10 Must-See UK Art Exhibitions in May (That Aren’t in London)
Not London! gowithYamo’s monthly roundup of shows outside the capital...
By
Verity Babbs
April 23, 2025
London’s got a lot going for it, from that massive wheel to £1000 rent for a place under someone’s sink in Clapham. It’s also full of museums and galleries, which dominate the UK's “must-see” lists. For my new monthly column for gowithYamo, I say, enough with London! Have you tried… literally anywhere else? So, welcome to Not London, where I’ll share with you the exhibitions I think are worth a visit in the UK this month, anywhere but London.
Are We Nearly There Yet? / ZEST Roadmap
Hidden Wardrobe, Hampshire
From 09 May until 25 May
Roadmap: Are we nearly there yet? is the first exhibition in a major takeover by Southampton-based collective ZEST this May. On display in what was once a costume shop on the Old Northam Road, Are we nearly there yet? showcases work by ZEST artists Bryn Lloyd and Jennifer Mon on the theme of mapping. ZEST Roadmap (which will include community events and almost 100 artist commissions, and is the collective’s largest project to date) celebrates Southampton’s Old Northam Road. Once the city’s antiques quarter, the street is now a hub for independent artists thanks to support from ‘a space’ arts, and it’s also where I saw a seagull fight a rat once.
Mostyn Gallery, Conwy County Borough
Until 31 May
I knew I recognised Vanessa da Silva’s work from somewhere when I saw ‘Roda Viva’ on Mostyn Gallery’s website, and a scroll back through Instagram reminded me that it was when I saw her sculptures at Frieze Sculpture and shared a photo of them because I couldn’t afford a ticket to go to the inside bit. ‘Roda Viva’ (“wheel of life”) is inspired by da Silva’s family history and Brazilian folk traditions, and her colourful sculptures and delicate translucent textiles look fantastic in the Llandudno gallery, which is certainly living up to its goal of creating a contemporary exhibitions programme to rival those in major art cities.
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Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Warwickshire
Until 7 June
In partnership with the Ingram Collection, Rugby Art Gallery & Museum is saying what we’ve all been thinking: Paintings? Overrated. Beyond the Canvas puts sculpture in the spotlight, as part of the museum’s 25th birthday bash. The celebration of British sculpture brings together sculptural work from the Ingram Collection with drawn and painted work in the collection in Rugby, the latter used to illuminate the former. Expect brilliant work from 20th-century sculptural masters like Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, as well as drawings by contemporary stars like Lubaina Himid and Claudette Johnson.
The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives
Dovecot Studios, Midlothian
Until 28 June
Like your messy situationship, the Scottish Colourists “weren’t actually together even if people said they were together”. The four independent artists (Francis Cadell, Leslie Hunter, Samuel Peploe, and John Duncan) were working in the first decades of the 20th century, and did occasionally exhibit together, but were really only united by their interest in Post-Impressionist developments in colour and form. Much like double-breasted suits, the group’s international popularity fell after World War II, but they had a major resurgence in the 1980s. This new show at Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios (in partnership with the Fleming Collection) puts the Colourists’ work in dialogue with paintings by other Post-Impressionist artists, including Henri Matisse and André Derain.
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridgeshire
Until 3 August
All 374 Dürer prints in the Fitzwilliam collection have had a glow-up, and they’re ready to hit the town. Each of the prints has had some TLC during a major conservation project to help preserve the artworks and make repairs, and Discovering Dürer is the first outing of a selection of the Fitzwilliam prints since they’ve been responsibly tarted up. Dürer was the undisputed King of Prints, and he built himself an international reputation (no mean feat in the 16th century, when people didn’t even have LinkedIn) because he was all over his personal branding. By creating easily-replicable prints as a primary medium, and signing them with his punchy AD logo, he was able to get his work into the hands of wealthy collectors throughout Europe. God, he would have loved LinkedIn.
Wiltshire Museum, Wiltshire
Until 6 September
Displaying work by self-taught artists and makers from the last 100 years, Un/Common People is all about the folk traditions of Wiltshire. Wiltshire’s an excellent county for that sort of thing, too, what with Stonehenge being there, as well as ‘The Devil’s Den’ where a really nasty mythical toad is meant to greet you if you’re a naughty child and you run around it in a circle. The exhibition includes photographs, paintings, examples of traditional crafts, and newly commissioned folk songs, with several pieces on loan from the Museum of British Folklore.
Hastings Contemporary, East Sussex
Until 14 September
Hastings Contemporary are leaning into their seafront location with their latest exhibition, celebrating “art and life beneath the waves”. The exhibition includes work from five continents, with work from major art stars stretching back four centuries, including Michael Armitage, Christopher Wood, and an anonymous 18th century artist who has painted a crocodile exactly like the ones you used to see in Punch and Judy (minus the string of sausages and puppet domestic violence). Undersea is the third in a trilogy of water-y exhibitions at Hastings Contemporary by the curator James Russell, who also recently put on an excellent exhibition of work by Tirzah Garwood at Dulwich Picture Gallery. But that’s in London, so let it be struck from the record.
Cassi Namoda Sunley’s Window Commission
Turner Contemporary, Kent
From 02 May until 21 September
It’s a seaside-heavy edition this month, as I recommend my second of three beach-facing exhibitions (the fact that I am gagging for a holiday has nothing to do with this, I promise). Turner Contemporary - named after JMW Turner, who stayed at a boarding house on the site when he came to Margate to paint things in that blurry, brown way, he so liked to do - has commissioned Cassi Namoda to transform the gallery’s floor-to-ceiling windows for the summer. The commission is Namoda’s first institutional project in Europe and is inspired by two of the Mozambican artist’s recent paintings of beach-goers and plays with the traditions of stained glass.
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Dorset
Until 5 October
Bournemouth’s Russell-Cotes is a beautiful, decadent space, with its collection of 19th century paintings hung floor-to-ceiling in its carpeted hallways, lit by Edwardian chandeliers, and gorgeous views out onto Bournemouth beach and the sea that is regularly pumped full of poo by the government. The South Coast jewel has dedicated its latest exhibition to one of my favourite oxymorons: socialist nepo baby, May Morris. Showcasing fabulous designs for wallpaper created for her father William’s company, Morris & Co. and detailed floral embroideries, the exhibition also highlights Morris’ social work to empower other female artists.
That Marvellous Atmosphere: Stanley Spencer and Cookham Regatta
Stanley Spencer Gallery, Berkshire
Until 2 November
What if the Bible were set in Berkshire? This is the question to which artist Stanley Spencer dedicated his life. Cookham, “a village in Heaven” where Spencer was born and spent much of his life, was where he set many of his biblical paintings. The Stanley Spencer Gallery on Cookham’s high street is now displaying Spencer’s final large-scale artwork, Christ Preaching at Cookham Regatta, to which the artist dedicated the last decade of his life and which he died before finishing. The Regatta has been taking place on the Thames since 1882, and Spencer wanted to capture the Victorian / Edwardian charm of the races he enjoyed in his childhood. Jesus would have liked it, too, because people were statistically more religious then.
London’s got a lot going for it, from that massive wheel to £1000 rent for a place under someone’s sink in Clapham. It’s also full of museums and galleries, which dominate the UK's “must-see” lists. For my new monthly column for gowithYamo, I say, enough with London! Have you tried… literally anywhere else? So, welcome to Not London, where I’ll share with you the exhibitions I think are worth a visit in the UK this month, anywhere but London.
Are We Nearly There Yet? / ZEST Roadmap
Hidden Wardrobe, Hampshire
From 09 May until 25 May
Roadmap: Are we nearly there yet? is the first exhibition in a major takeover by Southampton-based collective ZEST this May. On display in what was once a costume shop on the Old Northam Road, Are we nearly there yet? showcases work by ZEST artists Bryn Lloyd and Jennifer Mon on the theme of mapping. ZEST Roadmap (which will include community events and almost 100 artist commissions, and is the collective’s largest project to date) celebrates Southampton’s Old Northam Road. Once the city’s antiques quarter, the street is now a hub for independent artists thanks to support from ‘a space’ arts, and it’s also where I saw a seagull fight a rat once.
Mostyn Gallery, Conwy County Borough
Until 31 May
I knew I recognised Vanessa da Silva’s work from somewhere when I saw ‘Roda Viva’ on Mostyn Gallery’s website, and a scroll back through Instagram reminded me that it was when I saw her sculptures at Frieze Sculpture and shared a photo of them because I couldn’t afford a ticket to go to the inside bit. ‘Roda Viva’ (“wheel of life”) is inspired by da Silva’s family history and Brazilian folk traditions, and her colourful sculptures and delicate translucent textiles look fantastic in the Llandudno gallery, which is certainly living up to its goal of creating a contemporary exhibitions programme to rival those in major art cities.
Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Warwickshire
Until 7 June
In partnership with the Ingram Collection, Rugby Art Gallery & Museum is saying what we’ve all been thinking: Paintings? Overrated. Beyond the Canvas puts sculpture in the spotlight, as part of the museum’s 25th birthday bash. The celebration of British sculpture brings together sculptural work from the Ingram Collection with drawn and painted work in the collection in Rugby, the latter used to illuminate the former. Expect brilliant work from 20th-century sculptural masters like Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, as well as drawings by contemporary stars like Lubaina Himid and Claudette Johnson.
