Exhibitions in Leicester 2011

This page is part of the exhibitions section

Exhibitions of art in Leicester/shire.

For dates of exhibitions currently running in Leicester/shire see our events listings page.

On this page: Red Tent | Christmas diversity | Anna Lucas | Traverse creatives | Oxjam auction | Interact Gallery | Art for Change | Other exhibitions on Artsin pages

Exhibitions news 2011

1st December

World AIDS Day

World AIDS Day was celebrated today with a two minute silence in the Markets Area and an arts exhibition.

Revd. Jane Wood, Chaplain to Faith In People and Bishop Jonas Martinson lead the two minutes silence today in the Market Area. Also present at the event was Assistant Mayor Cllr Manjual Sood. The gathering featured a stall, organised by Leicestershire AIDS Support Services (LASS).

An Art Exhibition launched today to mark World AIDS Day with work being on display at The Crimblin' Cookie and The Exchange Bar. Art works are on sale with a proportion of the proceeds being donated to LASS to assist with crisis funding for people living with or affected by HIV.

The pictures can be seen at the Crumblin' Cookie, in the High Street, from 1st December to 16th December and at The Exchange Bar in Rutland Street (opposite CURVE).

This painting of a Panda, by Nick Nixon, was on display at the Crumblin Cookie.

A wide variety of artists had their work on display including Dave Johnson, Tony O'Dwyer, Maureen Anderson Nick Nixon and many others.

Visitors could see the paintings and enjoy a drink and some nibbles at the Cookie, after the gathering in the Markets area.

Visitors also enjoyed some music by local singer/songwriter George.

These ceramic panels has ice crystal designs

 

World AIDS day exhibition 2009 | The LASS website

27th November

Galleri Gestur/Gallery Guest Farandgalleri/Touring Gallery in collaboration with Ping...k! presents

St. Lad-by-the-Chip-Shop

(oil painting) by Artist and Writer Yevgeny Salisbury. We invite you to join us at the exhibitions opening on November 29th from 7.30 pm at The Red Tent
8 Pocklingtons Walk, Leicester, LE1 6BU.

Exhibition running from: 29th November - 26 December 2011

Magnus Gestsson, Gallery Director and Curator

21st November

The Red Tent Gallery presents Art With Intent:

The Diversity of Christmas

You are invited to The Red Tent Gallery's first Open Exhibition Featuring:

• Sophie Hunt
• Paul Holding
• Karen Livingstone
• Embla Magnusdottir
• Pamela Mooken
• Bali Sangha-Jenkins
• Chloe Talbot Smith
• and Ken Turnell.

The exhibition is running from 25 November 2011 to 7 January 2012

Location: 8 Pocklingtons Walk, LE1 6BU

Time: preview 25 November 2011 from 6pm to 8pm

Gallery opening times thereafter: Tuesday to Friday 6pm to 11pm

Saturdays 6pm to 11pm

Closed Sundays and Mondays

Brought to you by The Red Tent bar and Gallery Curator Magnus Gestsson Technician and Assistant Curator: Alex Talbot Smith

Dr Magnus Gestsson writes:

Art With Intent: The Diversity of Christmas In a religious context

Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christianity's Jesus Christ, as well as being a festival of light, peace and unity like many other religions. This celebration is also intended to encourage people to share, exchange gifts and enjoy life during the darkest period of the year.

Bodmin Mist by Paul Holding

In line with that this exhibition aims to celebrate with colours and create a dialogue between artists of different religions and nationalities, their art and the way they interpret Christmas. Paul Holding presents two landscapes from Bodmin on Cornwall but they could just as well be snowy mountain sides anywhere in the world, indicating that landscapes, like people do not necessary just belong to a particular geographical area.

Artwork by Sophie Hunt

Sophie Hunt's work is made in the shape of a Christmas tree but in stead of branches her tree is made of clothes donated to her by friends. This piece intends to show how diversity can unite us as humans.

Karen Livingstone's colourful mixed media abstract piece focuses on the colourful glitzy side of Christmas.

Embla Magnusdottir presents a simple and strong monoprint image of a Christmas tree, emerging from contrasting background colours, the traditional red and green.

Artwork by Bali Sangha-Jenkins

Pamela Mooken's ink on paper piece illustrates the traditional Christmas song The Twelve Days of Christmas. As a contrast Bali Sangha-Jenkins portrays Marilyn Monroe in the three days of Christmas using bright colours and glitter.

Cloe Talbot-Kelly takes us on a journey into nature with a winter landscape of cottages and tiny birds in snow. Ken Turnell's work is a carefully hand crafted relief installation made of wire, camera mirrors and lights that create a multi dimensional environment.

 

These artists take the viewers on a journey, sharing with them their individual stories about Christmas. The exhibition also demonstrates how this holiday relates to us in more than one way.

