Granite and Gesso

This is an ongoing exhibition There are two world culture rooms at the museum and this one divides the Americas into four types of community.  These are Pacific Rim, Northwest Coast, Subarctic and Northeast Woodlands and lastly, Plains and Southwest USA.  It's easy to walk in to this room and see a few large striking objects, such as the kayaks and the lovely totem pole, and completely miss some of the delightful, but tiny objects.  There are so many objects in this case, that most people find themselves browsing, because there is just so much to see.  This one room took me a long time to go through to try and focus and absorb it's contents. There is no one right way to enjoy a museum and I know my way is a little unusual.  Part of me really enjoys being thorough, feeling like I have completed something, like completing a list.  It's not the same part that has a brain that won't stop till it's exhausted and craves new things.  I can browse with the bes...

This exhibition runs until the 9th August 2026. This one room changes regularly to give an insight in to the fine art collection.  This is a pretty impossible task as the collection contains over 7000 pieces including paintings, prints, drawings, watercolours, miniatures and sculptures.  The current display includes only around 30 pieces, so highlights is definitely a good term for this display. Looking around the room, the pieces are split in to a few different categories, beginning with portraits.  One portrait is called a Man in a Red Suit and shows a man of colour wearing a red suit.  The artist is unknown and it dates from around 1740 to 1780.  A huge amount of research has been conducted on this painting and yet there are still no clear answers.  It has been credited to Sir Joshua Reynolds and I can see why but it may also be by Allan Ramsay.  Nobody knows who the sitter is either, even though attempts have been made to link to two different free...

This exhibition runs until the 23rd August 2026. The viewpoint windows are tucked away in a quiet corner of the museum, by the lift, where people can leave pushchairs.  Each window is at a different level and has a different collection of objects.  At the press of a button, a light comes on to illuminate the chosen window. It's a lovely idea for children to press the buttons and see what shows up, it makes it much more engaging for them.  As an adult, I don't mind looking at things really low down.  I can step back and see things.  I found low windows easier if they were taller, so I could see past the frame more easily.   My biggest issue is that all the information is really low down!  My eyesight is such now that reading something small down there is not easy.  It was great that there was a QR code that took you to the close up captions.  I didn't find the close up captions for this little exhibition as informative as the information ...

This exhibition closes on the 23rd August 2026. The what do you collect?  exhibition is an ongoing part of the Finders Keepers? exhibition in Gallery 11.  It consists of one display case that changes regularly to show examples of someone's collection.  Last time I went it was staplers, this time it was textiles from around the world. The person who owns this collection worked as International Development Consultant and lived and worked in 43 different countries.  Now retired, they are a volunteer at the museum.   There is no doubt to me that fabrics are incredibly beautiful and offer a window in to a culture.  They reflect so much tradition and heritage.  People used the materials they had at hand to first make the fabric and then in the dyes and tools they used.  Patterns often have cultural meaning.  Even if they just reflect ever changing fashion, they are still worthwhile.  They are made to be attractive. The items shown as exam...

This exhibition runs until the 26th April 2026. I love science, so any exhibition that combines science and art is always going to be a big hit for me.  I really don't care that the art is aimed at children.  Why would I?  It does not make it any less worthwhile.  It actually means it will be attractive and fun and these are qualities I value.  The artists who produced the pieces in this exhibition were all incredibly talented.  It's great that there art gets to be seen and appreciated by more people. I imagine this exhibition was much visited during the Easter holidays but now the schools are back, it was very quiet in this gallery.  A few younger children were brought in, but I think they were perhaps too young to be absorbed by the pieces of art.  I think they needed more interactive elements.  Those that there were, were the most popular part with the children who visited while I was there. I always think it's a shame when one exhibition ...

This exhibition closes on the 3rd May 2026 This is a ticketed exhibition at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter.  I brought my ticket online the day before which gave me 25% off but people were still buying tickets on the day.  You can get tickets from the reception by the garden entrance on the first floor.  I would probably book in advance if I was going on a weekend though as even on a weekday, it was pretty busy. The exhibition is in gallery 21.  From the garden entrance reception area, you go past the lifts and then turn right at the giraffe.  The entrance to the gallery is in Finders Keepers?, gallery 11 and is identified by two red ropes either side through a double automatic door.  There is a partition wall immediately in front of you as you enter, but otherwise, the room is open. There are actually not very many pieces to look at, but the pieces there are, are huge!  The main part of the exhibition is the Ballad of Julie Cope and these ...

