Friday 20 June 2014

Salisbury and Cotswolds Holiday Day 8–Cirencester–2nd Post–Art Exhibition

As I mentioned in my last post, at the side of the museum in Cirencester is a small art gallery which hosts temporary exhibitions of work by local artists. The current exhibition is on the theme of William Shakespeare, and I think you will agree with me that these pieces are exceptional, and depict the Bard very well, each in their own way. Many of the pieces have an ancient feel but using modern materials, and in a modern style – in exactly the same way as we interpret Shakespeare today!

A mixed-media scroll, decorated front and back.

01 Mixed Media Scroll

“Birds on a Wire,” the wire being a quotation from Richard III: “True hope is swift, and flies with swallows’ wings; Kings it makes gods, and meaner creatures kings.”

02 Birds on a Wire - King Richard III

Coiled pot with printed paper, “Love Potion.”

03 Coiled Pot - Love Potion

A display of mini-books.

04 Shakespeare Mini-Books

These were so intriguing and beautiful that I had to take a few detailed shots of them.

05 Shakespeare Mini-Books

06 Shakespeare Mini-Books

07 Shakespeare Mini-Books

08 Shakespeare Mini-Books

It is a shame there was so much reflection from the display case, but I did the best I could to capture them. These little books are so exquisite, and so along the lines that I want my own work to progress; I am very attracted to the idea of making art in books which themselves are little pieces of art, not something to be hung on the wall, but dynamic, to be handled, tactile, with texture to be enjoyed.

This beautiful installation displays a series of mini-books in a cabinet. Gorgeous distressed frame.

09 Shakespeare Mini-Books in Cabinet

Again, my apologies for the reflections.

10 Shakespeare Mini-Books

11 Shakespeare Mini-Books

Ariel, the winged messenger.

12 Ariel, the Winged Messenger

13 Ariel, the Winged Messenger Back View

Details about the exhibition.

14 Shakespeare Exhibition Details

15 Timon of Athens Mini-Book

16 King Lear Mini-Book

Beautiful backgrounds.

17 Shakespeare Mini-Book with Beautiful Background

A display of mini-books arranged between a pair of masked bookends.

18 Shakespeare Mini-Books Between Book-Ends

19 Shakespeare Mini-Books

Gorgeous grungey black and white mini-books.

20 Black and White Shakespeare Mini-Books

One of my favourite pieces in the exhibition, a paper sculpture entitled “Will Writes.”

21 Paper Sculpture - Will Writes

I love how the pages of words flow from the end of the giant quill pen and gradually become part of the structure in which he is sitting – just as his original ink-still-wet words have over the centuries become part of the edifice of our national culture. The words are for us all, but it is up to us to draw aside the curtain and dig more deeply to discover the beauty and meaning of the immortal words which transcend historical period and fashion.

There were many other pieces too, mostly paintings and a few more sculptures and ceramics, but I felt this selection best represented the theme to me. I hope you agree that they are beautiful and inspirational – a modern interpretation of the sublime works of our greatest wordsmith.

As with my previous post, this was composed on the following day, as I was too tired on our arrival home last night to tackle anything on the computer! As before, I have kept the date in sequence to make my holiday record complete.

1 comment:

  1. Love all those books! Could have looked at them for ages if I had been there. Maybe something to do with my dad being a librarian - we grew up with books!

    ReplyDelete

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