Art News: exhibitions around the Duchy

Art News

Thanks For The Apples at Falmouth Art Gallery is an extraordinary opportunity to experience new work by nationally and internationally acclaimed contemporary artists, inspired by hidden treasures from Cornish museum collections. Sculptures, paintings, textiles and films will be shown alongside the originals that inspired them. The exhibition is the culmination of a major project devised and curated by artists Naomi Frears and Ben Sanderson, who in November 2019 hosted an artists’ residential at Prussia Cove with the intention of sparking creativity. Four contemporary artists each invited another artist of their choosing, resulting in a diverse group of eight exceptional practitioners who spent a week exploring collections at Bodmin Keep, Wheal Martyn, Penlee House Gallery & Museum, Perranzabuloe Museum, PK Porthcurno, Royal Cornwall Museum and the Museum of Cornish Life in Helston. Each artist selected a museum object to respond to and spent a year creating new work to display alongside it in the exhibition. Pictured is Sir John Arnesby Brown’s A Summer Day (1913), from Falmouth Art Gallery. On show until January 22, 2022. l

LINDA CRAIG AT THE COWHOUSE GALLERY

Painter and printmaker Linda Craig works from her home studio overlooking the harbour in Penzance. A long-time member of the Cowhouse collective in Perranuthnoe, she is also a member of the Association of British Naive Artists, a style which comes naturally to her. The harbour provides much in the way of subjects for Linda, but she also draws upon the mysterious moorland of West Penwith, where windswept trees point to ancient standing stones. Regarding processes, she enjoys the immediacy of the collograph printmaking technique, which allows her to work in a more expressive way. Her paintings call for a more considered approach, using a limited palette of three primary colours to produce many vibrant hues. Linda's collographs, paintings and greetings cards are priced from £3 to £300, and can be found on permanent display at the Cowhouse Gallery. Open 11am to 4pm daily. l www.cowhousegallery.co.uk

KENIDJACK: A CORNISH VALLEY

The Jackson Foundation - a large, multiple award-winning art-space in St Just – tells the story of Kenidjack Valley, the ‘almost-most’ westerly valley in Cornwall through two interlinked exhibitions. In Kenidjack: A Cornish Valley, acclaimed artist Kurt Jackson captures the beauty of a place spilling over with natural treasures and dramatic topography. A stunning collection of paintings and sculpture takes inspiration from the journey of a small stream from its source on the moors, down through the valley and into the sea; celebrating the sights, sounds, history, heritage and wildlife encountered along the way. Concurrently Valley Lives reflects on the fact that Kenidjack Valley has been inhabited for 6,000 years - a place of mining, metalwork and agriculture, with shops, a Sunday school, places of recreation and manufacture. Some are gone but a thriving community lives on. This collection of images and artefacts aims to tell the human story of this valley. l

Gary Long is a figurative painter whose images concern the coast, sea, sky and weather, and the impressions they leave. Born in Birmingham in 1945, Gary attended Birmingham College of Art after which he built a successful international career as an illustrator. He spent time in Vancouver, Canada, where he met his wife, Pat; and is an artist member of the Society of Illustrators in New York. Having moved to Cornwall to be closer to the environment that most inspires him, Long is a member of both the Penwith Society gallery and the St Ives Society. He now lives in Marazion and knows the local coastline well; you can now see his work at the Customs House Gallery in Porthleven, tel 01326 569365, www.cornwall-art.co.uk l

BUSINESS AS USUAL

Cornwall Crafts Association is delighted to announce that following what they hope will be a fantastic Christmas, normal business will resume. The 2022 Exhibition Programme at the gallery, which sits within the freeto-enter courtyard of the National Trust property Trelissick, will launch on January 29 with Craftsmanship 2022, a “best of the best” display of members’ work. “This is a bit of a tradition for Cornwall Crafts, and is always a great Exhibition to open with,” says gallery manager Elinor Lamond. “We are also excited to say that this show, and all our future shows, will extend throughout the whole gallery, upstairs and down.” l www.cornwallcrafts.co.uk

CERAMICS FOR CHRISTMAS

The shelves of ceramicist Susy Ward hold a mouthwatering display of potential Christmas gifts, from small and jewel-like pieces to bigger bowls waiting to be filled. Vouchers are also a good choice at any time of year, and cover all aspects of studio pottery during her regular weekly sessions. Specific workshops for 2022 include making a hand-built teapot, extruding a vessel and making and applying an ancient glaze technique. Visitors are always welcome by appointment. l Find Susy Ward Ceramics at Krowji, G10 Percy Williams, Redruth TR15 3AJ. Tel 01209 254897, www.susywardceramics.com