air 2011 Contemporary sculpture in the 5-acre riverside garden of David and Lucy Abel-Smith’s Cotswold home, Quenington Old Rectory. It’s their 10th Biennale Quenington Sculpture Exhibition, featuring 103 artists, of which 45 are new to the event. Includes works in a range of media, installations combining sound, textile banners, lettering and garden furniture.
19 June to 10 July. www.freshair2011.com
The Queen: Art and Image – exhibition to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, which is being shown in Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff and London, bringing together remarkable images of The Queen, spanning 60 years of her reign, some on public display for the first time. At the National Gallery Complex, Princes Street, Edinburgh from 25 June to 18 Sep.
John Martin – from apocalyptic visions to epic panoramas, over 50 works celebrating the legacy of one of the greatest artists of the Victorian age. At the Millennium Gallery, Arundel Gate, Sheffield from 22 June to 4 Sep. www.museums-sheffield.org.uk
Robert Tagg: A Retrospective at Bankside Gallery, 48 Hopton Street, London SE1 from 22-26 Jun www.banksidegallery.com
New pots by Ken Matsuzaki, one of the most important contemporary potters working in Japan today, at the Goldmark Gallery, Uppingham, Rutland until 26 June. The recent, devastating earthquake in Japan thankfully did not harm the potter or his family, however every piece of his work was lost and two out of his three kilns were destroyed. By sheer luck however, the Goldmark Gallery had transported 120 of his pots from his studio in Mashiko to the UK just prior to the earthquake. www.modernpots.com
Amazing Egyptians – exploring the customs and traditions surrounding life and death in the land of the Pharaohs through the use of key objects showing the processes involved in preparing a body for the afterlife. At The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle from 2 Jul to 31 Aug. www.thebowesmuseum.org.uk
Junya Ishigami – Architecure as Air; the Japanese architect redefines the aesthetics of minimalism by playing with perception, materials and scale. Here, in his first UK installation, he as conceived a new structure built in response to the distinctive Curve gallery, comprising of a single curved line of delicate 4-metre columns running the entire 80 metre length of the space, which appear to be held in place by air and atmosphere alone. At Barbican Art Gallery, The Curve, Level G, Barbican Centre, Silk St, London EC2 from 28 Jun to 16 Oct. www.barbican.org.uk/artgallery
House of Beasts – over 30 works, including 6 new commissions, in the mansion, stables and parkland of the National Trust’s Attingham Park, curated by Meadow Arts. The theme is animals and the changing nature of man’s relationship to them. Includes works by Alastair Mackie, Anj Smith, Henry Krokatsis, Hugo Wilso, Mat Collishaw, Polly Morgan, Rachel Goodyear, Susie MacMurray and Tessa Farmer. At Attingham Park, Shropshire from 2 Jul to July 2012. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/attinghampark
Master Drawings London – 22 leading drawings specialists open their doors to mount a series of co-ordinated selling exhibitions and lectures in galleries all within walking distane of each other in the West end of London. 1-8 July. www.masterpaintingsweek.co.uk
Jeff Clarke – new paintings, drawings and prints by the well known Oxford-based artist. At Christ Church Picture Gallery, Christ Church, Oxford until 31 Jul. www.chch.ox.ac.uk/gallery
Mario Giacomelli – Landscapes; from his two series ‘On Being Aware of Nature’ and ‘Metamorphosis of the Land’. Giacomelli was regarded as the greatest Italian photographer of the 20th century. At Atlas Gallery, 49 Dorset Street, London W1 until 30 Jul. www.atlasgallery.com
Jennifer Tetlow – exhibition of work in carved stone, at Ludlow Assembly Rooms, 1 Mill Street, Ludlow until 7 Aug. www.ludlowassemblyrooms.co.uk
Picasso. At Work and Play – limited edition etchings, aquatints and linocuts spanning Picasso’s whole career, for sale at James Hyman Fine Art, 5 Savile Row, London W1 until 26 Aug. www.jameshymangallery.com
