1 – 31 October
Caroline Ireland – Vibrant Patels Caroline Ireland is largely self-taught as an artist, who has painted and drawn all her life. Her work often has a dream-like quality, expressed in vibrant colours, shapes and lines, inspired by dreams, music or poetry, the observation of everyday objects in the form of still life, or by improvisation with no preconceived ideas about what will emerge. Her preferred mediums are charcoal, soft pastel and watercolour, often in combinations. The current exhibition will explore the improvisational aspects of her work, which she calls ‘meditations’, where watercolour is first applied to paper or card and once dry drawn on top with soft pastels, without any planning, just letting the paint and the pastel reveal their magic. Open 10 am – 4 pm Wednesday until Saturday at Jenny Penney Local Makers Shop & Gallery, Mangerton Mill, Mangerton, Bridport DT6 3SG Access for All, Cafe next door. Free car parking and no entrance fee. https//www.jennypenneyart.net.
3 October – 30 November
Marking Out the Boundaries Day Bowman & Henrietta Irving. Bold abstract paintings explore the boundaries and disruptions of the English landscape, alongside sculptural basketry inspired by vanished medieval ponds, hidden hollows and landscapes transformed over centuries. The two artists, who only met twelve months ago, find a deep connection with the materials they use and the resultant shapes and forms that are created. Henrietta will be making coiled raffia vessels and paper pieces on the theme of Timelines. She is inspired by changes in landscape and buildings over the centuries at Athelhampton in Dorset. Traces of medieval fishponds are still visible in the grounds, if you know where to look. The current buildings form part of what was a much larger complex. Wings and rooms were repurposed or demolished to suit the needs and aspirations of the owners. Henrietta’s work will consider these changes, gradual dereliction or deliberate destruction and replacement, in three-dimensional form. The exhibition at Athelhampton House will open with a dance performance choreographed by Lizzi Kew Ross www.lizzikewrossandco co.uk where the dancers weave their way from the Great Hall in and around the staircase up to the gallery. Athelhampton House & Gardens, Puddletown, Dorchester, Dorset DT2 7LG. 01305 848363.
Until 24 October
Rhythm of the Hills Liz Somerville This exhibition is about hills: the trees that grow on them, the water that comes from them and the ground that forms them. West Dorset is a peculiar and particular part of the county; a quieter, slower, folk-lorey sort of place. I have chosen three subjects and worked my way around and into them, hence the inclusion of preliminary drawings. The first, Floating Oaks, are the trees (mostly oaks) that grow around Eggardon near Bridport. The second, Loscombe, centres on Lower Loscombe Farm and its relationship with the hill, Penwell, where the water for the farm used to come from a well on top of it. The final subject are the hills surrounding Loscombe, Hinknowle and Poorton – dictated by geology and weather, these unusual forms are stranger than any imagination. The Art Stable, Child Okeford, Dorset DT11 8HB. kellyross@theartstable.co.uk. 07816 837905.
Until 31 October
Yasmin David: The Nature of Light comprises over 40 key works on canvas alongside drawings, sketches, notebooks and photographs. Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Elmfield House, Dowell Street, Honiton Devon EX14 1LX. Tel: 01404 45006 Open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm. Free admission, donations welcome.
Look Out David Abbott, Dien Berziga, Christabel Blackburn, Sarah Gillespie, Magnus Hammick, Ivon Hitchens, Lee Johnson, Charlotte Keates, Rob Lyon, Katherine Perrins, Ged Quinn, Myrna Quiñonez, Saad Qureshi and Harriet White. A group exhibition exploring landscape across a century of change brings together fourteen artists across generations and a century of artistic engagement with landscape, exploring the land as both a physical reality and a psychological space. The exhibition considers landscape as a place of memory, belonging, reflection and renewal, offering a moment to reconnect with the natural world in a time of profound change. CLOSE Gallery, Hatch Beauchamp, Somerset TA3 6AE. Opening Hours: Thursday & Friday 11am-4pm, Saturday 11am-3pm.
Until 14 November
At the Still Point of the Turning World David Inshaw, Lise Herud Braten and Petter Southall at laders Yard Contemporary Art & Craft Gallery, West Bay, Bridport, DT6 4EL. Open Wednesday to Saturday 10am – 4.30pm Tel: 01308 459511 Website: sladersyard.co.uk. www.instagram.com/sladersyard.