The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives
Dovecot Studios, Midlothian
Until 28 June
Like your messy situationship, the Scottish Colourists “weren’t actually together even if people said they were together”. The four independent artists (Francis Cadell, Leslie Hunter, Samuel Peploe, and John Duncan) were working in the first decades of the 20th century, and did occasionally exhibit together, but were really only united by their interest in Post-Impressionist developments in colour and form. Much like double-breasted suits, the group’s international popularity fell after World War II, but they had a major resurgence in the 1980s. This new show at Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios (in partnership with the Fleming Collection) puts the Colourists’ work in dialogue with paintings by other Post-Impressionist artists, including Henri Matisse and André Derain.
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridgeshire
Until 3 August
All 374 Dürer prints in the Fitzwilliam collection have had a glow-up, and they’re ready to hit the town. Each of the prints has had some TLC during a major conservation project to help preserve the artworks and make repairs, and Discovering Dürer is the first outing of a selection of the Fitzwilliam prints since they’ve been responsibly tarted up. Dürer was the undisputed King of Prints, and he built himself an international reputation (no mean feat in the 16th century, when people didn’t even have LinkedIn) because he was all over his personal branding. By creating easily-replicable prints as a primary medium, and signing them with his punchy AD logo, he was able to get his work into the hands of wealthy collectors throughout Europe. God, he would have loved LinkedIn.
Wiltshire Museum, Wiltshire
Until 6 September
Displaying work by self-taught artists and makers from the last 100 years, Un/Common People is all about the folk traditions of Wiltshire. Wiltshire’s an excellent county for that sort of thing, too, what with Stonehenge being there, as well as ‘The Devil’s Den’ where a really nasty mythical toad is meant to greet you if you’re a naughty child and you run around it in a circle. The exhibition includes photographs, paintings, examples of traditional crafts, and newly commissioned folk songs, with several pieces on loan from the Museum of British Folklore.
Hastings Contemporary, East Sussex
Until 14 September
Hastings Contemporary are leaning into their seafront location with their latest exhibition, celebrating “art and life beneath the waves”. The exhibition includes work from five continents, with work from major art stars stretching back four centuries, including Michael Armitage, Christopher Wood, and an anonymous 18th century artist who has painted a crocodile exactly like the ones you used to see in Punch and Judy (minus the string of sausages and puppet domestic violence). Undersea is the third in a trilogy of water-y exhibitions at Hastings Contemporary by the curator James Russell, who also recently put on an excellent exhibition of work by Tirzah Garwood at Dulwich Picture Gallery. But that’s in London, so let it be struck from the record.
Cassi Namoda Sunley’s Window Commission
Turner Contemporary, Kent
From 02 May until 21 September
It’s a seaside-heavy edition this month, as I recommend my second of three beach-facing exhibitions (the fact that I am gagging for a holiday has nothing to do with this, I promise). Turner Contemporary - named after JMW Turner, who stayed at a boarding house on the site when he came to Margate to paint things in that blurry, brown way, he so liked to do - has commissioned Cassi Namoda to transform the gallery’s floor-to-ceiling windows for the summer. The commission is Namoda’s first institutional project in Europe and is inspired by two of the Mozambican artist’s recent paintings of beach-goers and plays with the traditions of stained glass.
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Dorset
Until 5 October
Bournemouth’s Russell-Cotes is a beautiful, decadent space, with its collection of 19th century paintings hung floor-to-ceiling in its carpeted hallways, lit by Edwardian chandeliers, and gorgeous views out onto Bournemouth beach and the sea that is regularly pumped full of poo by the government. The South Coast jewel has dedicated its latest exhibition to one of my favourite oxymorons: socialist nepo baby, May Morris. Showcasing fabulous designs for wallpaper created for her father William’s company, Morris & Co. and detailed floral embroideries, the exhibition also highlights Morris’ social work to empower other female artists.
That Marvellous Atmosphere: Stanley Spencer and Cookham Regatta
Stanley Spencer Gallery, Berkshire
Until 2 November
What if the Bible were set in Berkshire? This is the question to which artist Stanley Spencer dedicated his life. Cookham, “a village in Heaven” where Spencer was born and spent much of his life, was where he set many of his biblical paintings. The Stanley Spencer Gallery on Cookham’s high street is now displaying Spencer’s final large-scale artwork, Christ Preaching at Cookham Regatta, to which the artist dedicated the last decade of his life and which he died before finishing. The Regatta has been taking place on the Thames since 1882, and Spencer wanted to capture the Victorian / Edwardian charm of the races he enjoyed in his childhood. Jesus would have liked it, too, because people were statistically more religious then.
London’s got a lot going for it, from that massive wheel to £1000 rent for a place under someone’s sink in Clapham. It’s also full of museums and galleries, which dominate the UK's “must-see” lists. For my new monthly column for gowithYamo, I say, enough with London! Have you tried… literally anywhere else? So, welcome to Not London, where I’ll share with you the exhibitions I think are worth a visit in the UK this month, anywhere but London.
Are We Nearly There Yet? / ZEST Roadmap
Hidden Wardrobe, Hampshire
From 09 May until 25 May
Roadmap: Are we nearly there yet? is the first exhibition in a major takeover by Southampton-based collective ZEST this May. On display in what was once a costume shop on the Old Northam Road, Are we nearly there yet? showcases work by ZEST artists Bryn Lloyd and Jennifer Mon on the theme of mapping. ZEST Roadmap (which will include community events and almost 100 artist commissions, and is the collective’s largest project to date) celebrates Southampton’s Old Northam Road. Once the city’s antiques quarter, the street is now a hub for independent artists thanks to support from ‘a space’ arts, and it’s also where I saw a seagull fight a rat once.
Mostyn Gallery, Conwy County Borough
Until 31 May
I knew I recognised Vanessa da Silva’s work from somewhere when I saw ‘Roda Viva’ on Mostyn Gallery’s website, and a scroll back through Instagram reminded me that it was when I saw her sculptures at Frieze Sculpture and shared a photo of them because I couldn’t afford a ticket to go to the inside bit. ‘Roda Viva’ (“wheel of life”) is inspired by da Silva’s family history and Brazilian folk traditions, and her colourful sculptures and delicate translucent textiles look fantastic in the Llandudno gallery, which is certainly living up to its goal of creating a contemporary exhibitions programme to rival those in major art cities.
Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Warwickshire
Until 7 June
In partnership with the Ingram Collection, Rugby Art Gallery & Museum is saying what we’ve all been thinking: Paintings? Overrated. Beyond the Canvas puts sculpture in the spotlight, as part of the museum’s 25th birthday bash. The celebration of British sculpture brings together sculptural work from the Ingram Collection with drawn and painted work in the collection in Rugby, the latter used to illuminate the former. Expect brilliant work from 20th-century sculptural masters like Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, as well as drawings by contemporary stars like Lubaina Himid and Claudette Johnson.
The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives
Dovecot Studios, Midlothian
Until 28 June
Like your messy situationship, the Scottish Colourists “weren’t actually together even if people said they were together”. The four independent artists (Francis Cadell, Leslie Hunter, Samuel Peploe, and John Duncan) were working in the first decades of the 20th century, and did occasionally exhibit together, but were really only united by their interest in Post-Impressionist developments in colour and form. Much like double-breasted suits, the group’s international popularity fell after World War II, but they had a major resurgence in the 1980s. This new show at Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios (in partnership with the Fleming Collection) puts the Colourists’ work in dialogue with paintings by other Post-Impressionist artists, including Henri Matisse and André Derain.
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridgeshire
Until 3 August
All 374 Dürer prints in the Fitzwilliam collection have had a glow-up, and they’re ready to hit the town. Each of the prints has had some TLC during a major conservation project to help preserve the artworks and make repairs, and Discovering Dürer is the first outing of a selection of the Fitzwilliam prints since they’ve been responsibly tarted up. Dürer was the undisputed King of Prints, and he built himself an international reputation (no mean feat in the 16th century, when people didn’t even have LinkedIn) because he was all over his personal branding. By creating easily-replicable prints as a primary medium, and signing them with his punchy AD logo, he was able to get his work into the hands of wealthy collectors throughout Europe. God, he would have loved LinkedIn.
Wiltshire Museum, Wiltshire
Until 6 September
Displaying work by self-taught artists and makers from the last 100 years, Un/Common People is all about the folk traditions of Wiltshire. Wiltshire’s an excellent county for that sort of thing, too, what with Stonehenge being there, as well as ‘The Devil’s Den’ where a really nasty mythical toad is meant to greet you if you’re a naughty child and you run around it in a circle. The exhibition includes photographs, paintings, examples of traditional crafts, and newly commissioned folk songs, with several pieces on loan from the Museum of British Folklore.
Hastings Contemporary, East Sussex
Until 14 September
Hastings Contemporary are leaning into their seafront location with their latest exhibition, celebrating “art and life beneath the waves”. The exhibition includes work from five continents, with work from major art stars stretching back four centuries, including Michael Armitage, Christopher Wood, and an anonymous 18th century artist who has painted a crocodile exactly like the ones you used to see in Punch and Judy (minus the string of sausages and puppet domestic violence). Undersea is the third in a trilogy of water-y exhibitions at Hastings Contemporary by the curator James Russell, who also recently put on an excellent exhibition of work by Tirzah Garwood at Dulwich Picture Gallery. But that’s in London, so let it be struck from the record.