All the works in the exhibition are for sale. Please leave your contact details at the bar if you would like to invest in a work of art. © Dr Magnus Gestsson, Curator

The Red Tent is at 8 Pocklingtons Walk, Leicester

3rd November

Artist's Leicester exhibition traces origins of medicinal plants into the Amazon and Middle East

Taking viewers through the deserts of the Middle East and into dense Peruvian rainforests, a beautiful thought-provoking exhibition by internationally acclaimed artist Anna Lucas opens at Leciester's Phoenix Square Film & Digital Media on 7th November, running until 16th December.

Featuring two short films and accompanying photographs, the exhibition explores complex themes surrounding the origins of two medicinal plants - Kaff Mariam and Una de Gato - first encountered by the artist in her local market in Brixton, south London.

Kaff Mariam begins in Jericho and moves through Palestine to Sinai. As the journey progresses, the people and their landscapes become as significant as the plant itself. Una de Gato follows this plant - with its anti-inflammatory properties and cure for cancer - from the dense Amazonian forest through harvesting and manufacturing to where it is sold as sweets on the buses of Lima.

Beautiful, ancient landscapes are punctuated with subtle observations - an elderly goat herd toting an IKEA bag in the wilderness - as Lucas traces the origins of these plants and reveal the political, scientific and spiritual subcultures which have evolved around them.

Lucas creates contemplative work, challenging traditional documentary format and asking viewers to make their own minds up about what they see without relying on an explanatory voiceover.

Anna Lucas is one of the leading exponents of contemporary film and video art. Also a senior lecturer in fine art at De Montford University, she is the latest in a series of exciting artists to show her work in the DMU Cube, a purpose-built interactive digital arts space at Phoenix Square.

Entry to the exhibition is free of charge. "We are delighted to be able to bring work from an international artist of Anna Lucas's calibre to Leicester," commented John Rance, chief executive of Phoenix Film & Digital Media.

There will also be an artist's talk on Wednesday 30th November at 6.30pm where Anna will discuss her practice and reflect on the investigations and travels she undertook during the making of the films.

19th October

Leicester's smallest touring gallery

Galleri Gestur/Gallery Guest held its inaugural exhibition Trying to remember a house, from 4th October to 22nd October. Featuring the work of artist Kolbrun Yr Einarsdottir, the charcoal and pen drawings are contained in a tiny book. The book is contained in a carry case which can be taken, very easily, to any space where people can inspect them, using the pair of white gloves provided with the mobile exhibition.

Artist Kolbrun Yr Einarsdottir

Kolbrun graduated with a degree in fine art from Iceland's Academy of the Arts in 2009. He work is firmly rooted in a personal take on her life in the most controversial of Reykjavik's suburbs, Breidholtio, where she was brought up. Inspired by iconic landmarks, buildings and shop signs in her old neighbourhood, she applied graffiti, drawing and stencils to bring her memories to life, to share with her audience.

Director of the tiny touring Gallery, Dr. Magnus Gestsson told us: "The gallery was founded on 3rd October and launched at the Rent Tent (bar in Pocklington's walk) on 4th October. It is founded in memory of my father Gestur Hallgrimsson (1929 - 1996).

"Gallery Gestur/Gallery Guest is a non-profit touring exhibition intended to activate contemporary art in society, by bringing it into the public domain for viewing, discussion and inspiration, " he said.

The gallery is contained within a space that is just 24.6 x 25.7 x 4.7 centimeters.

Dr. Magnus Gestsson

Artsin went to see the Gallery at Current Affairs, the healthfood shop in Loseby Lane.

More information is available on Facebook.

Student creatives

Traverse Creatives is an exhibition group set up by students of the Loughborough School of the Arts. Their next event Trove is coming up from the 29th Nov to 5th Dec at the Pedestrian Gallery in Leicester, The LCB Depot, Rutland Street.

For more information see their web site

Thursday 8th September

Art auction raises cash for Oxjam

Fabrika Arts Centre hosted an auction of work by local artists, tonight. The event raised money for the Oxjam festival, taking place on October 22nd in the Cultural Quarter of Leicester.

Local artists donated a wide variety of artworks for the auction, all of which went towards the costs of the Oxjam fundraiser in October. Last years Leicester Oxjam raised the largest amount of funds of all the Oxjam events throughout the UK.

Auctioneer Dave and his assistants did a really job presenting the works and selling them to the bidders.

At only lot 3, this remarkable work by Tony Rowe raised a record for the night and was sold by Auctioneer Dave for £50.

One of the more unusual works was a series of pages of letters, composed into the shape of the Union Jack flag. This work by Lloyd Hughes failed to win any interest however.

This fine watercolour on canvass fetched £8.

Also in the auction was this painting by the Azerbaijan artist Agayev. His work was featured in our article about an earlier show at Fabrika.

A work by Kevin Jones, a picture of a car in a pond, went under the hammer for the second biggest bid of the night at £45.

Oxjam Organiser Anna Web told us: "The auction has gone really well. A lot of people have been brought together tonight to raise money for a great cause. The event has been generously supported by local artists and has raised awareness of the festival. Fabrika have done a really great job in hosting tonight's event."

