Art must-sees for the month: June

With surrealism and sound, fauna and flesh, there is much to tempt you indoors this June. Here’s some monthly highlights for contemporary art written for Culture24. Cage Mix: Sculpture and Sound, BALTIC, Gateshead Eight artists who work with the ideas and writings of John Cage are brought together by design…

Preview: A Horse Walks Into A Bar at Castlefield Gallery

Exhibition: A Horse Walks Into A Bar, Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, June 18 – August 8 2010 That a non-domestic animal in a pub should occasion hilarity tells us something about our relationship with nature. The proverbial horse in a bar is an old joke. Perhaps the nine artists in this…

Art must-sees this month: May

Here’s a selection of half a dozen of the most exciting contemporary art shows from around Britain this month. Written for Culture24. Agnes Martin, Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge Martin’s minimal paintings, characterised by airy colours and hand-drawn grids, map out a fragile, yet peaceful, interior world. It makes sense that the…

Review: From Sickert to Gertler – Modern British Art from Boxted House

Exhibition: From Sickert to Gertler – Modern British Art from Boxted House, Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, until September 12 2010 Long before Brit Art, there was British Art. In the early 20th century this was typified by the painterly, figurative work of a group centred around Camden in London.…

Review: Tony Bevan goes large with painting installation at De La Warr Pavilion

Exhibition: Tony Bevan, New painting installation, De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea, until June 13 2010 Monumental painting can be a serious business. It brings to mind thickly laid on paint with an often spiritual dimension laid on just as thick. Tony Bevan’s installation at De La Warr Pavilion, on the…

Preview: Art Must-Sees in Museums at Night 2010

Museums at Night is a nationwide campaign running the weekend of May 14-16, organised by Culture24. Here are my picks of the best after-hours activities in the world of contemporary art: Light Night at the Bluecoat, the Bluecoat, Liverpool, Friday May 14 Local musicians with world influences bring rhythms of…

Preview: A Certain Distance, Endless Light – A Project by Felix Gonzalez Torres and William McKeown

Exhibition: A Certain Distance, Endless Light – A Project by Felix Gonzalez-Torres and William McKeown, MIMA, Middlesbrough, until July 4 2010 Energy is the theme of the North-East’s 10th AV Festival and the inclusion of Felix-Gonzalez-Torres looks like a no-brainer. Some of the Cuban-born artist’s best known works feature lightbulbs…