Cassi Namoda Sunley’s Window Commission
Turner Contemporary, Kent
From 02 May until 21 September
It’s a seaside-heavy edition this month, as I recommend my second of three beach-facing exhibitions (the fact that I am gagging for a holiday has nothing to do with this, I promise). Turner Contemporary - named after JMW Turner, who stayed at a boarding house on the site when he came to Margate to paint things in that blurry, brown way, he so liked to do - has commissioned Cassi Namoda to transform the gallery’s floor-to-ceiling windows for the summer. The commission is Namoda’s first institutional project in Europe and is inspired by two of the Mozambican artist’s recent paintings of beach-goers and plays with the traditions of stained glass.
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Dorset
Until 5 October
Bournemouth’s Russell-Cotes is a beautiful, decadent space, with its collection of 19th century paintings hung floor-to-ceiling in its carpeted hallways, lit by Edwardian chandeliers, and gorgeous views out onto Bournemouth beach and the sea that is regularly pumped full of poo by the government. The South Coast jewel has dedicated its latest exhibition to one of my favourite oxymorons: socialist nepo baby, May Morris. Showcasing fabulous designs for wallpaper created for her father William’s company, Morris & Co. and detailed floral embroideries, the exhibition also highlights Morris’ social work to empower other female artists.
That Marvellous Atmosphere: Stanley Spencer and Cookham Regatta
Stanley Spencer Gallery, Berkshire
Until 2 November
What if the Bible were set in Berkshire? This is the question to which artist Stanley Spencer dedicated his life. Cookham, “a village in Heaven” where Spencer was born and spent much of his life, was where he set many of his biblical paintings. The Stanley Spencer Gallery on Cookham’s high street is now displaying Spencer’s final large-scale artwork, Christ Preaching at Cookham Regatta, to which the artist dedicated the last decade of his life and which he died before finishing. The Regatta has been taking place on the Thames since 1882, and Spencer wanted to capture the Victorian / Edwardian charm of the races he enjoyed in his childhood. Jesus would have liked it, too, because people were statistically more religious then.
London’s got a lot going for it, from that massive wheel to £1000 rent for a place under someone’s sink in Clapham. It’s also full of museums and galleries, which dominate the UK's “must-see” lists. For my new monthly column for gowithYamo, I say, enough with London! Have you tried… literally anywhere else? So, welcome to Not London, where I’ll share with you the exhibitions I think are worth a visit in the UK this month, anywhere but London.
Are We Nearly There Yet? / ZEST Roadmap
Hidden Wardrobe, Hampshire
From 09 May until 25 May
Roadmap: Are we nearly there yet? is the first exhibition in a major takeover by Southampton-based collective ZEST this May. On display in what was once a costume shop on the Old Northam Road, Are we nearly there yet? showcases work by ZEST artists Bryn Lloyd and Jennifer Mon on the theme of mapping. ZEST Roadmap (which will include community events and almost 100 artist commissions, and is the collective’s largest project to date) celebrates Southampton’s Old Northam Road. Once the city’s antiques quarter, the street is now a hub for independent artists thanks to support from ‘a space’ arts, and it’s also where I saw a seagull fight a rat once.
Mostyn Gallery, Conwy County Borough
Until 31 May
I knew I recognised Vanessa da Silva’s work from somewhere when I saw ‘Roda Viva’ on Mostyn Gallery’s website, and a scroll back through Instagram reminded me that it was when I saw her sculptures at Frieze Sculpture and shared a photo of them because I couldn’t afford a ticket to go to the inside bit. ‘Roda Viva’ (“wheel of life”) is inspired by da Silva’s family history and Brazilian folk traditions, and her colourful sculptures and delicate translucent textiles look fantastic in the Llandudno gallery, which is certainly living up to its goal of creating a contemporary exhibitions programme to rival those in major art cities.
Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Warwickshire
Until 7 June
In partnership with the Ingram Collection, Rugby Art Gallery & Museum is saying what we’ve all been thinking: Paintings? Overrated. Beyond the Canvas puts sculpture in the spotlight, as part of the museum’s 25th birthday bash. The celebration of British sculpture brings together sculptural work from the Ingram Collection with drawn and painted work in the collection in Rugby, the latter used to illuminate the former. Expect brilliant work from 20th-century sculptural masters like Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, as well as drawings by contemporary stars like Lubaina Himid and Claudette Johnson.
The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives
Dovecot Studios, Midlothian
Until 28 June
Like your messy situationship, the Scottish Colourists “weren’t actually together even if people said they were together”. The four independent artists (Francis Cadell, Leslie Hunter, Samuel Peploe, and John Duncan) were working in the first decades of the 20th century, and did occasionally exhibit together, but were really only united by their interest in Post-Impressionist developments in colour and form. Much like double-breasted suits, the group’s international popularity fell after World War II, but they had a major resurgence in the 1980s. This new show at Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios (in partnership with the Fleming Collection) puts the Colourists’ work in dialogue with paintings by other Post-Impressionist artists, including Henri Matisse and André Derain.
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridgeshire
Until 3 August
All 374 Dürer prints in the Fitzwilliam collection have had a glow-up, and they’re ready to hit the town. Each of the prints has had some TLC during a major conservation project to help preserve the artworks and make repairs, and Discovering Dürer is the first outing of a selection of the Fitzwilliam prints since they’ve been responsibly tarted up. Dürer was the undisputed King of Prints, and he built himself an international reputation (no mean feat in the 16th century, when people didn’t even have LinkedIn) because he was all over his personal branding. By creating easily-replicable prints as a primary medium, and signing them with his punchy AD logo, he was able to get his work into the hands of wealthy collectors throughout Europe. God, he would have loved LinkedIn.
Wiltshire Museum, Wiltshire
Until 6 September
Displaying work by self-taught artists and makers from the last 100 years, Un/Common People is all about the folk traditions of Wiltshire. Wiltshire’s an excellent county for that sort of thing, too, what with Stonehenge being there, as well as ‘The Devil’s Den’ where a really nasty mythical toad is meant to greet you if you’re a naughty child and you run around it in a circle. The exhibition includes photographs, paintings, examples of traditional crafts, and newly commissioned folk songs, with several pieces on loan from the Museum of British Folklore.
Hastings Contemporary, East Sussex
Until 14 September
Hastings Contemporary are leaning into their seafront location with their latest exhibition, celebrating “art and life beneath the waves”. The exhibition includes work from five continents, with work from major art stars stretching back four centuries, including Michael Armitage, Christopher Wood, and an anonymous 18th century artist who has painted a crocodile exactly like the ones you used to see in Punch and Judy (minus the string of sausages and puppet domestic violence). Undersea is the third in a trilogy of water-y exhibitions at Hastings Contemporary by the curator James Russell, who also recently put on an excellent exhibition of work by Tirzah Garwood at Dulwich Picture Gallery. But that’s in London, so let it be struck from the record.
Cassi Namoda Sunley’s Window Commission
Turner Contemporary, Kent
From 02 May until 21 September
It’s a seaside-heavy edition this month, as I recommend my second of three beach-facing exhibitions (the fact that I am gagging for a holiday has nothing to do with this, I promise). Turner Contemporary - named after JMW Turner, who stayed at a boarding house on the site when he came to Margate to paint things in that blurry, brown way, he so liked to do - has commissioned Cassi Namoda to transform the gallery’s floor-to-ceiling windows for the summer. The commission is Namoda’s first institutional project in Europe and is inspired by two of the Mozambican artist’s recent paintings of beach-goers and plays with the traditions of stained glass.
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Dorset
Until 5 October
Bournemouth’s Russell-Cotes is a beautiful, decadent space, with its collection of 19th century paintings hung floor-to-ceiling in its carpeted hallways, lit by Edwardian chandeliers, and gorgeous views out onto Bournemouth beach and the sea that is regularly pumped full of poo by the government. The South Coast jewel has dedicated its latest exhibition to one of my favourite oxymorons: socialist nepo baby, May Morris. Showcasing fabulous designs for wallpaper created for her father William’s company, Morris & Co. and detailed floral embroideries, the exhibition also highlights Morris’ social work to empower other female artists.
That Marvellous Atmosphere: Stanley Spencer and Cookham Regatta
Stanley Spencer Gallery, Berkshire
Until 2 November
What if the Bible were set in Berkshire? This is the question to which artist Stanley Spencer dedicated his life. Cookham, “a village in Heaven” where Spencer was born and spent much of his life, was where he set many of his biblical paintings. The Stanley Spencer Gallery on Cookham’s high street is now displaying Spencer’s final large-scale artwork, Christ Preaching at Cookham Regatta, to which the artist dedicated the last decade of his life and which he died before finishing. The Regatta has been taking place on the Thames since 1882, and Spencer wanted to capture the Victorian / Edwardian charm of the races he enjoyed in his childhood. Jesus would have liked it, too, because people were statistically more religious then.
London’s got a lot going for it, from that massive wheel to £1000 rent for a place under someone’s sink in Clapham. It’s also full of museums and galleries, which dominate the UK's “must-see” lists. For my new monthly column for gowithYamo, I say, enough with London! Have you tried… literally anywhere else? So, welcome to Not London, where I’ll share with you the exhibitions I think are worth a visit in the UK this month, anywhere but London.
Are We Nearly There Yet? / ZEST Roadmap
Hidden Wardrobe, Hampshire
From 09 May until 25 May
Roadmap: Are we nearly there yet? is the first exhibition in a major takeover by Southampton-based collective ZEST this May. On display in what was once a costume shop on the Old Northam Road, Are we nearly there yet? showcases work by ZEST artists Bryn Lloyd and Jennifer Mon on the theme of mapping. ZEST Roadmap (which will include community events and almost 100 artist commissions, and is the collective’s largest project to date) celebrates Southampton’s Old Northam Road. Once the city’s antiques quarter, the street is now a hub for independent artists thanks to support from ‘a space’ arts, and it’s also where I saw a seagull fight a rat once.