This was our first time going to a one of these film festivals.  This year there are three, with two mountain ones (a blue and a red programme) and an ocean one.  We absolutely loved it and would definitely go again.  You can view films from 2024 and 2025 online by purchasing a virtual pass for each set of films.  This enables you to watch the films on a mountain pass for 7 days and on an ocean pass for 3 days.  Each pass is currently £10 and there are five mountain collections and two ocean collections available. Each programme has a presenter who introduces the night and then each film.  There is an intermission and following the intermission there was a prize draw for a number of items from sponsors of the film festival.  There is a grand prize of an introduction to ocean racing trip which will be drawn when the tour is over. The first film was Flow Vision (8 minutes).  This was in French with English subtitles and was I think, my favourite....

This exhibition runs until the 14th June 2026 Sir Joshua Reynolds is one of the greats of British painting and will be a name familiar to many.  I had no idea he was born in Plympton, just outside Plymouth though.  He is a major 18th century European painter and the leading portrait artist of the time.  He was one of the founders of the Royal Academy of Art and its first president. Portrait of Omai is considered his best work and a timeless masterpiece that is one of the best pieces of British art.  In 2022 the portrait was up for sale and in danger of leaving the UK with a hefty expected value of £50 million.  It was place under a 12 month exportation bar.  The National Portrait Gallery started a fund to raise money to buy the portrait and the Getty Museum asked to jointly purchase the painting so that it could be shared between both.  In March 2023, the exportation bar expired with only half of the required amount raised and it was announced that pro...

This is a small art venue that is part of the University of Plymouth.  It was easy to find as it is on Tavistock Place, a little down from the Box being slightly closer to Drake's Circus.  The entrance to the building was clear and there was good signage externally for the Mirror, so I knew I was going the right way. It's always challenging entering a building with a lot going on, such as a university building as it is not always clear where to go.  I found it easy to negotiate to the right where there was a small refreshment area which was obviously connected to the arts cinema that is part of the Mirror.  As I had reached this point, it was easy to find the entrance to a gallery on my right. It wasn't a large space but I think it was a really good space for less well known artists to exhibit in. It was not until I had left and was looking at the Mirror's information online that I realised I had found only one of the two exhibition spaces in the building.  I co...

KARST is a small art gallery in Plymouth that is absolutely worth a visit.   I am always concerned about how to get to somewhere new and then, once I am there, how do I get in.  These are things I absolutely research before going somewhere new as I hate that feeling of not knowing where I am going or not being able to find the right way.  It's fine if I am not alone but by myself it really is not something I am comfortable facing.   For me to go somewhere like KARST definitely required a little research.  It's a little out of the town centre, though not too far to walk if you want to.  Not being from Plymouth, I was unfamiliar with the area and it's clear this is a working area.  If you follow Royal Parade to the west, beyond Derry Cross, it turns in to Union Street as it makes it way through Stonehouse.  Union Street is a busy route through the city, edged with blocks of flats, Aldi and Lidl and commercial premises.  The area has a...

This exhibition runs until the 18th April This was my first visit to this lovely little gallery but it will not be my last.  The exhibition was inspired by the work of Beryl Cook and included several of her works.  Other artists had been selected for inclusion based on some sympathetic aspect of their work to Beryl's.  Some of these were obvious but others needed a little more digging I think.  This made for a diverse and thoughtful exhibition with plenty of fun pieces. It's always interesting, visiting a show put together with various artists.  So many artists have a body of work that speaks as a whole as they develop a style, their own language and explore a theme.  Individual pieces do not always make as much sense by themselves, unless you have a knowledge of that artist and their work.  Putting pieces of work together from different artists changes what they have to say and understanding their relevance is an interesting thing to work out. This ex...

This exhibition runs until the 30th May 2026 I found this exhibition challenging.  I just didn't have the enough of a shared language with the artist to understand what they were trying to say but it was very clear they were trying to say a lot.  I suspect this is one of those instances where not having any formal art or art history background is a hinderance to enjoying art. I picked up the leaflet and I understand what is said about the exhibition, but it doesn't help me understand the individual pieces.  I understand not wanting to spoil the aesthetics of an art show by adding lots of written information.  I understand the limitations of a double sided piece of A4.  I think this is where QR codes and things like Bloomberg Arts app can really help a lot. The themes of the exhibition are ones the artist has been exploring for some time.  These works are part of a body of work developed over some time and the sophistication of the current works was such tha...

