ARTS & EXHIBITIONS

STATE OF THE ART

Postcards from Kenya, East Lambrook Manor Gardens, 4 June –23 July

Moish Sokal is bringing the colour of Africa to East Lambrook Manor Gardens in his latest exhibition Postcards from Kenya. The years leading up to this exhibition have been testing. After finally landing in his hometown of Sydney after the long absence imposed by the pandemic, Moish was caught up in the severe flooding that hit the eastern coast of Australia in 2021. When he returned to his home, however, he found that his paintings had been spared.

It was during this time that memories of Moish’s trip to Kenya started to return. He remembered his visit to the Sheldrick elephant orphanage and to the famous Maasai Mara wildlife park. He also recalled his travels through the rift valley to the lakes in Naivasha and Nakuru wildlife parks and his exploration of old Mombasa. His memories are forever captured in his work.

Alongside Moish’s exotic paintings of Kenya, the artist has found inspiration in the English countryside, staying put for a while made him appreciate the changing seasons and allowed him to find the magic again.

• moishsokal.co.uk Image: Milk for baby elephant by Moish Sokal

BS9 Arts Trail, 18 –19 June After a couple of years of disruption due to the pandemic, the BS9 Arts Trail is back in its usual summer slot in the Bristol art calendar. This year, 88 artists will be showing their work over the weekend of 18 –19 June.

The trail takes place in 13 fantastic venues around Henleaze, Stoke Bishop and Westbury-on-Trym. Take a summer walk around the BS9 postcode and discover amazing buildings in stunning locations, including Trinity College, Redmaids'

High, Badminton School and

Trymwood Studios. There are also new venues such as Bradbury Hall, TrinityHenleaze URC, and the We Make Bristol shop in Westbury Village. The 88 local artists taking part in the trail are passionate about their work. Some are amateurs who make their work as part of their hobby, while others are established professional artists, whose work is shown in galleries around the country. The work on show includes paintings, prints, drawings, illustration, photography, digital art, textiles, ceramics, sculpture, jewellery and more. There will be something to suit all budgets, from unique original art works to more affordable prints and cards.

Several venues offer refreshments, which not only provide welcome breaks in your journey, but help with fundraising for local good causes.

Holding the Baby, Arnolfini, until 12 June Award-winning documentary photographer, Polly Braden, in her latest exhibition, Holding the Baby, creates a portrait of the strength and resilience of single parent families facing austerity. Braden’s participatory project (which began life at the Museum of the Home), features families from Bristol, London, and Liverpool, including photographic portraits and narrated stories, highlighting the lived experience, strength, and resilience of single parents. Inspired and provoked by a United Nations report which stated that single parents have been hardest hit by UK austerity measures, Braden’s collaborative photographs – some taken during lockdown by the parents themselves – capture the families’ sense of adventure, optimism, creativity and ambition, that transcends the often difficult, situations they face. Accompanied by excerpts from conversations between the families and journalist Sally Williams, and reflections on the idea of ‘home’ drawn together by writer Claire-Louise Bennett, Braden captures the individual stories of Fran, Jahanara, Charmaine, Aaron, Barbeline, Caroline, Gemma and Carike, highlighting the universality of their lives.

• arnolfini.org.uk

Me, Myself, I: Artists’ SelfPortraits, RWA, until 19 June

Me, Myself, I: Artists’ SelfPortraits provides historical context to today’s selfie culture, through an exploration of selfportraiture over the last three hundred years. The exhibition, curated by Tessa Jackson OBE, in particular explores the last fifty years and the ways artists have imagined and presented themselves: from the highly personal and psychological to the controversial and political. Me, Myself, I: Artists’ Self-

Portraits includes over 80 artworks by major artists such as Grayson Perry,

Tracey Emin, Sonia Boyce, Antony Gormley, Gillian Wearing, Harold Offeh, Shanti Panchal, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Angelica Kauffman, Élisabeth Louise Vigée

Le Brun, Lucian Freud, Patrick Heron, Tony Bevan, Madame Yevonde and many more. Discover the artists who challenged social norms and defied conventions, who questioned identity, gender and representation ahead of their time, and who constantly think afresh in an ever-changing world. Me, Myself, I: Artists’ Self-

Portraits is a timely re-examination of a fundamental area of art history that will bring together work from the 1720s to the 2020s, placing well-known artists alongside emerging talent.

• rwa.org.uk

Image: Tony Bevan RA (B.1951), Head and Neck, 2007, acrylic on canvas, 90.6 x 74.1cm. Royal Academy of Arts, London. Photo © Royal Academy of Arts, London; photographer: John Hammond. © Royal Academy of Arts, London

111th Annual Paintings Exhibition, The Bristol 1904 Arts Society, 3 – 12 June

The Bristol 1904 Arts Society’s artistic roots run deep into Bristol's creative history. In 2020, the society rebranded itself with a new name and new activities more accurately portraying their current interests as well as the enduring ones of painting, music, magic, poetry, storytelling and fellowship, progressing from an all male society to an open, diverse, inclusive and welcoming one. The society encourages new membership with artistic or musical talents or none and guests of members are very welcome. The society meets on Wednesday evenings in the hall built in the style of an old tithe barn adjacent to the Red Lodge in Park Row Bristol where their major artistic event, the Annual Paintings Exhibition, is being held.