Mostyn Gallery, Conwy County Borough
Until 31 May
I knew I recognised Vanessa da Silva’s work from somewhere when I saw ‘Roda Viva’ on Mostyn Gallery’s website, and a scroll back through Instagram reminded me that it was when I saw her sculptures at Frieze Sculpture and shared a photo of them because I couldn’t afford a ticket to go to the inside bit. ‘Roda Viva’ (“wheel of life”) is inspired by da Silva’s family history and Brazilian folk traditions, and her colourful sculptures and delicate translucent textiles look fantastic in the Llandudno gallery, which is certainly living up to its goal of creating a contemporary exhibitions programme to rival those in major art cities.
Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Warwickshire
Until 7 June
In partnership with the Ingram Collection, Rugby Art Gallery & Museum is saying what we’ve all been thinking: Paintings? Overrated. Beyond the Canvas puts sculpture in the spotlight, as part of the museum’s 25th birthday bash. The celebration of British sculpture brings together sculptural work from the Ingram Collection with drawn and painted work in the collection in Rugby, the latter used to illuminate the former. Expect brilliant work from 20th-century sculptural masters like Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, as well as drawings by contemporary stars like Lubaina Himid and Claudette Johnson.
The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives
Dovecot Studios, Midlothian
Until 28 June
Like your messy situationship, the Scottish Colourists “weren’t actually together even if people said they were together”. The four independent artists (Francis Cadell, Leslie Hunter, Samuel Peploe, and John Duncan) were working in the first decades of the 20th century, and did occasionally exhibit together, but were really only united by their interest in Post-Impressionist developments in colour and form. Much like double-breasted suits, the group’s international popularity fell after World War II, but they had a major resurgence in the 1980s. This new show at Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios (in partnership with the Fleming Collection) puts the Colourists’ work in dialogue with paintings by other Post-Impressionist artists, including Henri Matisse and André Derain.
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridgeshire
Until 3 August
All 374 Dürer prints in the Fitzwilliam collection have had a glow-up, and they’re ready to hit the town. Each of the prints has had some TLC during a major conservation project to help preserve the artworks and make repairs, and Discovering Dürer is the first outing of a selection of the Fitzwilliam prints since they’ve been responsibly tarted up. Dürer was the undisputed King of Prints, and he built himself an international reputation (no mean feat in the 16th century, when people didn’t even have LinkedIn) because he was all over his personal branding. By creating easily-replicable prints as a primary medium, and signing them with his punchy AD logo, he was able to get his work into the hands of wealthy collectors throughout Europe. God, he would have loved LinkedIn.
Wiltshire Museum, Wiltshire
Until 6 September
Displaying work by self-taught artists and makers from the last 100 years, Un/Common People is all about the folk traditions of Wiltshire. Wiltshire’s an excellent county for that sort of thing, too, what with Stonehenge being there, as well as ‘The Devil’s Den’ where a really nasty mythical toad is meant to greet you if you’re a naughty child and you run around it in a circle. The exhibition includes photographs, paintings, examples of traditional crafts, and newly commissioned folk songs, with several pieces on loan from the Museum of British Folklore.
Hastings Contemporary, East Sussex
Until 14 September
Hastings Contemporary are leaning into their seafront location with their latest exhibition, celebrating “art and life beneath the waves”. The exhibition includes work from five continents, with work from major art stars stretching back four centuries, including Michael Armitage, Christopher Wood, and an anonymous 18th century artist who has painted a crocodile exactly like the ones you used to see in Punch and Judy (minus the string of sausages and puppet domestic violence). Undersea is the third in a trilogy of water-y exhibitions at Hastings Contemporary by the curator James Russell, who also recently put on an excellent exhibition of work by Tirzah Garwood at Dulwich Picture Gallery. But that’s in London, so let it be struck from the record.
Cassi Namoda Sunley’s Window Commission
Turner Contemporary, Kent
From 02 May until 21 September
It’s a seaside-heavy edition this month, as I recommend my second of three beach-facing exhibitions (the fact that I am gagging for a holiday has nothing to do with this, I promise). Turner Contemporary - named after JMW Turner, who stayed at a boarding house on the site when he came to Margate to paint things in that blurry, brown way, he so liked to do - has commissioned Cassi Namoda to transform the gallery’s floor-to-ceiling windows for the summer. The commission is Namoda’s first institutional project in Europe and is inspired by two of the Mozambican artist’s recent paintings of beach-goers and plays with the traditions of stained glass.
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Dorset
Until 5 October
Bournemouth’s Russell-Cotes is a beautiful, decadent space, with its collection of 19th century paintings hung floor-to-ceiling in its carpeted hallways, lit by Edwardian chandeliers, and gorgeous views out onto Bournemouth beach and the sea that is regularly pumped full of poo by the government. The South Coast jewel has dedicated its latest exhibition to one of my favourite oxymorons: socialist nepo baby, May Morris. Showcasing fabulous designs for wallpaper created for her father William’s company, Morris & Co. and detailed floral embroideries, the exhibition also highlights Morris’ social work to empower other female artists.
That Marvellous Atmosphere: Stanley Spencer and Cookham Regatta
Stanley Spencer Gallery, Berkshire
Until 2 November
What if the Bible were set in Berkshire? This is the question to which artist Stanley Spencer dedicated his life. Cookham, “a village in Heaven” where Spencer was born and spent much of his life, was where he set many of his biblical paintings. The Stanley Spencer Gallery on Cookham’s high street is now displaying Spencer’s final large-scale artwork, Christ Preaching at Cookham Regatta, to which the artist dedicated the last decade of his life and which he died before finishing. The Regatta has been taking place on the Thames since 1882, and Spencer wanted to capture the Victorian / Edwardian charm of the races he enjoyed in his childhood. Jesus would have liked it, too, because people were statistically more religious then.
London’s got a lot going for it, from that massive wheel to £1000 rent for a place under someone’s sink in Clapham. It’s also full of museums and galleries, which dominate the UK's “must-see” lists. For my new monthly column for gowithYamo, I say, enough with London! Have you tried… literally anywhere else? So, welcome to Not London, where I’ll share with you the exhibitions I think are worth a visit in the UK this month, anywhere but London.
Are We Nearly There Yet? / ZEST Roadmap
Hidden Wardrobe, Hampshire
From 09 May until 25 May
Roadmap: Are we nearly there yet? is the first exhibition in a major takeover by Southampton-based collective ZEST this May. On display in what was once a costume shop on the Old Northam Road, Are we nearly there yet? showcases work by ZEST artists Bryn Lloyd and Jennifer Mon on the theme of mapping. ZEST Roadmap (which will include community events and almost 100 artist commissions, and is the collective’s largest project to date) celebrates Southampton’s Old Northam Road. Once the city’s antiques quarter, the street is now a hub for independent artists thanks to support from ‘a space’ arts, and it’s also where I saw a seagull fight a rat once.
Mostyn Gallery, Conwy County Borough
Until 31 May
I knew I recognised Vanessa da Silva’s work from somewhere when I saw ‘Roda Viva’ on Mostyn Gallery’s website, and a scroll back through Instagram reminded me that it was when I saw her sculptures at Frieze Sculpture and shared a photo of them because I couldn’t afford a ticket to go to the inside bit. ‘Roda Viva’ (“wheel of life”) is inspired by da Silva’s family history and Brazilian folk traditions, and her colourful sculptures and delicate translucent textiles look fantastic in the Llandudno gallery, which is certainly living up to its goal of creating a contemporary exhibitions programme to rival those in major art cities.
Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Warwickshire
Until 7 June
In partnership with the Ingram Collection, Rugby Art Gallery & Museum is saying what we’ve all been thinking: Paintings? Overrated. Beyond the Canvas puts sculpture in the spotlight, as part of the museum’s 25th birthday bash. The celebration of British sculpture brings together sculptural work from the Ingram Collection with drawn and painted work in the collection in Rugby, the latter used to illuminate the former. Expect brilliant work from 20th-century sculptural masters like Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, as well as drawings by contemporary stars like Lubaina Himid and Claudette Johnson.
The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives
Dovecot Studios, Midlothian
Until 28 June
Like your messy situationship, the Scottish Colourists “weren’t actually together even if people said they were together”. The four independent artists (Francis Cadell, Leslie Hunter, Samuel Peploe, and John Duncan) were working in the first decades of the 20th century, and did occasionally exhibit together, but were really only united by their interest in Post-Impressionist developments in colour and form. Much like double-breasted suits, the group’s international popularity fell after World War II, but they had a major resurgence in the 1980s. This new show at Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios (in partnership with the Fleming Collection) puts the Colourists’ work in dialogue with paintings by other Post-Impressionist artists, including Henri Matisse and André Derain.
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridgeshire
Until 3 August
All 374 Dürer prints in the Fitzwilliam collection have had a glow-up, and they’re ready to hit the town. Each of the prints has had some TLC during a major conservation project to help preserve the artworks and make repairs, and Discovering Dürer is the first outing of a selection of the Fitzwilliam prints since they’ve been responsibly tarted up. Dürer was the undisputed King of Prints, and he built himself an international reputation (no mean feat in the 16th century, when people didn’t even have LinkedIn) because he was all over his personal branding. By creating easily-replicable prints as a primary medium, and signing them with his punchy AD logo, he was able to get his work into the hands of wealthy collectors throughout Europe. God, he would have loved LinkedIn.