This exhibition runs until the 31st May 2026 It's a lovely exhibition in a beautiful location.  I got exactly what I expected from a collection of Beryl's work, a sense of warmth and humour, acceptance.  St Luke's is an old church across Tavistock Place from the main building of the Box.  Inside, the ground floor has been partitioned in places to break up the space and give more hanging area.  It had been divide up into several areas through the centre and both sides, with the side areas underneath the gallery.  At the far end of the room is a glorious stained glass window. You need to book a ticket to this exhibition, but they are free.  You need to arrive during the hour you have booked but may need to queue as they admit up to a maximum number.  Additional people may only be let in as others leave.  The exhibition has been incredibly popular and visitor numbers at the Box have been much higher than normal and has already beaten its target visi...

If you look at a map of Cornwall, there are two toes on the foot.  The southerly toe is the Lizard peninsula while the westerly toe is West Penwith.  West Penwith is famous for Land's End, the most westerly point of the mainland.  The peninsula curls around forming a bay called Mounts Bay after the small castle topped island, St Michael's Mount.   In the east, Marazion sits and from the beach below the town, there is a causeway that leads across to the Mount at low tide.  Marazion is a pretty old town with some lovely shops and places to eat.  It is not very big and parking on the edge of town, it is only a short walk in to town or to the causeway. Going east, we have Long Rock and then Eastern Green.  Both of which have begun to feel like they are part of Penzance.  The main road to Penzance skirts them both and is lined with well known signs such as McDonald's, KFC, Tesco and Sainsbury.  Long Rock, away from the main road, is a small r...

Newlyn is a small town immediately adjacent to Penzance and the two have grown together and are linked by the bay they are shaped around.  The two galleries are run together and are separated by about 2km's.  It would be a pleasant walk along the seafront from Newlyn and then cutting uphill towards the centre of Penzance, as long as the weather was good.  You can also easily catch a bus. Newlyn Art Gallery is a small old granite building with a modern extension to the rear, facing the sea.  The old entrance leads from the street up some steps to an arched door, slightly below the level of the first floor.  The current entrance is down the right hand side of the building in the modern extension on the ground floor.  This room is glass sided and is a stylish and welcoming space with the ticket desk and shop displays.  There is a glass door that leads into a lovely shaded little tea room garden. A corridor leads into the older part of the building and fr...

This exhibition runs until the 9th May This a small but vibrant collection of still life paintings with an abstract feel.  They are colourful and charming, capturing everyday scenes and a sense of home.  I don't generally find still life paintings especially exciting, but these were so cozy, gentle and warm, it was impossible not to appreciate them.  Like a comfy chair with a good book and a cup of tea.   I especially liked the two dogs, giving the side eye, the painting of a horse above a red dresser with a bird figurine, the black cat seen through a window. All delightful to me. I can believe that Kerry is an introvert but this does not mean a lack of vision or subject material.  I think Kerry brings a warmth and thoughtfulness to her pieces.

This exhibition runs until 9th May 2026 This display of paintings was connected by a spiritual understanding of the Penwith landscape.  This place has a long history of it's own special brand of Christianity, a slightly more mystical melding known as Celtic Christianity.  Instead of sweeping away the mystical landscape here, Christianity embraced it.  Sites such as wells were adopted as holy and local deities merged to become Christian saints and traditions and stories were preserved.  This landscape has often attracted people with an interest in this spirituality and art and Daisy Rickman continues this tradition. Her paintings included landscapes of standing stone lit by the moon and more abstract sacred geometry.  My favourites though featured Piskies.  A Piskie is the Cornish version of pixie, simplistically.  They are tiny magical folk who are often mischievous but generally friendly.  There were a number of paintings of piskies that at firs...

This exhibition closes on 2nd May 2026 and is a cross site exhibition at both Newlyn Art Gallery and the Exchange. Abigail Reynolds is a versatile artist using a range of mediums to explore her connection to Cornwall.  she is not interested in reproducing touristic images of Cornwall, suitable for postcards.  With interests in history, geology and ecology, her work often draws from the mining heritage of Cornwall.  To Abigail, the idea of walking a cappella is move step by step, freely, without rules.  It is to find your own path.  Abigail finds her own path through Cornwall's landscapes and encourages others to do so. I think the most impactful part of the exhibition was A Book of Holes (2025).  This film was shown across three screens with mirrored columns, in a space that was otherwise very dark.  It was visually striking in the space.  Just outside Camborne, near Troon, is Holman's, a site consisting of mine and quarry used as a test site by H...