Art
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Dion Kitson Rue Britannia At The Ikon Gallery
Dion Kitson recently reached the news headlines, after it was revealed that he, not Banksy, was the artist responsible for the ‘Dorothy’ art work that suddenly appeared on a wall in Birmingham’s Gay Quarter. The work had been commissioned to be part of Joe Lycett’s ‘Late Night Lycett’ programme’s ‘fake news segment’, and had clearly had the desired effect, and had got people asking ‘Who is Dion Kitson?’. The answer is that he is a local Midlands artist, hailing from Dudley, and that you can currently see some of his most iconic pieces in a new exhibition ‘Rue Britannia’ which is currently on display at Birmingham’s Ikon Gallery. Kitson’s work…
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Victorian Radicals At Birmingham Museum And Art Gallery
A truly fabulous exhibition is currently taking place in the Gas Hall of the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Victorian Radicals is possibly the finest exhibition of the works of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, as well as works by local contemporary artists. Birmingham has always had an enviable collection of Pre-Raphaelite art, with pieces by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Ford Maddox Brown, as well as many pieces related to the exquisite designs of the William Morris studio. Now the collection has been carefully curated to create this stunning exhibition, one that should not be missed. The exhibition is wonderful in that it showcases objects across…
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This Is Our Love And It Knows No Division At Wolverhampton Art Gallery
An interesting new look at the national game, and our reaction, thoughts and feelings about it, is currently taking place in the form of a new exhibition at the Wolverhampton Art Gallery. ‘This Is Our Love And It Knows No Division’ curated by artists and football fans Ewan Johnston and Dion Kitson, takes the work of 15 British Artists that shows their response to football at all levels, and how the sport can both unite us, and divide us, due to tribal rivalries that exist in pretty much every major town and city. Wolverhampton is, of course, a town with a rich footballing history. It has a premier league team…
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The Art Schools Of The West Midlands At The New Walsall Art Gallery
Architecture is definitely one of my passions, with art deco leading the way, but with all interesting buildings setting off a fire in my belly. The New Walsall Art Gallery currently has a photographic exhibition looking at the art schools of the West Midlands, and, more specifically, the existing buildings that were home to this movement. Many of these beautiful examples of architecture are Victorian, often in the celebrated red brick style, although it has to be said that some have seen far better days. The modern day photographs are neatly juxtaposed with archive material from the schools, showing how this was a vibrant, interesting movement that was progressive in…
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Pop Parade At The Wolverhampton Art Gallery
Pop Parade is the latest celebration of Wolverhampton Art Gallery’s extensive Pop Art collection, and this time, it celebrates not only the great names of the movement, Warhol, Boty, Lichtenstein amongst others, but also looks at a key piece of Pop Art that has a resonance for all those who grew up in the Midlands in the 1970’s. This key piece of art is King Kong by Nicholas Monro. This fibreglass figure was used as the model for the six metre high statue that stood outside the original Birmingham Bullring in Manzoni Gardens in 1971. It was a figure that was both loved and hated in equal measure, and only…
