Brighton and Hove is home to a pretty a creative bunch ranging from arts students through to accomplished professionals. The city is packed with commercial galleries selling one-off art, craft and design, alongside a a great selection of photography and art prints. There’s also plenty of public art including a number of large scale pieces along the seafront and hidden Banksy gems!
Prescription Art
Type: Art gallery
The first floor of the Prescription Art gallery has been transformed for a new show with spectacular paintings of rats, birds and pigs by Roa, and photo-realistic images by Best Ever. The ground floor and basement of this fantastic creative space continue to overflow with works by emerging European and North American artists, all of which are available to buy.
Prescription Art, 115 Church Street • www.prescriptionart.com
Gallery 94
Type: Art gallery
Artist Simon Royer has an eclectic mix of craft, sculpture, photography, prints and fine art for sale in this gem of a gallery. Using materials found along Brighton beach he recycles them to great effect, popular too are the papier mache mackerel, always a best seller.
Gallery94, 94 North Road • 01273 675 991 • www.gallery94.co.uk
Rag ‘n’ Bone
Type: Art gallery
The Rag ‘n’ Bone Co. is a new vision in permanent gallery spaces. A concept founded by artists and young graduates themselves, Lauren Doss and Georgina Rose-Shire, it’s a platform for young promising Artists, to exhibit and promote their work and generate momentum within the creative society of Brighton and beyond. More like a stage or film set than gallery this is a really exciting space to explore at your leisure.
The Rag ‘n’ Bone Co., Pelham Street (bottom of Trafalgar Street)
Fabrica
Type: Art gallery
Fabrica presents huge contemporary visual art installations in a former Regency church in the heart of Brighton. The new exhibition Chameleon is an interactive video installation exploring human moods, so pop along, smile, frown and watch the reactions. Open Wed - Sat 12 - 5pm.
Fabrica • 40 Duke Street • 01273 778 646 • www.fabrica.org.uk
Alexander Gallery
All work in the Alexander Gallery is created by highly respected makers of the very best contemporary art and craft. They also have a fantastic selection of exciting jewellery and glass. The current exhibition ‘Spring into Summer 2009’ runs until the end of June and features wall pieces by Alasdair Neil MacDonell including the striking group of ceramic faces shown above.
7 East Street • 01273 321 694 • www.thealexandergallery.co.uk
Art Republic
Type: Art gallery
artrepublic is the latest gallery to join the ‘Own Art loan scheme’ – set up by Arts Council England. This brilliant scheme spreads the cost of art over 10 interest free installments, making it easy and affordable for everyone to purchase work from today’s hottest artists including Sir Peter Blake, D*Face, Jamie Reid and Mr Brainwash, alongside emerging talent.
artrepublic, 13 Bond St • 01273 724 829 • www.artrepublic.com
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Banksy’s ‘Kissing Coppers’ at The Albert pub near Brighton station
Crane Kalman
Type: Photographic gallery
Crane Kalman Brighton has been established to provide an affordable introduction for anyone interested to buy, and possibly, collect photography. Selling a wide range of work from the best young local talent alongside contemporary photography's leading lights (such as Andreas Gursky) and classic vintage photographs by names including Kertesz and Cartier Bresson. Exhibitions change regularly so there’s always something new to see.
Crane Kalman, 38 Kensington Gardens • 01273 697 096 • www.cranekalmanbrighton.com
The ever so creative folk behind the quarterly Arty Magazine have just launched their new annual directory packed with everything you could ever want to know about the city’s art scene. In addition to listings of all the best galleries and studios, you’ll find support services and information about many of the areas leading artists themselves.
Pick up a free copy from any gallery in the city centre, and get Arty!
comes to Brighton & Hove
Friday 12 March - Sunday 26 September
Wild Planet is a free outdoor exhibition from London’s Natural History Museum touring cities across the UK. And first stop on the tour is Brighton beach!
Featuring stunning images from past Wildlife Photographer of the Year competitions, including this image of a starling murmurtion over the West Pier by James Warwick.
The exhibition is free of charge and accessible 24/7 on Brighton seafront near Brighton Pier (it will be lit until 11pm every night), and a pop-up store will be onsite so you can buy prints of your favourite images.
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/wild-planet-tour/wild-planet-exhibition-brighton/index.html
‘From Sickert to Gertler: Modern British Art from Boxted House’ celebrates the colourful character of Boxted House in Essex, the distinctive home of a remarkable couple, Bobby and Natalie Bevan, which played an important role in post-war British culture.
The show consists of over 100 items, virtually all of which had a personal link to Bobby and Nathalie, as well as their guests - artists, writers and politicians - for whom Boxted House was a gathering place during the 1950s and 60s.
Notable artists featured in this major new exhibition include Augustus John, Paul Cézanne, Francisco de Goya and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
Entrance to the museum is free • Exhibition £5 adults, £3 concessions • Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, Royal Pavilion Gardens, Brighton BN1 1EE • 03000 290 900 • www.brighton.virtualmuseum.info
John Keenan meets local sculpture Jamie McCartney about his epic new project – The Great Wall of Vagina!
Any artist who tackles the human body in an unambiguous manner sooner or later faces the charge of being an agent provocateur, of deliberately causing outrage of offence. It says a lot about our attitude to the shell we walk around in that, beyond the idealised presentations of the classical world, our naked selves are beyond the pale.
Jamie McCartney at Brighton Body Casting, in Ship Street Gardens, challenges these attitudes with uncompromising frankness. His latest project, ‘The Great Wall of Vagina’ comprises nine panels featuring forty casts in each, a total of 360. It was a huge endeavour which has taken him four years to complete. A book featuring the words of the women who took part, plus posters, prints and other products are now in the pipeline.
He says: “Having devoted so much time to this project I want to it to be as successful as possible. My ambition is to exhibit the work at the Frieze Art Fair in London in October – if I can find a gallery willing to take it.”
McCartney makes his day-to-day living through body casting for private individuals – taking a mold directly from the hands, lips, bum, boobs, whatever, to produce a fine art sculpture. And while this pays the bills and puts the food on the table, he continues to dream big.
“I hope my next project will deal with disability and deformity,” he says. “It’s a natural instinct to want to look at people who are different. I want to explore whether there a way to use casting to enable people to gorge their curiosity without humiliating the subject. Can casting help people see past the deformity to the person? Is this something I can accomplish through my work?”
McCartney is aware of Marc Quinn’s work in this area and is wary of comparison. I think Quinn’s approach is cold and formal whereas McCartney is after something very elusive – the human factor.
He says: “I have already cast a woman who has defects caused by thalidomide – she travelled from Wales because she understands what I am trying to do and wanted to get involved. But if I am going to carry this off I need funding – I cannot self-fund another major project.”
In the meantime, he continues his efforts to help us see ourselves as others see us.
