20-21 Visual Arts Centre has five gallery spaces showing inspiring work by cutting edge contemporary artists and leading craft and design makers. Get away from the hustle and bustle of the town centre and explore the exhibitions in the spectacular former St Johns church.
8 March to 3 May
Craig Mitchell
Craig Mitchell makes quirky and imaginative ceramics, influenced by thirties and fifties book illustration. Here you'll see a variety of wacky characters including birds escaping their cages with the aid of blowtorches and dynamite, a young bachelor being terrorised by a vacuum cleaner and a businessman being propelled forward at great speed by a pair of steam-powered shoes.
Despite often causing viewers to laugh out loud, at the core of Craig's work is a strong message. He targets the drivers of gas-guzzling cars and mocks the excesses of the frivolous rich, all of which make up the often bizarre reality that forms the fabric of our daily lives.
A Ruthin Craft Centre Touring Exhibition
22 March to 3 May
D H Smith
I Drew a Line for You
For his exhibition at 20-21, David H Smith presents new drawings from an ongoing series of works entitled 'I Drew a Line for You'. Originating from a line from the well known Coldplay song 'Yellow', and Chinese philosopher Loa-tzu's saying that: 'The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step'. The drawings show geometric abstract patterns consisting of parallel lines repeated over and over again. Each drawing also includes a statement of the combined length of the lines on the page; the distance David has taken along this particular journey.
1 March to 14 June
Top Dog
'Top Dog' explores craft and design for the pet and animal world in a light hearted and appealing exhibition full of surprises.
Over 20 top British makers have used their flair and imagination to create new and stylish work - ranging from kennels, bowls and collars to bird tables and animal shelters. Andy Hazell has created a dog memorial, Alison Macleod has turned her jewellery skills to an exquisite birdcage, and jeweller Gilly Langton has made her latest work for the Highland cow she sees through her window each morning.
12 April to 7 June 2008
Sally McKay
Breathing Space
Sally McKay draws the human form, creating life-affirming and dynamic drawings, paintings and etchings. Unlike most artists, who work from a static model, Sally actively seeks to represent figures in motion. Working from dancers and circus groups during training and rehearsal, her drawings capture the atmosphere and rhythms of the rehearsal studio, and the ebb and flow of moving performers.
10 May to 28 June
Paul Collinson
Really...
Paul Collinson's paintings start their life as miniature models of neglected imaginary landscapes. Where the hobbyist model-maker might add idyllic villages and forests to accompany a train set, Paul fills his scenes with models of burned-out cars and ruined classical architecture. The paintings in 'Really...' are highly detailed copies of photographs taken of his model creations.
The work both challenges the futuristic and aspirational model making of town planners and the Modernist values from which they take their cues. Paul subverts the traditional grand ideas embodied by American painters such as Marc Rothko and Barnett Newman. His hyper-real paintings do not represent a spiritual or grand other, but a flawed and replicated reality.
Also on display will be new works by degree students from the East Coast School of Art and Design at Grimsby Institute, created in response to the exhibition.
10 May to 5 July
Wayne Sleeth
Colour Fields
Born in 1966 in Cleethorpes, Wayne Sleeth began painting and drawing from an early age before studying at Grimsby School of Art and eventually settling with his family in Northern France. His harmonious and richly worked paintings are inspired by natural spaces and open landscapes. The colours and forms are a fusion of both the Lincolnshire and Humber landscapes of his childhood and the Lorraine landscape of his current surroundings. Although not representing any specific place, the canvases capture the essence of big skies and flat expanses, embodying the light and rhythms of the changing seasons.
24 May to 7 June
Smile
Ever heard of the expression "Smile and the world smiles with you"? Now 20-21 is helping to give you the chance to put it into practice. The Scunthorpe Telegraph and Tumerwarren have teamed up with the Towergate Charitable Fund and Edge Interactive in a new fundraising campaign, raising money to continue providing around-the-clock care at Lindsey Lodge Hospice's ten bed in-patient unit.
As many people as possible are being asked to do something that makes people smile, and raises some money. Photographs of the smiles can be donated, together with the cash online at www.smile4us.org.uk, where visitors will also find useful information on fundraising ideas and guidance. The aim is to collect thousands of photographs of smiles, that will be printed out and included in this innovative and lighthearted exhibition.