Find out about the Oxjam Festival in October

See our report on the Oxjam Festival of 2010

22nd August

Sean Clark launches the Interact Gallery

Digital artist Sean Clark launched the Interact Gallery tonight, at the Fabrika Arts Centre.

Leicester's newest gallery for interactive and digital arts opened today on the first floor of Fabrika, in Humberstone Gate. It will act as a showcase for the best art works in the East Midlands and will be curated jointly by Sean Clark, De Montfort University and Adam Kirk of Fabrika.

The show tonight was a preview and runs until 5th September and the organisers hope that would-be artists will offer their works to the rolling programme, during which exhibits will be changed regularly.

Speaking at the opening, Sean Clark said "The transformation of the upstairs space is still underway but it is hoped to be completed in two weeks time. Over the next two months we plan to show the work of up and coming digital artists."

On show tonight were a number of works by Sean Clark, such as his Memory Mirror, which captures video images of people walking in front of it and plays them back as ghostly images.

His work Drop Sketch is a wall of graphical images provided by people from their mobile phones, to which they have downloaded a special app. that allows them to make a sketch and upload it to the central gallery.

Another panel shows a group of moving circles that will, in time, interact with the viewer.

Also speaking at tonight's event was Professor Ernest Edmonds, from De Montfort University, who told the meeting "innovations in interactive arts have often involved small and select groups of people.

"This gallery is ideal for interactive work. Leicester has had a strong tradition in this area over a long period of time. It was one of the first cities to mount an early exhibition of interactive art back in 1970/71, in what was then Leicester Polytechnic.

"It was albert Einstein who said that inventing the problem is more important than solving it. This very much sums up what this exhibition is about.

"Leicester has for a long time been noted for its adventurous and experimental artists. Buckminster Fuller came here in 1971", he said recounting some of the early approaches to interactive art experiments. Fuller was an engineer, designer, inventor and systems theorist. He invented the architecture of the geodesic dome.

A book is due out in November which Ernest Edmonds has edited with Linda Candy: Interacting: art, research and the creative practitioner, to be published by Libri. In it, contributors will consider the many forms of interaction involved in the arts and in creative processes.

"I look forward to seeing the gallery playing its part in innovation and risk-taking as part of the artistic process, " Prof. Edmonds said.

More information is available from the Interact Gallery web site.

See our feature article on the work of Sean Clark.

8th March

Art for Change

Art for change is an exhibition and platform for artists from Leicester and other parts of the East Midlands. Artsin went to see their current display at the Malcolm Arcade, in the Market Area's Silver Street.

We met Alex Serrano there, who told us about the ideas behind the exhibition and showed us round the works that are on display. AFC has grown out of the need to create more public space to display the outputs of artists. Its aim is to make Leicester a more united cultural city. Their slogan is Exhibiting art work not to decorate walls but to break them down.

Alex Serrano told us: "We want to bring about change in the community. If we can foster creativity in each individual, then communities can change. Creativity is about creating emotional connections between the artist and the individual." He wants to connect art to local people, "to make it grow from the roots up."

Far from having a permanent gallery, AFC creates 'pop up' exhibitions in places like vacant shop units and has been operating in Leicester for about a year. Even though they have not received substantial funding from institutions, they have proved that there are plenty of artists who want to show their work and a supply of people who are willing to take a break from their shopping and pop into to see something new.

Alex is fizzing with ideas about how to energise Leicester's arts scene. He wants to organise an arts festival in the summer. He wants to see Leicester nominated as a UK City of Culture in 2017. "There is a lot of artistic talent in this area", he told us.

Georgie Tansell is an artist who has a series of images about domestic vioence, currently on display in the Malcolm Arcade units. These large images are next to a 'light box' in which there is a series of small pictures that light up.

Other artists have used a variety of materials to compose their artworks. Jazzy Page, for example, has used tiny pieces of newspaper to create her picture of 'Conrad'.

Andreas Skoufaris has created his collage Untitled from vibrant materials. How a village vanished in the fog on the Tyne is by Sam Boulton, who has worked with tissue paper, acrylic, gloss and oil paint.

The exhibition also includes three-dimensional works.

Students at De Montfort University have created a model of a proposed City Archive building.

Not all the work on show is abstract in style, as you can see from this painting, Barca, by Catherine Howell.

We really liked the approach taken by Art for Change. Rather than confining the work of new artists to Museums, they have brought it into the shopping area in the centre of the city and made it accessible to people who might not otherwise see it. With so many empty shops, this is a great idea and we would like to see it grow.

You can visit the exhibition in Malcolm Arcade between 12 noon and 3 p.m. and from 3.40 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.

See more about Art for Change on Facebook.

Other pages you might like

Interview with Stella Couloubanis of Embrace Arts

Sean Clark on digital arts

Helen Saunders at the Fringe Launch

Helen Saunders' May Show

DMU students exhbition

Hinckley young artists

World AIDS day exhibition, 2009