Shelter and Tidal Wilderness at Victoria Art Gallery, Bath
Two new exhibitions open at Bath’s Victoria Art Gallery this weekend (13th March) – “Shelter” by Edwina Bridgeman and “Tidal Wilderness” by Andrew Hardwick. Both run concurrently until 6th May.
Bridgeman is one of Bath’s most popular artists. She is known for her imaginative use of recycled materials to tell everyday stories. Her former career as a theatre set designer influences her work with a magical sense of drama and beauty.
“Shelter” features pieces from the diminutive to the monumental, all exploring shelter. A large central 4m high tower of discarded doors will be surrounded by small scale narrative works.
Jon Benington, Manager of the Victoria Art Gallery, said: “I am sure this exhibition will be accessible for people of all ages. The sculptures are inspired by the quest for a home and they include scenes that people will be able to relate to. You cannot visit an Edwina Bridgeman show without leaving with a smile on your face.”
Andrew Hardwick grew up on a farm near the Royal Portbury Dock, where the Avon meets the Severn. His work explores this surreal landscape of car storage parks, motorways and wastelands, seeking out beauty in the most unlikely spots. His heavily textured paintings sometimes incorporate model cars and aeroplanes. His new exhibition, Tidal Wilderness, is his first in Bath since 1991.
“My paintings are often on a huge scale and heavily layered with texture,” said Hardwick. “All the paintings are continually worked and reworked, painted, glazed, plastered and covered with photocopies, burnt, scored and scratched. I also incorporate soil, sand, straw, toys and artefacts into the paint - one image is covered with Dinky cars, another has an Airfix model attached to it referring to a bomber that crashed at Avonmouth some years ago.”
Both exhibitions run until 6 May, 2010. All of the pieces of art on display are available to buy, and online catalogue is available at www.victoriagal.org.uk
Entrance is free, opening times are Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 5.00pm, Saturday 10am to 5pm, Sunday 1.30pm to 5pm. The gallery is closed on Monday www.victoriagal.org.uk