14 June to 11 October
Phil Mouldycliff and Russell Mills
Dialogue Boxes
In the past, leading multidisciplinary artist Phil Moudycliff has created large-scale projects across the UK, including presentations at the Tate Gallery in Liverpool, the Cornerhouse in Manchester and the ICA in London. Russell Mills is an artist, designer, musician and lecturer who has created influential book and album artwork for Brian Eno, Ian McEwan, Nine Inch Nails and Peter Gabriel.
In this two-person exhibition, the artists present a series of intriguing and seductive artworks. Wall-mounted boxes and frames contain found objects and artifacts, mixed with collage, pigments and natural materials. These semi-abstract works both carry and subvert the meanings of the objects they contain, alluding to landscapes, mythical tales and the passing of time.
28 June to 13 September
Halima Cassell
Dreams Made Manifest
Pakistan born Halima Cassell is regarded as one of the country's leading young ceramic artists. Her elaborate carved bowls, tiles and sculptures, combine strong geometric elements with recurrent patterns and architectural principles.
For 'Dreams Made Manifest', her largest exhibition to date, Halima will be creating new sculptural works in a variety of materials, responding to the architecture of the former St Johns church building. She will also be exhibiting her acclaimed ceramic pieces, alongside a selection of working drawings and prints.
5 July to 11 October
Chris Roantree
Out of the Jungle
Scunthorpe born printmaker Chris Roantree, produces dark and often disturbing etchings. Many of his dreamlike images explore his ongoing interest in narrative and storytelling. Christopher sees his groups of images as 'a kind of shattered story that needs to be pieced back together'.
For this exhibition Christopher spent eight weeks in the jungle region between Belize and Guatemala, creating a body of etchings and sourcing materials for the production of a book. This exhibition showcases etchings and documentation from his trip.
5 July to 11 October
Beijing Dreams
Timed to coincide with the Beijing 2008 Olympics, expect to find butterflies, lotus flowers and traditional Chinese pattern work in this selling exhibition of oriental inspired handmade crafts.
Many of the works fuse traditional techniques with cutting edge contemporary design. David Fry uses ancient Chinese glaze formulas in his unique ceramics and Lisa Cheung presents Chandeliers made from modern materials and inspired by traditional Chinese paper cutting. Other pieces that may take your fancy include jewellery by Stephanie Ray, Wai-Yuk Kennedy and Susanna Hanl, and exquisite silverware by Rebecca Johnson.
12 July to 27 September
Sue Goldschmidt
The Things That Constrain Me Also Set Me Free
Australian born Sue Goldschmidt creates semi-autographical work combining the disciplines of textiles and ceramics. Her beautiful hanging porcelain dresses start life as a basic wire form. She then adds fabric and flowers before coating the sculptures with a porcelain slip solution. The pieces are then fired in a kiln, causing the flowers and fabric to burn away in the firing process, leaving their impression in the porcelain. For the artist, these delicate and ghostlike sculptures explore a quiet sense of absent presence and themes of motherhood, bereavement and dislocation. The work hovers between art and life, presenting familiar objects in and unfamiliar but alluring material.
27 September to 22 November
Folk Art and Fairy Tales
Folk Art and Fairy Tales brings together new and recent work by ten of the most talented artists and makers working in the UK. They are connected by their fascination with narrative and literature, folk art, legends and fairy stories.
The exhibits range from minute sculpture to large-scale installation, and are created from an extraordinary variety of media. Many of the artists work with discarded, throwaway materials: wire, paper, recycled toys, old books and used tins cans, bits of leather and fabric scraps, bird feathers and teabags.
Works on display include Su Blackwell's delicate book sculptures, dresses and footwear by Jennifer Collier and Samantha Bryan's health conscious fairies. Many of the artists such as Jayne Lennard, Cathy Miles and Carys Anne Hughes take their cues from, or incorporate, narrative and the written word. Rachael Howard's textile hangings tell autobiographical tales of the everyday, while Lucy Casson and Julie Arkell create strange creatures, which inhabit a world of their own. The show also premiers a major new ceramics series by Lowri Davies, based on the folk tales of her great uncle.
An Oriel Davies Touring Exhibition supported by the Esmee Fairburn Foundation and the Arts Council of Wales
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