Galleries - July 2012

Focus on The WEST COUNTRY 28. GALLERIES JULY 12 The Atkinson Gallery at Millfield School in Somerset has a well- deserved reputation for staging substantial exhibitions ranging from ones focusing on the work of single artists such as Graham Crowley and Adam Birtwistle to group shows, whether of new talent (recent art school grad- uates), local artists or societies. One of the most popular in the repertoire is their Summer Show, now in its 23rd year, which brings together paintings, sculpture, pho- tography, printmaking, DVD and film, with most pieces being for sale. Visitors should also make time for the sculpture trail: Millfield runs a Sculptor in Residence project each year, an open comp- etition which combines a com- mission for the sculptor with a period of immersion in the school. The work completed as a result is put on permanent display in the grounds of the school. A truly fascinating collection has been built up over the years. Bournemouth's ARThouse Gal- lery specialises in contemporary artists as well as those loosely referred to as 'Modern British'. For July it is hosting an exhibition by the energetic Cornish painter, Chris Billington, which takes as its initial inspiration 'the phenomenon and significance' of our current year. Billington is on record as saying about commissions, 'My clients seem to like it that there is an el- ement of surprise in the final res- ult', so it will be intriguing to see what this master of colour makes of 2012. Cassandra or Tiresias? SD Where, ten years or so ago, there were hardly more than one or two galleries along the coastline bet- ween Bournemouth and Exeter now there is a really healthy chain of them. Leading the way is the charming and incredibly buzzy small town of Bridport, home not just to foodies and literati but art and design lovers also. Sladers Yard has done a huge amount here with its imaginatively con- ceived, often regionally-significant, exhibitions of everything from painting and prints to contem- porary furniture and design going far beyond the usual tourist-fare that seaside galleries often seem to default to. Their July offering is no exception with Dorchester- based Julian Bailey's painterly and intensely atmospheric evocations of the Dorset coastline (see also originals-inprint.com ), Derek Nice's reliefs made from mari- time objets trouvés and Petter Southall's contemporary furniture. The Bridport Art Centre has, of course, been at the centre of the town's culture for nearly 40 years now, punching way above its weight in the poetry and writing field and now in the visual arts also with the programme run from its excellent Allsop Gallery . The current show, of Jeremy Gardiner and Amanda Wallwork's (formerly of Sherborne House) powerful paintings and prints which map the geology of this extraordinary Jurassic coastline, is typical of its lively approach. A much more recent arrival, further along the curve of Lyme Bay, is artwave west at More- combelake, a substantial and crisply contemporary space, cur- rently celebrating its 3rd anni- versary with a mixed show by its comparatively small but well- chosen group of younger artists. A very welcome addition to the region's artistic infrastructure. Just across the county border with Devon, Marine House At Beer has been an important art- istic pioneer in the region since the 90s and shows no sign of flagging energies with its current solo exhibition of Anita Klein's witty and vigorous domestic scenes alongside a vivid cross-section of gallery regulars. Pushing still further westwards almost into Exeter itself (if you're passing through the city itself don't forget to go and see how Brian Turner of the eponymous Turner Gallery is getting on six years into his amazing project to bring the entire Bible to life in paintings) make for the delightful sailing town of Topsham on the Exe estuary where, as regular readers of this magazine will be aware, The Art Room has acquired an enviable reputation in recent years for its beautifully presented shows of established artists with regional connections. John Hubbard, Dorset-based these days, makes up their current exhibition with his shimmeringly beautiful, Monet-like abstractions from his first visit to the Alhambra in the late 80s. NU S onia Stanyard, ‘Toulmin’, 100 x 100 cm at artwave west