This major annual event, the 111th Annual Paintings Exhibition, is open to the public every day from 10am to 4.30pm. Paintings by the society’s team of talented artists will be on sale. Works by other local artists will also be on display.

• bristol1904arts.org

All Around the World, Lime Tree Gallery, 16 June - 17 July

From the shores to the cities, from the places to the faces, this exhibition explores artists’ inspiration from their travels around the globe. The shrines and gardens of Japan, the lights and bustle of New York, and the rich colour of Marrakech contrast and excite. From the gorgeously colourful women of Rajasthan to the bold expressions of Caribbean men, from the calm waters of Venice to the crashing waves of the Orkneys, Lime Tree Gallery’s artists have captured an emotional connection. Featuring work by Michael Clark, Gerry Dudgeon, Andrew Hunt, Pedro Rodriguez Garrido, Natasha Kumar, Allan McDonald, Sylvia Paul, Peter Wileman, this is not one to miss.

• limetreegallery.com

Image: Marrakech Haze by Gerry Dudgeon

Huw Richard-Evans: Skylines, Coldharbour Gallery, throughout June

Textural and spiritual in quality, Huw’s landscapes have attracted collectors from as far afield as the USA and Japan. His latest works incorporate the energy, drama and passion derived from his approach to looking up. This unique process brings him great personal joy, which is abundantly evident in the ‘Skylines’ collection –a collection created especially for Coldharbour Gallery.

• coldharbourgallery.co.uk

Expert opinion

From Chris Yeo, Valuer at Clevedon Salerooms and regular expert on BBC’s Antiques Roadshow

The Room outside

Whisper it, Summer might be here. It seems that as soon as the chimes of the first ice cream van are heard, our thoughts inevitably turn to the outdoors and the garden - or the backyard, or terrace. Whatever the size of your plot, nowadays we expect our gardens to be every bit as stylish and distinctive as our homes – a plastic patio set and herbaceous border just won’t cut it. The urge to embellish our outdoor area is, of course, nothing new. The Georgians loved a garden ornament – particularly if it had appalling body odour. The must have accessory of the 1750s was a stone grotto complete with live-in human hermit, who – in the name of authenticity – was not allowed to speak, wash, or cut their hair or fingernails. The pay was good but the terms onerous, so much so that Lord Bath’s hermit at Longleat soon went AWOL and was found in a local pub in an advanced state of inebriation, contemplating a career change.

When it comes to our own patch, whilst many of us are used to having antiques indoors, how many would consider buying period pieces for the garden? For those looking for a truly original, quirky look outdoors, there’s a wealth of choice, requiring neither vast expense nor human servitude. You just need to think outside the (window) box. Some of the most effective garden ornaments are made from objects that started out with an entirely different function. Beaten coppers vats, used for boiling laundry, are having a new lease of life as bedding planters, as are stone troughs, originally used for animals to drink from. Once a feature of every farmyard, bedded out with plants they make an imposing statement and are highly sought after. Wheelbarrows and old carts also make perfect containers for planting out vivid summer blooms, while garden rollers simply need propping up against an old brick wall to look good. Terracotta flower pots, trowels made of metal from the 1950s, rakes with handmade teeth and branch handles and early 20th century metal buckets and enamelware watering cans, artfully displayed, all add a personal touch to the “room outside”. ■

LONGINES HYDROCONQUEST XXII COMMONWEALTH GAMES

As the Official Partner and Timekeeper of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Longines presents the HydroConquest XXII Commonwealth Games. This exclusive edition, limited to 2,022 pieces, celebrates one of the world’s greatest sporting events. Model: L3.781.4.59.6 £1,600.00

MONTBLANC 1858 ICED SEA

Introducing the first-ever sports diving watch for Montblanc. The Montblanc 1858 Iced Sea Automatic Date features a glacier pattern dial, inspired by the Mer de Glace – Sea of Ice –the main glacier of the Mont-Blanc Massif. Model: 129370 £2,435.00

Find out more at Mallory

1 - 5 Bridge Street, Bath BA2 4AP mallory-jewellers.com

TUDOR BLACK BAY GMT S&G

The iconic Tudor Black Bay GMT model is now available in a S&G (Steel & Gold) version, featuring warm colours and a nostalgic touch. Recognisable by its 24-hour graduated rotating bezel with two colours, representing day and night, the Tudor Black Bay S&G also gives a subtle aesthetic nod to the history of this watchmaking function.

Model: M79833MN-0001 £4,290.00

PATEK PHILIPPE ANNUAL CALENDAR TRAVEL TIME

ROLEX OYSTER PERPETUAL DATEJUST 31

Patek Philippe combines two of its outstanding patented complications for the first time in one watch: the Annual Calendar (that requires a manual correction only once a year) and the Travel Time system for the display of a second time zone. The outcome is a travel watch whose date display is synchronized with the respective local time. It simultaneously adjusts the date when the time zone is corrected. Model: 5326G-001 £59,200.00

A classic, reimagined. Rolex presented three new versions of the Oyster Perpetual Datejust 31 with striking floral motif dials. Calling to mind wild summer meadows, the design comprises 24 flowers that stand out distinctly from one another thanks to their finishes – either sunray, matt or grained. Each of the flowers is lit from within by a diamond set into the centre. Model: M278274-0035 £8,100.00