Wiltshire Museum, Wiltshire
Until 6 September
Displaying work by self-taught artists and makers from the last 100 years, Un/Common People is all about the folk traditions of Wiltshire. Wiltshire’s an excellent county for that sort of thing, too, what with Stonehenge being there, as well as ‘The Devil’s Den’ where a really nasty mythical toad is meant to greet you if you’re a naughty child and you run around it in a circle. The exhibition includes photographs, paintings, examples of traditional crafts, and newly commissioned folk songs, with several pieces on loan from the Museum of British Folklore.
Hastings Contemporary, East Sussex
Until 14 September
Hastings Contemporary are leaning into their seafront location with their latest exhibition, celebrating “art and life beneath the waves”. The exhibition includes work from five continents, with work from major art stars stretching back four centuries, including Michael Armitage, Christopher Wood, and an anonymous 18th century artist who has painted a crocodile exactly like the ones you used to see in Punch and Judy (minus the string of sausages and puppet domestic violence). Undersea is the third in a trilogy of water-y exhibitions at Hastings Contemporary by the curator James Russell, who also recently put on an excellent exhibition of work by Tirzah Garwood at Dulwich Picture Gallery. But that’s in London, so let it be struck from the record.
Cassi Namoda Sunley’s Window Commission
Turner Contemporary, Kent
From 02 May until 21 September
It’s a seaside-heavy edition this month, as I recommend my second of three beach-facing exhibitions (the fact that I am gagging for a holiday has nothing to do with this, I promise). Turner Contemporary - named after JMW Turner, who stayed at a boarding house on the site when he came to Margate to paint things in that blurry, brown way, he so liked to do - has commissioned Cassi Namoda to transform the gallery’s floor-to-ceiling windows for the summer. The commission is Namoda’s first institutional project in Europe and is inspired by two of the Mozambican artist’s recent paintings of beach-goers and plays with the traditions of stained glass.
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Dorset
Until 5 October
Bournemouth’s Russell-Cotes is a beautiful, decadent space, with its collection of 19th century paintings hung floor-to-ceiling in its carpeted hallways, lit by Edwardian chandeliers, and gorgeous views out onto Bournemouth beach and the sea that is regularly pumped full of poo by the government. The South Coast jewel has dedicated its latest exhibition to one of my favourite oxymorons: socialist nepo baby, May Morris. Showcasing fabulous designs for wallpaper created for her father William’s company, Morris & Co. and detailed floral embroideries, the exhibition also highlights Morris’ social work to empower other female artists.
That Marvellous Atmosphere: Stanley Spencer and Cookham Regatta
Stanley Spencer Gallery, Berkshire
Until 2 November
What if the Bible were set in Berkshire? This is the question to which artist Stanley Spencer dedicated his life. Cookham, “a village in Heaven” where Spencer was born and spent much of his life, was where he set many of his biblical paintings. The Stanley Spencer Gallery on Cookham’s high street is now displaying Spencer’s final large-scale artwork, Christ Preaching at Cookham Regatta, to which the artist dedicated the last decade of his life and which he died before finishing. The Regatta has been taking place on the Thames since 1882, and Spencer wanted to capture the Victorian / Edwardian charm of the races he enjoyed in his childhood. Jesus would have liked it, too, because people were statistically more religious then.
London’s got a lot going for it, from that massive wheel to £1000 rent for a place under someone’s sink in Clapham. It’s also full of museums and galleries, which dominate the UK's “must-see” lists. For my new monthly column for gowithYamo, I say, enough with London! Have you tried… literally anywhere else? So, welcome to Not London, where I’ll share with you the exhibitions I think are worth a visit in the UK this month, anywhere but London.
Are We Nearly There Yet? / ZEST Roadmap
Hidden Wardrobe, Hampshire
From 09 May until 25 May
Roadmap: Are we nearly there yet? is the first exhibition in a major takeover by Southampton-based collective ZEST this May. On display in what was once a costume shop on the Old Northam Road, Are we nearly there yet? showcases work by ZEST artists Bryn Lloyd and Jennifer Mon on the theme of mapping. ZEST Roadmap (which will include community events and almost 100 artist commissions, and is the collective’s largest project to date) celebrates Southampton’s Old Northam Road. Once the city’s antiques quarter, the street is now a hub for independent artists thanks to support from ‘a space’ arts, and it’s also where I saw a seagull fight a rat once.
Mostyn Gallery, Conwy County Borough
Until 31 May
I knew I recognised Vanessa da Silva’s work from somewhere when I saw ‘Roda Viva’ on Mostyn Gallery’s website, and a scroll back through Instagram reminded me that it was when I saw her sculptures at Frieze Sculpture and shared a photo of them because I couldn’t afford a ticket to go to the inside bit. ‘Roda Viva’ (“wheel of life”) is inspired by da Silva’s family history and Brazilian folk traditions, and her colourful sculptures and delicate translucent textiles look fantastic in the Llandudno gallery, which is certainly living up to its goal of creating a contemporary exhibitions programme to rival those in major art cities.
Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Warwickshire
Until 7 June
In partnership with the Ingram Collection, Rugby Art Gallery & Museum is saying what we’ve all been thinking: Paintings? Overrated. Beyond the Canvas puts sculpture in the spotlight, as part of the museum’s 25th birthday bash. The celebration of British sculpture brings together sculptural work from the Ingram Collection with drawn and painted work in the collection in Rugby, the latter used to illuminate the former. Expect brilliant work from 20th-century sculptural masters like Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, as well as drawings by contemporary stars like Lubaina Himid and Claudette Johnson.
The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives
Dovecot Studios, Midlothian
Until 28 June
Like your messy situationship, the Scottish Colourists “weren’t actually together even if people said they were together”. The four independent artists (Francis Cadell, Leslie Hunter, Samuel Peploe, and John Duncan) were working in the first decades of the 20th century, and did occasionally exhibit together, but were really only united by their interest in Post-Impressionist developments in colour and form. Much like double-breasted suits, the group’s international popularity fell after World War II, but they had a major resurgence in the 1980s. This new show at Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios (in partnership with the Fleming Collection) puts the Colourists’ work in dialogue with paintings by other Post-Impressionist artists, including Henri Matisse and André Derain.
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridgeshire
Until 3 August
All 374 Dürer prints in the Fitzwilliam collection have had a glow-up, and they’re ready to hit the town. Each of the prints has had some TLC during a major conservation project to help preserve the artworks and make repairs, and Discovering Dürer is the first outing of a selection of the Fitzwilliam prints since they’ve been responsibly tarted up. Dürer was the undisputed King of Prints, and he built himself an international reputation (no mean feat in the 16th century, when people didn’t even have LinkedIn) because he was all over his personal branding. By creating easily-replicable prints as a primary medium, and signing them with his punchy AD logo, he was able to get his work into the hands of wealthy collectors throughout Europe. God, he would have loved LinkedIn.
Wiltshire Museum, Wiltshire
Until 6 September
Displaying work by self-taught artists and makers from the last 100 years, Un/Common People is all about the folk traditions of Wiltshire. Wiltshire’s an excellent county for that sort of thing, too, what with Stonehenge being there, as well as ‘The Devil’s Den’ where a really nasty mythical toad is meant to greet you if you’re a naughty child and you run around it in a circle. The exhibition includes photographs, paintings, examples of traditional crafts, and newly commissioned folk songs, with several pieces on loan from the Museum of British Folklore.
Hastings Contemporary, East Sussex
Until 14 September
Hastings Contemporary are leaning into their seafront location with their latest exhibition, celebrating “art and life beneath the waves”. The exhibition includes work from five continents, with work from major art stars stretching back four centuries, including Michael Armitage, Christopher Wood, and an anonymous 18th century artist who has painted a crocodile exactly like the ones you used to see in Punch and Judy (minus the string of sausages and puppet domestic violence). Undersea is the third in a trilogy of water-y exhibitions at Hastings Contemporary by the curator James Russell, who also recently put on an excellent exhibition of work by Tirzah Garwood at Dulwich Picture Gallery. But that’s in London, so let it be struck from the record.
Cassi Namoda Sunley’s Window Commission
Turner Contemporary, Kent
From 02 May until 21 September
It’s a seaside-heavy edition this month, as I recommend my second of three beach-facing exhibitions (the fact that I am gagging for a holiday has nothing to do with this, I promise). Turner Contemporary - named after JMW Turner, who stayed at a boarding house on the site when he came to Margate to paint things in that blurry, brown way, he so liked to do - has commissioned Cassi Namoda to transform the gallery’s floor-to-ceiling windows for the summer. The commission is Namoda’s first institutional project in Europe and is inspired by two of the Mozambican artist’s recent paintings of beach-goers and plays with the traditions of stained glass.
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Dorset
Until 5 October
Bournemouth’s Russell-Cotes is a beautiful, decadent space, with its collection of 19th century paintings hung floor-to-ceiling in its carpeted hallways, lit by Edwardian chandeliers, and gorgeous views out onto Bournemouth beach and the sea that is regularly pumped full of poo by the government. The South Coast jewel has dedicated its latest exhibition to one of my favourite oxymorons: socialist nepo baby, May Morris. Showcasing fabulous designs for wallpaper created for her father William’s company, Morris & Co. and detailed floral embroideries, the exhibition also highlights Morris’ social work to empower other female artists.
