Wells Cathedral is hosting the annual Wells Arts Contemporary, Carlisle and Portsmouth are hosting summer exhibitions by local artists, Chester Cathedral has been transformed into a kaleidoscope of colour, Coventry Cathedral is Seeking the Light and Liverpool Cathedral gets ready to unveil works by Anish Kapoor, the centrepiece of its centenary celebrations.
Cathedral Art Exhibitions this Summer
Just some of the art exhibitions you can discover in our cathedrals this summer.
Hundreds of original paintings are on display at the Fratry Hall at Carlisle Cathedral for the Carlisle and Cumbria Artists 55th annual exhibition this summer.
The exhibition includes local landscapes, still life and abstract work in a wide variety of techniques and styles and runs to August 11.
Carlisle and Cumbria Artists’ first exhibition took place at Carlisle Town Hall in 1968. It was organised by the late Mrs Molly Mawson to raise money to save the 15th-century Tithe Barn. The first exhibition was so successful that the Dean asked Mrs Mawson if future exhibitions could raise money for the Cathedral.
Since then, it has been an annual event in the city’s social calendar, raising valuable funds for the Cathedral and other local charities.
Later this month Portsmouth Cathedral will welcome the Portsmouth & Hampshire Art Society – the oldest and most prestigious art society in Hampshire.
In its 115th year, the cathedral will host its Summer Exhibition offering work exploring diverse styles and techniques with a number of workshops on offer to hear from artists or sketch and paint. Opens August 17.
Find out more here.
Chester Cathedral has welcomed British artist, Liz West back to the city six years after her work Our Colour Reflection occupied the Cathedral Chapter House.
The work, Your Kaleidoscope, features two of the artist’s works – Presence and Hymn to the Big Wheel. Presence transforms the South Transept, taking the form of a tunnel, creating a kaleidoscopic artery down the centre of the transept.
Meanwhile, Hymn to the Big Wheel is an immersive sculptural work exploring the illusion and physicality of colour and natural light in space.
Liz West is a British artist (b.1985) who graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 2007. West’s broad body of work encompasses wall-based artwork, sculpture, and site-specific installations. She creates vivid environments that mix luminous colour and radiant light, provoking a heightened sensory awareness in the viewer through her works.
Your Kaleidoscope can be seen until 31 August
Seeking the Light by Alexandra Kingswell has just opened in Coventry Cathedral.
This exhibition is a celebration of colour and strong geometric shapes that complement John Piper’s baptistery window below which it is displayed.
Alexandra did a degree in communications design and had a career as a graophic designer before turning her attention to fine art.
She said: “My work could be described as a love affair with colour, and a fascination with numbers.
“I use strong, bold colours and put them into relationship with each other to see what happens – to see how they affect each other …
Seeking the Light until 31 August.
Now in its thirteenth year, the Wells Art Contemporary (WAC) exhibition has just opened in Wells Cathedral.
This annual showcase attracted almost 2,500 entries from around the globe narrowed down to just 121 successful artworks by a panel of selectors including Jacquiline Creswell who has just been announced as the new arts curator for the Association of English Cathedrals and is passionate about the role of art in sacred spaces:
‘Churches have employed the visual arts for centuries …..They have found that art has the power to attract and engage people who are otherwise outside the formal structures of faith, belief and belonging.’
From painting and textiles to printmaking and photography, the exhibition is in two parts: a white wall gallery within the Cloisters, and 19 site-specific art installations selected from almost 300 entries for their sense of spiritual intensity in response to this unique medieval building.
Wells Art Contemporary was set up in 2012 to support and inspire artists but also to engage with the community and this year WAC has worked with three local community groups to create unique pieces that are included in the exhibition.
Running alongside the exhibition, there are free drawing sessions for the public on the Cathedral Green. Check the website for DRAW! times and dates.
Entry to WAC is included with admission to the Cathedral. A virtual exhibition will also be available to view for those who are unable to visit in person.
And drum roll please … Liverpool Cathedral is about to open a unique exhibition by the celebrated artist Anish Kapoor to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
The exhibition, Monadic Singularity opens this Saturday (August 10) and marks Kapoor’s first solo show in a UK cathedral and his first major solo exhibition in Liverpool since his seminal 1983 exhibit at the Walker Art Gallery. It is on until 15 September
Read all about it here.