British Coastline – exhibition of works inspired by the British coast by contemporary artists, at Red Rag Modern Art Gallery, 24 Brock Street, Bath until 3 Jul. www.bathartgallery.co.uk
Artists of Fame and Promise – new work by emerging and established gallery artists including: Jackie Anderson, Ellen Bell, Sasha Bowles, Andrew Crocker, Matthew Draper, Stewart Edmondson, Chuck Elliott, Fenella Elms, Caroline Frood, Gareth McCorry, Angeli Sowani, Jason Walker; also new porcelain ceramics by Carina Ciscato, at Beaux Arts, 12-13 York Street, Bath until 3 Sep. www.beauxartsbath.co.uk
Glimpses of Coughton – a collection of illustrations by local illustrator Shelly Perkins featuring wildlife, flora and fauna from the National Trust’s Coughton Court estate and surrounding area – at Coughton Court, Alcester, Warwickshire until 26 Aug. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-coughtoncourt
Barry McGlashan – The Secrets – dreams, travel and the poetry of solitude are central themes in this artist’s work, whose recent paintings shape stories and allegories into delicate images of compelling simplicity. At John Martin Gallery, 38 Albemarle Street, London W1 from 29 June to 23 July. www.jmlondon.com
Angus McDonald – Sit Still – at Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery, 2a Conway Street, Fitzroy Square, London W1 from 29 Jun to 23 Jul. www.r-h-g.co.uk
Enchanted Garden: Flower Fairies and Dark Tales – a magical and mysterious summer fairyland at the National Trust’s Mottisfont with over 50 original artworks depicting tales of mischief and enchantment, from flower fairies to malevolent sprites, uniting high Victorian fantasy, nostalgia and contemporary art, at Mottisfont, Romsey from 2 Jul to 2 Oct. 01794 340757
Michelangelo Pistoletto – The Mirror of Judgement – works by the Italian conceptual artist at the Serpentine Gallery, with its 2011 pavilion designed by Peter Zumthor on a garden theme – in Kensington Gardens, London W2 from 12 Jul to 17 Sep. www.serpentinegallery.org
A Million Miles from Home; 2011 Folkestone Triennial This ambitious public arts project sees works by 19 international artists installed all around the town “to create a cutting-edge contemporary art exhibition in the public domain” and to help revive the faded seaside town as a destination for artists, residents and visitors. This year’s theme, interpreted by artists including Ruth Ewan, Cristina Iglesias, Hew Locke, Cornelia Parker, Hamish Fulton, Charles Avery and Martin Creed, explores Folkestone’s relationship with the wider world. to 25 September www.folkestonetriennial.org.uk
Gold: Britain’s Glorious Riches, at Goldsmiths’ Hall, Foster Lane, London EC2 to 28 Jul. www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk
Twombly and Poussin: Arcadian Painters at the Dulwich Picture Gallery, Gallery Road, Dulwich, London SE21 to celebrate its bicentenary, from 29 June to 25 Sep. 020 8693 5254 (see article in Country Life Jun 29, 2011)
150th Annual Exhibition of the Society of Women Artists at The Mall Galleries, The Mall, London from 30 Jun to 9 July. www.society-women-artists.org.uk
John Piper – Creative Partnerships, an exhibition of Piper’s collaborative work with craftsmen, designers and friends, at Hereford Museum and Art Gallery, Broad Street, Hereford until 31 Aug. 01432 260692
The Helsinki School – A Female View – works by Eeva Karhu, Anni Leppala, Aino Kannisto, Jaana Maijala, Sandra Kantanen and Ulla Jokisalo, at Purdy Hicks Gallery, 65 Hopton Street, London SE1 until 23 Jul. www.purdyhicks.com
Rene Magritte; the Pleasure Principle, at Tate Liverpool, Albert Dock, Liverpool until 16 Oct. www.tate.org.uk/liverpool/
United Artists of Italy – portraits of major artists by important Italian photographers, at Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, 39a Canonbury Square, London N1 until 4 Sep. www.estorickcollection.com