That Marvellous Atmosphere: Stanley Spencer and Cookham Regatta
Stanley Spencer Gallery, Berkshire
Until 2 November
What if the Bible were set in Berkshire? This is the question to which artist Stanley Spencer dedicated his life. Cookham, “a village in Heaven” where Spencer was born and spent much of his life, was where he set many of his biblical paintings. The Stanley Spencer Gallery on Cookham’s high street is now displaying Spencer’s final large-scale artwork, Christ Preaching at Cookham Regatta, to which the artist dedicated the last decade of his life and which he died before finishing. The Regatta has been taking place on the Thames since 1882, and Spencer wanted to capture the Victorian / Edwardian charm of the races he enjoyed in his childhood. Jesus would have liked it, too, because people were statistically more religious then.
London’s got a lot going for it, from that massive wheel to £1000 rent for a place under someone’s sink in Clapham. It’s also full of museums and galleries, which dominate the UK's “must-see” lists. For my new monthly column for gowithYamo, I say, enough with London! Have you tried… literally anywhere else? So, welcome to Not London, where I’ll share with you the exhibitions I think are worth a visit in the UK this month, anywhere but London.
Are We Nearly There Yet? / ZEST Roadmap
Hidden Wardrobe, Hampshire
From 09 May until 25 May
Roadmap: Are we nearly there yet? is the first exhibition in a major takeover by Southampton-based collective ZEST this May. On display in what was once a costume shop on the Old Northam Road, Are we nearly there yet? showcases work by ZEST artists Bryn Lloyd and Jennifer Mon on the theme of mapping. ZEST Roadmap (which will include community events and almost 100 artist commissions, and is the collective’s largest project to date) celebrates Southampton’s Old Northam Road. Once the city’s antiques quarter, the street is now a hub for independent artists thanks to support from ‘a space’ arts, and it’s also where I saw a seagull fight a rat once.
Mostyn Gallery, Conwy County Borough
Until 31 May
I knew I recognised Vanessa da Silva’s work from somewhere when I saw ‘Roda Viva’ on Mostyn Gallery’s website, and a scroll back through Instagram reminded me that it was when I saw her sculptures at Frieze Sculpture and shared a photo of them because I couldn’t afford a ticket to go to the inside bit. ‘Roda Viva’ (“wheel of life”) is inspired by da Silva’s family history and Brazilian folk traditions, and her colourful sculptures and delicate translucent textiles look fantastic in the Llandudno gallery, which is certainly living up to its goal of creating a contemporary exhibitions programme to rival those in major art cities.
Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Warwickshire
Until 7 June
In partnership with the Ingram Collection, Rugby Art Gallery & Museum is saying what we’ve all been thinking: Paintings? Overrated. Beyond the Canvas puts sculpture in the spotlight, as part of the museum’s 25th birthday bash. The celebration of British sculpture brings together sculptural work from the Ingram Collection with drawn and painted work in the collection in Rugby, the latter used to illuminate the former. Expect brilliant work from 20th-century sculptural masters like Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, as well as drawings by contemporary stars like Lubaina Himid and Claudette Johnson.
The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives
Dovecot Studios, Midlothian
Until 28 June
Like your messy situationship, the Scottish Colourists “weren’t actually together even if people said they were together”. The four independent artists (Francis Cadell, Leslie Hunter, Samuel Peploe, and John Duncan) were working in the first decades of the 20th century, and did occasionally exhibit together, but were really only united by their interest in Post-Impressionist developments in colour and form. Much like double-breasted suits, the group’s international popularity fell after World War II, but they had a major resurgence in the 1980s. This new show at Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios (in partnership with the Fleming Collection) puts the Colourists’ work in dialogue with paintings by other Post-Impressionist artists, including Henri Matisse and André Derain.
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridgeshire
Until 3 August
All 374 Dürer prints in the Fitzwilliam collection have had a glow-up, and they’re ready to hit the town. Each of the prints has had some TLC during a major conservation project to help preserve the artworks and make repairs, and Discovering Dürer is the first outing of a selection of the Fitzwilliam prints since they’ve been responsibly tarted up. Dürer was the undisputed King of Prints, and he built himself an international reputation (no mean feat in the 16th century, when people didn’t even have LinkedIn) because he was all over his personal branding. By creating easily-replicable prints as a primary medium, and signing them with his punchy AD logo, he was able to get his work into the hands of wealthy collectors throughout Europe. God, he would have loved LinkedIn.
Wiltshire Museum, Wiltshire
Until 6 September
Displaying work by self-taught artists and makers from the last 100 years, Un/Common People is all about the folk traditions of Wiltshire. Wiltshire’s an excellent county for that sort of thing, too, what with Stonehenge being there, as well as ‘The Devil’s Den’ where a really nasty mythical toad is meant to greet you if you’re a naughty child and you run around it in a circle. The exhibition includes photographs, paintings, examples of traditional crafts, and newly commissioned folk songs, with several pieces on loan from the Museum of British Folklore.
Hastings Contemporary, East Sussex
Until 14 September
Hastings Contemporary are leaning into their seafront location with their latest exhibition, celebrating “art and life beneath the waves”. The exhibition includes work from five continents, with work from major art stars stretching back four centuries, including Michael Armitage, Christopher Wood, and an anonymous 18th century artist who has painted a crocodile exactly like the ones you used to see in Punch and Judy (minus the string of sausages and puppet domestic violence). Undersea is the third in a trilogy of water-y exhibitions at Hastings Contemporary by the curator James Russell, who also recently put on an excellent exhibition of work by Tirzah Garwood at Dulwich Picture Gallery. But that’s in London, so let it be struck from the record.
Cassi Namoda Sunley’s Window Commission
Turner Contemporary, Kent
From 02 May until 21 September
It’s a seaside-heavy edition this month, as I recommend my second of three beach-facing exhibitions (the fact that I am gagging for a holiday has nothing to do with this, I promise). Turner Contemporary - named after JMW Turner, who stayed at a boarding house on the site when he came to Margate to paint things in that blurry, brown way, he so liked to do - has commissioned Cassi Namoda to transform the gallery’s floor-to-ceiling windows for the summer. The commission is Namoda’s first institutional project in Europe and is inspired by two of the Mozambican artist’s recent paintings of beach-goers and plays with the traditions of stained glass.
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Dorset
Until 5 October
Bournemouth’s Russell-Cotes is a beautiful, decadent space, with its collection of 19th century paintings hung floor-to-ceiling in its carpeted hallways, lit by Edwardian chandeliers, and gorgeous views out onto Bournemouth beach and the sea that is regularly pumped full of poo by the government. The South Coast jewel has dedicated its latest exhibition to one of my favourite oxymorons: socialist nepo baby, May Morris. Showcasing fabulous designs for wallpaper created for her father William’s company, Morris & Co. and detailed floral embroideries, the exhibition also highlights Morris’ social work to empower other female artists.
That Marvellous Atmosphere: Stanley Spencer and Cookham Regatta
Stanley Spencer Gallery, Berkshire
Until 2 November
What if the Bible were set in Berkshire? This is the question to which artist Stanley Spencer dedicated his life. Cookham, “a village in Heaven” where Spencer was born and spent much of his life, was where he set many of his biblical paintings. The Stanley Spencer Gallery on Cookham’s high street is now displaying Spencer’s final large-scale artwork, Christ Preaching at Cookham Regatta, to which the artist dedicated the last decade of his life and which he died before finishing. The Regatta has been taking place on the Thames since 1882, and Spencer wanted to capture the Victorian / Edwardian charm of the races he enjoyed in his childhood. Jesus would have liked it, too, because people were statistically more religious then.
London’s got a lot going for it, from that massive wheel to £1000 rent for a place under someone’s sink in Clapham. It’s also full of museums and galleries, which dominate the UK's “must-see” lists. For my new monthly column for gowithYamo, I say, enough with London! Have you tried… literally anywhere else? So, welcome to Not London, where I’ll share with you the exhibitions I think are worth a visit in the UK this month, anywhere but London.
Are We Nearly There Yet? / ZEST Roadmap
Hidden Wardrobe, Hampshire
From 09 May until 25 May
Roadmap: Are we nearly there yet? is the first exhibition in a major takeover by Southampton-based collective ZEST this May. On display in what was once a costume shop on the Old Northam Road, Are we nearly there yet? showcases work by ZEST artists Bryn Lloyd and Jennifer Mon on the theme of mapping. ZEST Roadmap (which will include community events and almost 100 artist commissions, and is the collective’s largest project to date) celebrates Southampton’s Old Northam Road. Once the city’s antiques quarter, the street is now a hub for independent artists thanks to support from ‘a space’ arts, and it’s also where I saw a seagull fight a rat once.
Mostyn Gallery, Conwy County Borough
Until 31 May
I knew I recognised Vanessa da Silva’s work from somewhere when I saw ‘Roda Viva’ on Mostyn Gallery’s website, and a scroll back through Instagram reminded me that it was when I saw her sculptures at Frieze Sculpture and shared a photo of them because I couldn’t afford a ticket to go to the inside bit. ‘Roda Viva’ (“wheel of life”) is inspired by da Silva’s family history and Brazilian folk traditions, and her colourful sculptures and delicate translucent textiles look fantastic in the Llandudno gallery, which is certainly living up to its goal of creating a contemporary exhibitions programme to rival those in major art cities.
Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Warwickshire
Until 7 June
In partnership with the Ingram Collection, Rugby Art Gallery & Museum is saying what we’ve all been thinking: Paintings? Overrated. Beyond the Canvas puts sculpture in the spotlight, as part of the museum’s 25th birthday bash. The celebration of British sculpture brings together sculptural work from the Ingram Collection with drawn and painted work in the collection in Rugby, the latter used to illuminate the former. Expect brilliant work from 20th-century sculptural masters like Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, as well as drawings by contemporary stars like Lubaina Himid and Claudette Johnson.
The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives
Dovecot Studios, Midlothian
Until 28 June
Like your messy situationship, the Scottish Colourists “weren’t actually together even if people said they were together”. The four independent artists (Francis Cadell, Leslie Hunter, Samuel Peploe, and John Duncan) were working in the first decades of the 20th century, and did occasionally exhibit together, but were really only united by their interest in Post-Impressionist developments in colour and form. Much like double-breasted suits, the group’s international popularity fell after World War II, but they had a major resurgence in the 1980s. This new show at Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios (in partnership with the Fleming Collection) puts the Colourists’ work in dialogue with paintings by other Post-Impressionist artists, including Henri Matisse and André Derain.
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridgeshire
Until 3 August
All 374 Dürer prints in the Fitzwilliam collection have had a glow-up, and they’re ready to hit the town. Each of the prints has had some TLC during a major conservation project to help preserve the artworks and make repairs, and Discovering Dürer is the first outing of a selection of the Fitzwilliam prints since they’ve been responsibly tarted up. Dürer was the undisputed King of Prints, and he built himself an international reputation (no mean feat in the 16th century, when people didn’t even have LinkedIn) because he was all over his personal branding. By creating easily-replicable prints as a primary medium, and signing them with his punchy AD logo, he was able to get his work into the hands of wealthy collectors throughout Europe. God, he would have loved LinkedIn.
Wiltshire Museum, Wiltshire
Until 6 September
Displaying work by self-taught artists and makers from the last 100 years, Un/Common People is all about the folk traditions of Wiltshire. Wiltshire’s an excellent county for that sort of thing, too, what with Stonehenge being there, as well as ‘The Devil’s Den’ where a really nasty mythical toad is meant to greet you if you’re a naughty child and you run around it in a circle. The exhibition includes photographs, paintings, examples of traditional crafts, and newly commissioned folk songs, with several pieces on loan from the Museum of British Folklore.
Hastings Contemporary, East Sussex
Until 14 September
Hastings Contemporary are leaning into their seafront location with their latest exhibition, celebrating “art and life beneath the waves”. The exhibition includes work from five continents, with work from major art stars stretching back four centuries, including Michael Armitage, Christopher Wood, and an anonymous 18th century artist who has painted a crocodile exactly like the ones you used to see in Punch and Judy (minus the string of sausages and puppet domestic violence). Undersea is the third in a trilogy of water-y exhibitions at Hastings Contemporary by the curator James Russell, who also recently put on an excellent exhibition of work by Tirzah Garwood at Dulwich Picture Gallery. But that’s in London, so let it be struck from the record.
Cassi Namoda Sunley’s Window Commission
Turner Contemporary, Kent
From 02 May until 21 September
It’s a seaside-heavy edition this month, as I recommend my second of three beach-facing exhibitions (the fact that I am gagging for a holiday has nothing to do with this, I promise). Turner Contemporary - named after JMW Turner, who stayed at a boarding house on the site when he came to Margate to paint things in that blurry, brown way, he so liked to do - has commissioned Cassi Namoda to transform the gallery’s floor-to-ceiling windows for the summer. The commission is Namoda’s first institutional project in Europe and is inspired by two of the Mozambican artist’s recent paintings of beach-goers and plays with the traditions of stained glass.
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Dorset
Until 5 October
Bournemouth’s Russell-Cotes is a beautiful, decadent space, with its collection of 19th century paintings hung floor-to-ceiling in its carpeted hallways, lit by Edwardian chandeliers, and gorgeous views out onto Bournemouth beach and the sea that is regularly pumped full of poo by the government. The South Coast jewel has dedicated its latest exhibition to one of my favourite oxymorons: socialist nepo baby, May Morris. Showcasing fabulous designs for wallpaper created for her father William’s company, Morris & Co. and detailed floral embroideries, the exhibition also highlights Morris’ social work to empower other female artists.
That Marvellous Atmosphere: Stanley Spencer and Cookham Regatta
Stanley Spencer Gallery, Berkshire
Until 2 November
What if the Bible were set in Berkshire? This is the question to which artist Stanley Spencer dedicated his life. Cookham, “a village in Heaven” where Spencer was born and spent much of his life, was where he set many of his biblical paintings. The Stanley Spencer Gallery on Cookham’s high street is now displaying Spencer’s final large-scale artwork, Christ Preaching at Cookham Regatta, to which the artist dedicated the last decade of his life and which he died before finishing. The Regatta has been taking place on the Thames since 1882, and Spencer wanted to capture the Victorian / Edwardian charm of the races he enjoyed in his childhood. Jesus would have liked it, too, because people were statistically more religious then.
London’s got a lot going for it, from that massive wheel to £1000 rent for a place under someone’s sink in Clapham. It’s also full of museums and galleries, which dominate the UK's “must-see” lists. For my new monthly column for gowithYamo, I say, enough with London! Have you tried… literally anywhere else? So, welcome to Not London, where I’ll share with you the exhibitions I think are worth a visit in the UK this month, anywhere but London.
Are We Nearly There Yet? / ZEST Roadmap
Hidden Wardrobe, Hampshire
From 09 May until 25 May
Roadmap: Are we nearly there yet? is the first exhibition in a major takeover by Southampton-based collective ZEST this May. On display in what was once a costume shop on the Old Northam Road, Are we nearly there yet? showcases work by ZEST artists Bryn Lloyd and Jennifer Mon on the theme of mapping. ZEST Roadmap (which will include community events and almost 100 artist commissions, and is the collective’s largest project to date) celebrates Southampton’s Old Northam Road. Once the city’s antiques quarter, the street is now a hub for independent artists thanks to support from ‘a space’ arts, and it’s also where I saw a seagull fight a rat once.
Mostyn Gallery, Conwy County Borough
Until 31 May
I knew I recognised Vanessa da Silva’s work from somewhere when I saw ‘Roda Viva’ on Mostyn Gallery’s website, and a scroll back through Instagram reminded me that it was when I saw her sculptures at Frieze Sculpture and shared a photo of them because I couldn’t afford a ticket to go to the inside bit. ‘Roda Viva’ (“wheel of life”) is inspired by da Silva’s family history and Brazilian folk traditions, and her colourful sculptures and delicate translucent textiles look fantastic in the Llandudno gallery, which is certainly living up to its goal of creating a contemporary exhibitions programme to rival those in major art cities.
Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Warwickshire
Until 7 June
In partnership with the Ingram Collection, Rugby Art Gallery & Museum is saying what we’ve all been thinking: Paintings? Overrated. Beyond the Canvas puts sculpture in the spotlight, as part of the museum’s 25th birthday bash. The celebration of British sculpture brings together sculptural work from the Ingram Collection with drawn and painted work in the collection in Rugby, the latter used to illuminate the former. Expect brilliant work from 20th-century sculptural masters like Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, as well as drawings by contemporary stars like Lubaina Himid and Claudette Johnson.
The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives
Dovecot Studios, Midlothian
Until 28 June
Like your messy situationship, the Scottish Colourists “weren’t actually together even if people said they were together”. The four independent artists (Francis Cadell, Leslie Hunter, Samuel Peploe, and John Duncan) were working in the first decades of the 20th century, and did occasionally exhibit together, but were really only united by their interest in Post-Impressionist developments in colour and form. Much like double-breasted suits, the group’s international popularity fell after World War II, but they had a major resurgence in the 1980s. This new show at Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios (in partnership with the Fleming Collection) puts the Colourists’ work in dialogue with paintings by other Post-Impressionist artists, including Henri Matisse and André Derain.
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridgeshire
Until 3 August
All 374 Dürer prints in the Fitzwilliam collection have had a glow-up, and they’re ready to hit the town. Each of the prints has had some TLC during a major conservation project to help preserve the artworks and make repairs, and Discovering Dürer is the first outing of a selection of the Fitzwilliam prints since they’ve been responsibly tarted up. Dürer was the undisputed King of Prints, and he built himself an international reputation (no mean feat in the 16th century, when people didn’t even have LinkedIn) because he was all over his personal branding. By creating easily-replicable prints as a primary medium, and signing them with his punchy AD logo, he was able to get his work into the hands of wealthy collectors throughout Europe. God, he would have loved LinkedIn.
Wiltshire Museum, Wiltshire
Until 6 September
Displaying work by self-taught artists and makers from the last 100 years, Un/Common People is all about the folk traditions of Wiltshire. Wiltshire’s an excellent county for that sort of thing, too, what with Stonehenge being there, as well as ‘The Devil’s Den’ where a really nasty mythical toad is meant to greet you if you’re a naughty child and you run around it in a circle. The exhibition includes photographs, paintings, examples of traditional crafts, and newly commissioned folk songs, with several pieces on loan from the Museum of British Folklore.
