The Meaning of Trees
A display of bronze sculpture by artist Sarah Cook, engaging people in ‘a conversation about what trees and the landscape mean’. The work, a response to ancient native oak woodland, takes the form of bronze torques that dress trees in ‘four cardinal directions’, centring on a cloak made of 100 bronze oak leaves. Installed at Brunt’s Barn copse in Upper Padley situated in The Peak District National Park, the sculptures reference bronze age peoples that lived in the Peak District; a time of abundant forestation when communities exchanged metals and skills to work tools and ornaments such as ceremonial torques.
30-31 March 2019, Brunt’s Barn copse, Padley Chapel, Grindleford, Derbyshire, S32 2JA. www.a-n.co.uk/events/the-meaning-of-trees
Darren Cullen: “Artist”
An exhibition of ‘razor-sharp satirical artworks’ by Darren Cullen, curated by Newcastle band Jazz Riot’s Ettrick Scott. Over the last 15 years Cullen has created artwork that subverts adverts and branding, including a billboard in Glasgow bearing the legend ‘Santa Gives More To Rich Kids Than Poor Kids’, producing a ‘fun/fear-sized’ miniature version of the Daily Mail, and opening a high street money lenders ‘offering children high-interest loans against their pocket money using their toys as collateral’. This show includes a collection of painted works produced by the artist over the last decade.
5 April – 27 May 2019, The Cluny, 36 Lime St, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 2PQ. www.a-n.co.uk/events/darren-cullen-artist
Drawing Distinctions
A collaborative exhibition showing ‘international comparisons across a wide range of drawing practices’, between The London Group and the Faculty of the Art and Design Department and invited Alumni of the University of Wisconsin Stout Menomonie, USA. Artists, designers and craft practitioners were asked to contribute a drawing ‘under a maximum size’ to be hung unframed directly onto the wall, a simplified installation method to reveal how ‘drawing takes on many guises and serves many functions’. The exhibition also comments on how drawing practices can be widely defined as a developmental and experimental process.
3-12 April 2019, The Cello Factory, 33-34 Cornwall Road, London, SE1 8TJ. www.a-n.co.uk/events/drawing-distinctions
Neither Use Nor Ornament
An exhibition exploring how everyday objects are used to store our memories, bringing together two networks of artists – one of which identifies as neurodivergent and another which doesn’t – on an equal platform. Oxford-based artist Sonia Boué created the ‘Neither Use Nor Ornament’ (NUNO) concept after receiving an autism diagnosis in 2016. She has since helped neurodivergent artists break through barriers by creating the supportive network and mentoring group WEBworks. Fourteen artists are featured in this show, which presents live performance, installation, video, sound, textiles, photography, sculpture, assemblage and the written word.
30 March – 28 April 2019, The Warehouse, OVADA, 14A Osney Lane, Oxford, OX1 1NJ. www.a-n.co.uk/events/neither-use-nor-ornament
Dandelion Spring Time Exhibition
An exhibition by Leeds-based artist Helen Gibson (The Perky Painter), featuring vibrant and simplified work drawn from a ‘deep emotional connection’ to painting. For this show, the artist shares her ‘love of dandelions’, or puff balls, through abstracted compositions rendered in exaggerated acrylic colour that construct ‘a rich dialogue with the viewer’. All artwork is for sale and 20% of profits will be donated to Age UK Leeds.
26 March – 24 June 2019, The Arch Café, Bradbury Building, Mark Lane, Leeds, LS2 8JA. www.a-n.co.uk/events/dandelion-spring-time-exhibition
All of the above are taken from a-n’s Events listings section, featuring events posted by a-n’s members
Images:
1. Sarah Cook, bronze oak leaves, 2019
2. Darren Cullen, Police Horse Napoleon, 2016, limited edition giclee print
3. Charlotte C Mortensson, Canal, charcoal and pastels on paper
4. Sonia Boué, Conversation, 2019
5. Helen Gibson, One in the afternoon
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