Warhol and the Diva – a collection of Andy Warhol’s most iconic works, focusing on the most alluring Divas of his time. At The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays until 25 Sep. www.thelowry.com
Forests, Rocks, Torrents: Norwegian and Swiss Landscapes from the Lunde Collection, at the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London until 18 Sep. (see review in Country Life 29 Jul 2011)
Time Regained: works by Artist Goldsmith Dr Kevin Coates at The Wallace Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Square, London W1 until 25 Sep. www.wallacecollection.org
John Piper in Kent & Sussex, featuring major and rarely seen works including painting, printing, photography and collage, stage and costume design, travel guides, tapestry, stained glass and vestments, at Towner, Eastbourne from 2 Jul to 25 Sep. (see review in Country Life 27 April 2011)
Eyewitness – Hungarian Photography in the 20th century; Brassai, Capa, Kertesz, Moholy-Nagy, Munkacsi, at the Royal Academy of Arts, Sackler Wing, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1 from 30 Jun to 2 Oct. www.royalacademy.org.uk
Elizabeth Blackadder – major summer exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy, a retrospective of the artist’s watercolour’s and drawings in honour of her 80th birthday. At the RSA, Princes Street, Edinburgh from 2 Jul to 2 Jan 2012. www.nationalgalleries.org/whatson/exhbition (See review in Country Life Aug 10 2011)
Artist of the Day – Two Weeks, Ten Artists, One Objective! – an annual event whereby ten selectors choose an artist to each hold a one day solo exhibition over the course of two weeks. This year the selectors include: Julian Opie, Tim Head, Alison Wilding and Chantal Joffe. At Flowers, 21 Cork Street, London W1 from 27 Jun to 9 Jul. www.flowersgalleries.com
Exhibitions at the Scottish Gallery: Post-War Scottish Masters, including Joan Eardley, Alberto Morrocco, Robert Henderson Blyth, James Watt. Masterworks in Black & White – including works by D Y Cameron, James McBey, Muirhead Bone, Russell Flint, Graham Sutherland and C R W Nevinson. Katie Horsman Centenary Exhibition. Works by Danish ceramic artist Bodil Manz. Paper jewellery by Nel Linssen. British Silver Month with work by some of Britain’s finest silversmiths and enamellers. Outdoor pieces by Merete Rasmussen. All at the Scottish Gallery, 16 Dundas Street, Edinburgh from 2-30 Jul. www.scottish-gallery.co.uk
Charles Lutyens; Being in the World – paintings, drawings, sculptures, mosaic – at St Paul’s Church, Bow Common, London E3 until 23 July. www.charleslutyens.co.uk
CLOSING SOON
Egon Schiele: Women, at Richard Nagy’s new gallery on Old Bond Street from 19 May until 30 June 020 7436 6082
Works by Greek artist Dimitris Koukos at Gallery K, 101-3 Heath Street, Hampstead, London NW3 until 30 Jun. www.gallery-co.uk
Exhibitions at the Scottish Gallery, 16 Dundas Street, Edinburgh: Earl Haig Memorial Exhibition; Stacey Bentley Enamel Jewellery; Thinking Horizontally Thinking Out of the Box – an exhibition of plates and boxes; Ed Kluz- The Drawing Room (paintings inspired by great 18th century architecture, including Edinburgh New Town and various Scottish country houses. All works for sale. To 29 June. www.scottish-gallery.co.uk
Cultural Revolution: State graphics is China in the 1960s and ‘70s, at Ashmolean Museum, Beaumont Street, Oxford from 8 Mar to 3 July. www.ashmolean.org
Frank Bowling RA – From New Amsterdam, Berbice to New Amsterdam, New York via Holland and London, 17 new works alongside works from the 1990s and 2000s, coinciding with Bowling’s solo exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts (from 27 May), at Rollo Contemporary Art, 51 Cleveland Street, London W1 until 1 Jul. www.rolloart.com
Julian Trevelyan & Robert Tavener: English Printmakers, featuring a wide range of linoprints, etchings and acquatints by two wonderful English printmakers (some for sale). At Mascalls Gallery, Mascalls School, Maidstone Road, Paddock Wood, Kent to 2 July. www.mascallsgallery.org
Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World showing over 200 objects at the British Museum, London until 3 July. www.britishmuseum.org