Hastings Contemporary, East Sussex
Until 14 September
Hastings Contemporary are leaning into their seafront location with their latest exhibition, celebrating “art and life beneath the waves”. The exhibition includes work from five continents, with work from major art stars stretching back four centuries, including Michael Armitage, Christopher Wood, and an anonymous 18th century artist who has painted a crocodile exactly like the ones you used to see in Punch and Judy (minus the string of sausages and puppet domestic violence). Undersea is the third in a trilogy of water-y exhibitions at Hastings Contemporary by the curator James Russell, who also recently put on an excellent exhibition of work by Tirzah Garwood at Dulwich Picture Gallery. But that’s in London, so let it be struck from the record.
Cassi Namoda Sunley’s Window Commission
Turner Contemporary, Kent
From 02 May until 21 September
It’s a seaside-heavy edition this month, as I recommend my second of three beach-facing exhibitions (the fact that I am gagging for a holiday has nothing to do with this, I promise). Turner Contemporary - named after JMW Turner, who stayed at a boarding house on the site when he came to Margate to paint things in that blurry, brown way, he so liked to do - has commissioned Cassi Namoda to transform the gallery’s floor-to-ceiling windows for the summer. The commission is Namoda’s first institutional project in Europe and is inspired by two of the Mozambican artist’s recent paintings of beach-goers and plays with the traditions of stained glass.
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Dorset
Until 5 October
Bournemouth’s Russell-Cotes is a beautiful, decadent space, with its collection of 19th century paintings hung floor-to-ceiling in its carpeted hallways, lit by Edwardian chandeliers, and gorgeous views out onto Bournemouth beach and the sea that is regularly pumped full of poo by the government. The South Coast jewel has dedicated its latest exhibition to one of my favourite oxymorons: socialist nepo baby, May Morris. Showcasing fabulous designs for wallpaper created for her father William’s company, Morris & Co. and detailed floral embroideries, the exhibition also highlights Morris’ social work to empower other female artists.
That Marvellous Atmosphere: Stanley Spencer and Cookham Regatta
Stanley Spencer Gallery, Berkshire
Until 2 November
What if the Bible were set in Berkshire? This is the question to which artist Stanley Spencer dedicated his life. Cookham, “a village in Heaven” where Spencer was born and spent much of his life, was where he set many of his biblical paintings. The Stanley Spencer Gallery on Cookham’s high street is now displaying Spencer’s final large-scale artwork, Christ Preaching at Cookham Regatta, to which the artist dedicated the last decade of his life and which he died before finishing. The Regatta has been taking place on the Thames since 1882, and Spencer wanted to capture the Victorian / Edwardian charm of the races he enjoyed in his childhood. Jesus would have liked it, too, because people were statistically more religious then.
London’s got a lot going for it, from that massive wheel to £1000 rent for a place under someone’s sink in Clapham. It’s also full of museums and galleries, which dominate the UK's “must-see” lists. For my new monthly column for gowithYamo, I say, enough with London! Have you tried… literally anywhere else? So, welcome to Not London, where I’ll share with you the exhibitions I think are worth a visit in the UK this month, anywhere but London.
Are We Nearly There Yet? / ZEST Roadmap
Hidden Wardrobe, Hampshire
From 09 May until 25 May
Roadmap: Are we nearly there yet? is the first exhibition in a major takeover by Southampton-based collective ZEST this May. On display in what was once a costume shop on the Old Northam Road, Are we nearly there yet? showcases work by ZEST artists Bryn Lloyd and Jennifer Mon on the theme of mapping. ZEST Roadmap (which will include community events and almost 100 artist commissions, and is the collective’s largest project to date) celebrates Southampton’s Old Northam Road. Once the city’s antiques quarter, the street is now a hub for independent artists thanks to support from ‘a space’ arts, and it’s also where I saw a seagull fight a rat once.
Mostyn Gallery, Conwy County Borough
Until 31 May
I knew I recognised Vanessa da Silva’s work from somewhere when I saw ‘Roda Viva’ on Mostyn Gallery’s website, and a scroll back through Instagram reminded me that it was when I saw her sculptures at Frieze Sculpture and shared a photo of them because I couldn’t afford a ticket to go to the inside bit. ‘Roda Viva’ (“wheel of life”) is inspired by da Silva’s family history and Brazilian folk traditions, and her colourful sculptures and delicate translucent textiles look fantastic in the Llandudno gallery, which is certainly living up to its goal of creating a contemporary exhibitions programme to rival those in major art cities.
Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Warwickshire
Until 7 June
In partnership with the Ingram Collection, Rugby Art Gallery & Museum is saying what we’ve all been thinking: Paintings? Overrated. Beyond the Canvas puts sculpture in the spotlight, as part of the museum’s 25th birthday bash. The celebration of British sculpture brings together sculptural work from the Ingram Collection with drawn and painted work in the collection in Rugby, the latter used to illuminate the former. Expect brilliant work from 20th-century sculptural masters like Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, as well as drawings by contemporary stars like Lubaina Himid and Claudette Johnson.
The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives
Dovecot Studios, Midlothian
Until 28 June
Like your messy situationship, the Scottish Colourists “weren’t actually together even if people said they were together”. The four independent artists (Francis Cadell, Leslie Hunter, Samuel Peploe, and John Duncan) were working in the first decades of the 20th century, and did occasionally exhibit together, but were really only united by their interest in Post-Impressionist developments in colour and form. Much like double-breasted suits, the group’s international popularity fell after World War II, but they had a major resurgence in the 1980s. This new show at Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios (in partnership with the Fleming Collection) puts the Colourists’ work in dialogue with paintings by other Post-Impressionist artists, including Henri Matisse and André Derain.
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridgeshire
Until 3 August
All 374 Dürer prints in the Fitzwilliam collection have had a glow-up, and they’re ready to hit the town. Each of the prints has had some TLC during a major conservation project to help preserve the artworks and make repairs, and Discovering Dürer is the first outing of a selection of the Fitzwilliam prints since they’ve been responsibly tarted up. Dürer was the undisputed King of Prints, and he built himself an international reputation (no mean feat in the 16th century, when people didn’t even have LinkedIn) because he was all over his personal branding. By creating easily-replicable prints as a primary medium, and signing them with his punchy AD logo, he was able to get his work into the hands of wealthy collectors throughout Europe. God, he would have loved LinkedIn.
Wiltshire Museum, Wiltshire
Until 6 September
Displaying work by self-taught artists and makers from the last 100 years, Un/Common People is all about the folk traditions of Wiltshire. Wiltshire’s an excellent county for that sort of thing, too, what with Stonehenge being there, as well as ‘The Devil’s Den’ where a really nasty mythical toad is meant to greet you if you’re a naughty child and you run around it in a circle. The exhibition includes photographs, paintings, examples of traditional crafts, and newly commissioned folk songs, with several pieces on loan from the Museum of British Folklore.
Hastings Contemporary, East Sussex
Until 14 September
Hastings Contemporary are leaning into their seafront location with their latest exhibition, celebrating “art and life beneath the waves”. The exhibition includes work from five continents, with work from major art stars stretching back four centuries, including Michael Armitage, Christopher Wood, and an anonymous 18th century artist who has painted a crocodile exactly like the ones you used to see in Punch and Judy (minus the string of sausages and puppet domestic violence). Undersea is the third in a trilogy of water-y exhibitions at Hastings Contemporary by the curator James Russell, who also recently put on an excellent exhibition of work by Tirzah Garwood at Dulwich Picture Gallery. But that’s in London, so let it be struck from the record.
Cassi Namoda Sunley’s Window Commission
Turner Contemporary, Kent
From 02 May until 21 September
It’s a seaside-heavy edition this month, as I recommend my second of three beach-facing exhibitions (the fact that I am gagging for a holiday has nothing to do with this, I promise). Turner Contemporary - named after JMW Turner, who stayed at a boarding house on the site when he came to Margate to paint things in that blurry, brown way, he so liked to do - has commissioned Cassi Namoda to transform the gallery’s floor-to-ceiling windows for the summer. The commission is Namoda’s first institutional project in Europe and is inspired by two of the Mozambican artist’s recent paintings of beach-goers and plays with the traditions of stained glass.
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Dorset
Until 5 October
Bournemouth’s Russell-Cotes is a beautiful, decadent space, with its collection of 19th century paintings hung floor-to-ceiling in its carpeted hallways, lit by Edwardian chandeliers, and gorgeous views out onto Bournemouth beach and the sea that is regularly pumped full of poo by the government. The South Coast jewel has dedicated its latest exhibition to one of my favourite oxymorons: socialist nepo baby, May Morris. Showcasing fabulous designs for wallpaper created for her father William’s company, Morris & Co. and detailed floral embroideries, the exhibition also highlights Morris’ social work to empower other female artists.
That Marvellous Atmosphere: Stanley Spencer and Cookham Regatta
Stanley Spencer Gallery, Berkshire
Until 2 November
What if the Bible were set in Berkshire? This is the question to which artist Stanley Spencer dedicated his life. Cookham, “a village in Heaven” where Spencer was born and spent much of his life, was where he set many of his biblical paintings. The Stanley Spencer Gallery on Cookham’s high street is now displaying Spencer’s final large-scale artwork, Christ Preaching at Cookham Regatta, to which the artist dedicated the last decade of his life and which he died before finishing. The Regatta has been taking place on the Thames since 1882, and Spencer wanted to capture the Victorian / Edwardian charm of the races he enjoyed in his childhood. Jesus would have liked it, too, because people were statistically more religious then.
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