Graphic Nature – from simple organic elegance to remarkable mathematical complexity, the diversity of the natural world has always provided a rich source of inspiration for artists and designers. This exhibition looks at the surprising ways in which our natural environment continues to influence the most contemporary design ideas. At Millennium Gallery, Arundel Gate, Sheffield until 3 July. www.museums-sheffield.org.uk
Saving a Century – celebrating 50 years of the Victorian Society, an exhibition of photos from around the country curated by architectural historian Gavin Stamp, showing the best Victorian and Edwardian buildings that the Society has campaigned to save. At Eastbourne Heritage Centre, 2 Carlisle Road, Eastbourne to 4 July
Mary Fedden at Portland Gallery, 8 Bennet Street, London SW1 from 9 June to 1 July. www.portlandgallery.com
Private Rural Splendour: Masterpieces from the Ford Collection – on Display at the Granary Art Gallery at Weston Park in Shropshire until 3rd July 2011. www.weston-park.com/fordcollection
Blossoms of the Arts and Crafts Movement – celebrating the importance of nature to the Arts and Crafts Movement, this exhibition is an opportunity to see important items from Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum’s collection while that museum is closed for the next 18 months. It includes a rich mix of furniture, pottery, jewellery, metalwork, woodcarving and watercolours by William Morris, William De Morgan, C R Ashbee, Ernest Gimson, Fred Partridge, Alfred Powell, William Simmonds and others, mostly designed and made in the Cotswolds. At Court Barn Museum, Church Street, Chipping Campden, Gloucs until 3 Jul. www.courtbarn.org.uk
Memory, Imagination and Dream: Robin Rae new and early paintings in Yard Gallery with Simon Garden RWA, Simon Quadrat Hon RA PRWA and Alex Lowery in Rope Gallery at Sladers Yard, West Bay Road, West Bay, Bridport, Dorset Also, furniture by Petter Southall, and craft by leading makers.
At 82, Robin Rae still paints poetic, beautifully constructed paintings which here hang alongside Wiltshire White Horse, an Eric Ravilious-like painting Rae sold in 1947 when he was just 19. Recently handed in to a Mind charity shop in Clifton, Bristol, it is being auctioned by Sladers Yard on behalf of the mental health charity. On until 3 July. www.sladersyard.co.uk t: 01308 459511
The Ford Collection at the Granary Art Gallery at Weston Park on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border. On show will be private works-of-art which were bestowed and nurtured by the late Sir Brinsley Ford, a distinguished connoisseur and former chairman of the Art Fund. The origins of the collection lie with the family’s ancestor, Benjamin Booth, whose indulgence and love of art was born through his marriage to wealthy Shropshire heiress, Jane Salwey. The collection then passed to the Ford family through marriage. Works by the 18th century landscape artist Richard Wilson will be seen alongside architectural fantasies by Giovanni Paolo Panini and portraits by Augustus John. Until 3rd July. www.weston-park.com/fordcollection
Ian Teh, Traces – photographic works exploring the industrial hinterlands of China’s provinces. At Flowers, 82 Kingsland Road, London, E2 until 2 July www.flowersgalleries.com
The Tenderness of Attention – new works by Melita Denaro, at Taylor Galleries, Dublin to 2 July. www.jmlondon.com
Colin Taylor – new work featuring scenes of various landscapes from the Lake District to northern Africa, as well as drawings of Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, at Wendy J Levy Gallery, 17 Warburton Street, Didsbury, Manchester to 2 Jul. www.wendyjlevy-art.com
Adrian Peacock – Making Waves – beautiful photographs of waves at Lucy Bell Fine Art, 46 Norman Road, St Leonards on Sea from to 2 Jul. www.lucy-bell.com
British Coastline – exhibition of works inspired by the British coast by contemporary artists, at Red Rag Modern Art Gallery, 24 Brock Street, Bath until 3 Jul. www.bathartgallery.co.uk
